How This 20 Years Old Business Student Dropped 96 lbs of Fat

Meet Patryk…

Heya. My name is Patryk and I am currently a 20-year-old student pursuing his bachelor’s in business. I’m currently on track to graduate this fall and I can’t wait to see what will happen next.

My plans are either the to move to a big city or to travel the world for a few months, specifically Asia and much of Europe. I’m a big fan of photography and fashion.

I love following designers throughout the seasons and seeing what beautiful and daring designs they create each season. I have been into photography for about 5 years. My camera is almost always with me! Some of my work can be found on my website www.phaotos.com

Most of my story includes dealing with weight and also being highly overweight in the LGBT community. Ever since second grade, I have always been 20-30 pounds overweight and throughout the school years, I just kept gaining and gaining.

The highest that I have ever been was in high school where I hit 289 pounds. I didn’t even realize how big I was at the time but now looking back I am amazed at how giant I was compared to everyone else in my class. Another part that really affected me was being highly overweight within the gay community.

I have absolutely no problem with being gay and am beyond thankful for it but at times, the community can be very judgmental. Constantly comparing myself to these beautiful guys who were 170 pounds had made me feel absolutely awful about myself.

At first, I was trying to lose weight just so that other people would like me a bit more but I quickly realized that it really didn’t matter what people thought as long as I was happy with who I was at a person. It took a while and I’m still working toward it but losing weight has helped me tremendously.

I am so much more confident and no longer worry about what people think of me. You get what you get with me, if you don’t like it I’m sorry but I don’t plan on changing for anybody.

What was your lifestyle like prior to your transformation?

I had absolutely no control and loved food. I would eat about enough calories to last my all day before 11 Am. I did not watch any calories and would obviously always gravitate toward the least healthy options.

One major factor that played into my weight gain was my addiction with World of Warcraft. I was addicted to World of Warcraft for about 8 years. I would sit on my computer chair for about 16 hours a day. I would take very frequent breaks only to eat. I would do this day after day.

Where does your motivation come from?

When I started I wanted to simply fit in and not be the 300 pounds 17-year-old in the room. I knew I wasn’t going to get to where I wanted to overnight but the constant support from my friends kept me on track. I was constantly being jokes similar to “Wow, did you lose another 20 pounds since last week?”

I loved hearing these! Currently, I am 20 years old and most of my motivation comes from trying to simply look the best that I can. I’m looking to move to a big city within a year and I want to move knowing that I am feeling my absolute best about myself.

What does your daily diet look like?

My daily diet consists of eating high proteins and low carbs. I must admit I am still eating fast food once a week but that’s completely okay. I have learned how to count calories and now am making smart decisions when I’m enjoying my weekly Taco Bell or Chinese dinner! I have also recently started participating in meal prep Sundays.

Every week I find a new recipe online and I cook it on Sunday so that I have food for 4-5 days. This has been working great. Firstly, I no longer spend ~50-70 dollars a week on food at work since I bring my own food. Secondly, I am able to keep myself under my calorie limit for the day because I know exactly what is in my food!

What workout routine has worked best for you?

When it came to the first 80 pounds, I had very little idea what I was doing at the gym. I would go to the gym and do cardio for about 30 minutes and then I would go into the weight machine section and pretend like I knew what I was doing.

I was losing weight but it was working. I know that this wasn’t working to it’s fullest potential especially after at about 195 calories I realized I’m not where I want to be. I needed muscle.

I recently found a workout on bodybuilding.com. I am following Kris Gethin’s 12-week trainer and it’s been working great. I had to get over my fear of lifting with the big guys in the back of my gym but once I got over that I had started to really enjoy lifting weights and more importantly, seeing results!

How has your life changed since the transformation?

My confidence has skyrocketed. I no longer am ashamed of walking down the street and seeing someone attractive walking by me.

Any noticeable difference in the quality of your life?

I have had very high blood pressure for many years and that has gone away completely once I started losing weight. I also am able to workout without feeling like my body is shutting down.

Favorite Quote:

This doesn’t really have anything to do with losing weight but more to do with my hobby of photography. This is the only quote that really sticks in my head. “The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You.”