“I’ve been obese my whole life, ever since I was a kid,” says Jeancarlo, 40. “I’ve always known food was an addiction; I realized that I was never able to maintain a normal eating habit.” In a recent episode of Truly’s Brand New Me transformation series, Jeancarlo speaks about his experiences of obesity, and how a serious warning from a doctor changed his life.
Weighing 431 pounds at his heaviest, Jeancarlo was eating upwards of 6,000 calories a day, and regularly experienced severe fatigue and aches and pains on a regular basis. He also reveals that he would frequently stop breathing in the night as a result of his weight.
“I had a 3-year-old son, I didn’t know if I was going to see him grow,” he says. “I went to my cardiologist. He told me that I was alive right now, but if I kept doing what I was doing, then I would be dead in two years. I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
That was the moment, he says, that motivated him to completely overhaul his nutrition and lifestyle, and start working towards long-term changes. “I flipped the switch in my brain. I followed my diet how it needed to be followed, and my exercise, I would do it. It didn’t matter what day it was. I would do anything to get my sweaty.”
Jeancarlo ended up losing a total of 210 pounds in less than just 19 months, and soon found a passion for weightlifting. He took part in his first bodybuilding competition in October 2020, and has aspirations to continue to do this professionally.
“Right now I’m at 225 pounds, and the idea now is to remove the skin that hangs that’s leftover from the weight loss, and get as shredded as possible,” he says. “In reality the excess skin, it doesn’t bother me. The reason I want to do it is because I want to pursue this career in bodybuilding, and be able to get recognized. It doesn’t let me appreciate all of the hard work I’ve put in, especially in the stomach area, the abs, that’s what everybody wants to be able to see.”
“For any of you that want to lose weight, the first thing I need to tell you is: find your reason why you’re doing it,” he continues. For him, that has always been his son, who continues to be his inspiration when it comes to sticking to and pursuing his goals and ambitions.
“Give it time, be patient,” he adds. “You are worth gold, you’re important, you just need to realize that you can do it. And I am living proof.”
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