Back in June, I wrote about Drew Manning's journey on being fit and getting fat within a 6-month time span. His purpose is to gain 50 - 60 pounds of fat and then teach people how they can get fit and stay fit. It is now October and the transformation is quite shocking. Here is how he currently looks:
Starting weight was 193 lbs. He is now at 263.4 pounds.
I have to give him credit on doing this. Back when I originally posted my first blog post, I was a bit critical. However, I read his most recent blog post and he is really going through some issues, both physically and mentally. Here are just a few excerpts of what he is dealing with:
And it’s just not fun anymore. Dreading to walk up the stairs knowing that you’ll be out of breath is not fun. Not being able to play with your 2-year old due to chaffing and lack of stamina is not fun. Being in constant discomfort and being self conscious no matter what you wear is not fun.
- Speaking of laziness I’ve noticed that even though I’m hungry at times I get too lazy to even make a sandwich or pour a bowl of cereal.
- My wife says I have the male equivalent of PMS, but instead of it being once a month it’s just a continual, never-ending cycle. I suppose I’m a little sensitive about my appearance. To comfort myself I’m going to sit on the couch with my Ben & Jerry’s and watch “Chocolat” with Johnny Depp (and only because my Steel Magnolias DVD has a scratch in it)
- My wife and I had a serious discussion of how we thought this journey has had a negative impact on our marriage. All joking aside, we spoke about the physical, emotional, and mental side effects this project has caused and how it’s caused some “tension” in the home.
You can read his entire blog post here: Month 5 in Review.
I have to give Drew credit. He is really going through a lot of the issues that many overweight individuals have to deal with. It will be really quite interesting to watch him begin his transformation in a month. He knows what to do but I'm sure it will still require some discipline to break away from the bad habits that he has become accustomed to in these past 5 months.
What do you think of his transformation and his journey in general?
Visit Drew's web site at fit2fat2fit.com
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That really is quite a shocking transformation and he’s still got a month to go. Much respect for doing it though. I don’t think I could put myself through it for a full 6 months. I would be too worried about the long term health implications. 6 months of bad food and no exercise is quite a blow for your body. If I have a bad week I usually start to feel run down and groggy.
Stats would be interesting. I could say that i went on a four year bulk thatwent terribly wrong. A few years ago I got down to 8% body fat and a 32″ waist for a cruise. got back, and had some emotional set backs and put myself up ther at 28% BF. I’m 6’1″ and up to 220 witha 38″ pant. Now working on the cardio / weights again and trying to cut back on the sugars and fats. cant imaging being any fatter. Hope it goes well for this guy.
Although Drew’s intentions are admirable, I really don’t think his losing weight is the same as an obese person. Since Drew has been fit most of his life, he will melt that fat off easier than a typical lifelong obese person, even if he had kept the excess weight on for 10 years before deciding to lose it. In my experience, it seems the brain unconsciouly remembers one’s previous athletic conditioning for some time. In other words, I don’t think Drew’s “set-point” has truly converted to an obese “set-point.”
I have to disagree with your assessment. You “set point” is relative to what your body takes in and expends. You’ll adjust your set point by proper diet and exercise. I know that from experience.
I agree that he’ll lose his weight quickly and effortlessly, compared to those of us who have had problems for life. His hormones are likely still fighting his weight gain, mine fight weight loss. I don’t believe in “set point” per se, but I think your body chemistry is adapted to where your weight tends to be, and resists up almost as much as down, though obviously these “adipostats” can be overrode.
I would agree with you, because if you were fat in childhood or early adulthood (a time when your body is building the most muscle to carry you through life), then you probably weren’t building muscle during those prime muscle and joint development years because you weren’t exercising. Your body composition is worse than someone who was fit in that time. Your body never developed some of the muscle mass and joint stability, which does make losing weight and getting into shape later in life harder. For example, I have a friend who was an athlete in high school/college. I on the other hand was discouraged from exercise, and I didn’t work out. In our late 20′s now, she and I weigh the same, but her body composition is different than mine. She has much more muscle mass, is more flexible, etc. When she works out, she quickly improves, and I don’t. This could be a fluke, but I’ve seen it with others who were athletic previously too.
I am definately interested in watching this man turn back to his old self. I have to tone up my body I already lost the weight I desired to loose but I don’t feel in shape because I have still a belly that needs to be tone down , so what ever he does to get rid of his I am willing to do!
DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO GET A HOLD OF DREW MANNING OR SEND HIM E-MAIL.I THINK IT IS REMARKABLE WHAT HE IS TRYING TO DO .I HOPE TO FOLLOW HIS JOURNEY AND MAKE IT MY GOAL TO LOSE WEIGHT RIGHT ALONG WITH HIM .I KNOW I NEED THE MOTAVATION.SINCE MY WIFE GOT SICK I LET MY SELF GO BUT I NEED TO GET BACK IN SHAPE FOR MY CHILDREN AND FOR ME.I AM NOT HAPPY ON HOW I BECOME AND FEEL ASHAMED OF MYSELF.MY STORY IS A LONG AND SAD BUT I HOPE TO OVERCOME AND PUSH MYSELF BACK TO HEALTH AND IN GOOD SHAPE WITH THE HELP OF DREW AND HIS STORY IF HE CAN PUSH HIMSELF SO CAN I.
He has a website fit2fat2fit.com and he’s also on youtube and facebook. His youtube & facebook are both titled fit2fat2fit. He’ll probably reply to you if you ask him a question
I forgot he also has a Twitter also called fit2fat2fit and it seems like he replys more there
OMG Drew Manning is amazing i cant believe that he is actually doing that to his body, but wow he is so inspiring and i cant wait to see him fit and how he does that.. I hope people get inspired from this and him, b/c hes amazing and really nice to show people how to get fit and back in shape again..
I was fit in 2001; broke my leg and got lazy. I don’t weigh much more but am near obese because I was pretty muscled up then and now what was muscle weight would be considered obese when it’s fat. What I’m hoping to learn from Drew is how to get my abs flat again and get lean. I don’t want to weigh in at 200+ because I’m pumping heavy iron. I’m 59 now and just want to be lean, flexible and in good cardio condition.
If he does it that will be inspirational for me because he’s now much fatter than me and his before picture looks about like me in 2001 except his abs are a bit leaner. My wife and I are doing some Jillian cardio workouts but I’m going to need something more. Good luck Drew – be looking forward to your explanations of what workouts us fat guys need to be doing.
Drew,
what you are doing is insane! i believe you not only will achieve your goal you have set for yourself ; but you will get rich doing it.
i am just an over wieght middle aged person that saw this at the perfict time in life.
i just joined a jim 2 days ago 60 lbs over wieght I will reverce the damage to my body as you will.
my only wish is that i had someone like you to help me get back to the helthy person i was 6 years ago; i wish you were here!! I know this will not be easy…
GOOD LUCK BROTHER!!
Way to go Drew! For my entire life as an obese person I ALWAYS felt that naturally fit or slender people didn’t have a clue! It was a constant source of frustration for me as thin an fit people would give me advice on how to lose the weight. I KNEW that the advise they were offering was sound and factual, but I also knew that there were real problems and barriers for an obese person that prevented them (me) from making the changes. Even though I am no longer obese (I lost all of my weight myself over a few years), I still deal with issues I had when obese. I feel like Drew may be the only person that wasn’t born to be fat that could come close to relating to an obese person in a real way about their weight and daily food/ exercise habits. He has my complete support and encouragement. In my opinion his journey will affect more obese people in a positive way an on a deeper level than anyone I have ever heard of. I hope everyone gets a chance to see it. Kudos Drew!
I find it amazing he can actually get in so bad of shape(or just put on so much weight) in such a short period of time – a mere 5 months packing on 60 pounds of fat. I have worked out for years and never go in the shape he was in before, and I have had a terrible diet and no exercise and never got nearly as heavy as he is now. I guess no matter what I do, I don’t change much. He seems blessed with a very responsive body, it can change quickly in either direction from fit to very fat to fit again? I think once you pack on the weight he may never get back without constantly fighting to keep off the pounds. I find my body always wants to go back to where it was at it’s heaviest, but putting on the weight in the first place is very slow
Dear Mr. Manny, I have great respect for what you are doing to understand by walking in someones shoes. Being over weight is not easy, especially when you have health issues that cause it, such as thyroid and menopause, and it is compounded by disabilities that came before the weight did. It is hard when I use to be an athlete and work out and be thin, then one day, my body didn’t allow me to do those things and the other issues caused me to gain weight. I am now 224 lbs and I am not able to belly dance anymore, and it is hard to bend over etc. I appreciate you trying to understand. Many blessings to you.
I would like daily updates.
what you are doing is insane! i believe you not only will achieve your goal you have set for yourself ; but you will get rich doing it.
Hello,
I have being wanting to get fit for sometime now, I am female 42 years old and I’ve always being fit . But with age and kids I have gain a few pounds I am not happy with, this year I will follow you very close I want to know how you do it and what do you eat , everything you do. Because I think that what your doing is great! I would be scared to gain so much weight but I know you will be able to do it and I intend to follow! So it is good luck to the both of us lol…
i find it commendable that Drew is doing this experiment. one thing i would like to see him add to this experiment. Drew, please get a full time desk job. you need to sit behind a desk in a mind numbing job for 8 hours a day and THEN go work out.
i am not trying to be a pain, i am serious. i have endured weight issues since i was a child. i finally had no choice but to have Gastric Bypass surgery in my 30′s. it is still a daily struggle for me but i am much healthier than i was before and i know my life is better.
but, considering the goals you have set, it would be best to see if you can lose the weight under the time and daily stresas constraints of the average person. we know you know HOW to do it (which most of us don’t) but, to have the full experience, live the life, as well. spending 8 hours a day in the gym is not reasonable or feasable for your average person.
hopefully, at the end of this, you will come back with an idea of the difficulties of those of us without the genetic tendencies towards fitness and who live lives that push us away from fitness while existing under time constraints where we just cannot see when we COULD exercise.
thank you. i’ll be following the rest of the experiment.
I also would like to follow with day by day menu’s or workouts. My 50 pound shed would be great but do not know how or where to begin.
my fitness coach sent me the link to your site great story very motivating and encouraging to so many myself included.
You have inspired me, I will be watching the progress closely!
Is what Drew doing not dangerous – something akin to the Supersize Me film fella.? I am, of course, interested in how he intends to shift both the physical and mental overweightness but I am worried for his health.
It can’t be good for you!
It is quite shocking. It seems like he took all the pounds of fat he had and remolded them into muscle.
I’m going now to read how he did it.
OK. Seems like my immediate assumption was wrong. I have never seen someone give up a body like that to become fatter. When I saw the picture I assumed it was the other way around.
It certainly helped him get a lot of media attention. I imagine that a book deal is in his near future.
A…mazing…. That’s all that is going through my mind every time I read his journey. I am so going to follow him all the way through, because I need to lose the 30 lbs I’ve gained since January after i changed my fast paced job and gym life for a sit down job (lazy job is what i call it). Thanks Drew!
Drew does have the advantage that he knows what he’ll need to do to lose the weight. Unlike most overweight people who really don’t know where to begin.
I can’t WAIT to see how this all goes. Although, I think it should be noted that men lose weight a lot easier than women. It’s just a fact. Don’t know if its because we have a harder time sticking to a diet/exercise or if its physical but I really can’t wait to see how he gets his body back.
I would also like to see what his doctors have to say about all of this…from begining to end…if he is showing signs of any chronic diseases after ‘just 6 months’ etc. This is sooo bad for your heart, yo-yo-ing on your weight and health.
I have physical disabilities, besides menopause and thyroid issues that prevent me from doing what I need to do. The only way I can lose weight is to live on 500 calories a day. The other posts about working at a desk job, being a woman, also the ones I mentioned are also factors that Drew doesn’t have to challenge him, but thankfully, he doesn’t. I still appreciate that he is at least trying to walk in our shoes and get a small idea of what it is like for us.
I was just looking at some “before” pics and now…I was such a slob. This “experiment” is brilliant viral marketing. JT
That is amazing! When people really are motivated and inspired, their mindset helps them to stay focus and unleashes the power to become more passionate on what they’re doing. Very Inspiring.
I think it’s admirable and also crazy what Drew is doing. I know how hard it was for me when I lost 35 lbs and I would never want to have to go through that again.
It was a lot of hard work for me being that I am no longer on the better side of 30. I admire him for his courage however.
Wow. I believe he’s going to look at exercising a lot differently from now on. I admire what he’s doing and I look forward to watching his journey. Im reading his blog and I find a lot of similarities with myself. Thanks for putting this blog up and I am very glad to have found your blog. Very informative.
I think this is like a journey to him. A story to tell his children or grandchildren someday (OK I might be overreacting a bit). But I think it has its risks, although if you look at the first picture, you know he will get lean again. But it’s not because he can deal with it, everybody else can (mentally I mean).
Looking forward to reading the progress he makes though.
Another thought I have: So if a guy gets overweight, he is actually putting a landmine under his marriage?
Looks like he is doing this for promotion.
Reminds me of the documentary “Super Size Me” a few years ago. Seems the dangers of putting one’s body through this would outweigh the benefits of showing how one can get fit after letting one’s self go. Plenty of examples of this exist without someone risking their health to prove it again. I hope he doesn’t compromise his health long-term.
I think he will try to make the things a little different now, I admire what he is doing and hope he is going to be fine. I always read this blog and it seems it is showing my own life journey to achieve the desired health
What was he thinking…
soube que você morou no Brasil, aqui existem muitas pessoas acima do peso, axo muito interessante o seu “experimento” se assim posso chamá-lo, vai ajudar muitas pessoas que ainda acreditam ser impossível perder tanto peso em tão pouco tempo. você vai ajudar na alto estima de centenas de pessoas acima do peso.. parabéns!
Wow, that is some transformation. For those of you who think it will be easy for him to lose weight it won’t be. It is all hard work. It takes lots of commitment, healthy eating and hard excercise. Maybe you should making excuses for yourselves and get out there and do the same.
This guy is nuts! All that hard work just to get fat … I hope he can recover and get the body he once had after all this is done.
I do have to hand it to him though … this experience is something he can share with others and help them with their weight loss goals. Best of luck Drew Manning!
You must really trust yourself and your body for doing this as its very difficult to back to being slim and fit as it had happened to me once. good luck
I think this is a great idea. It’s a neat way to see the struggles of larger people. I agree with some of the other posters that it will probably be easier for him to loose his weight than a typical obese person. Regardless though it shows that it can be done!
A great concept that should illustrate exactly how you lose weight the correct way. My only fear is that when he achieves his goal, overweight people will incorrectly write off his great efforts as good genetics, due to the fact that he was in shape previously.
Considering that I want to LOOSE weight, I ache when I see that picture! I do wonder what that will do to his overall health to gain weight like that so quickly. I have read up on actors who do the same thing for a role and it they have been told by doctors not to do it again.
Between muscle memory and metabolism he will not have much of an issue getting back into shape imo.. I have lifted since 14 I’m 44. when i would take a long period of time off few months or more.. I would have no problem get back to where i was. However I never gain weight I would lose it
I heard about this guy on a local radio program. It sounds like he’s doing it for the right reasons. The way he talks it has taken a pretty serious toll on his body even though he’s been very fit most of his life.
Obviously, this is shocking.
How can you go back to show the people that one can do it. It requires solid discipline and constant efforts to come back.
Very inspiring story.
The best part about his journey is that he is going to be able to truly understand how overweight people feel and what they have to overcome in order to get in shape. I think he’s gonna be able to create an amazing workout program/write an amazing eBook where he can address exactly what people are going through. After that transformation, he will know, lol.
I watched Supersize me a couple of times, but seeing it being done in real life is mindblowing.
And watching him try to revert…off the scale!
Good luck Drew! And you’d better let McDonalds and Burger King they only have one more month before profits drop!
“And you’d better let McDonalds and Burger King know they only have one more month before profits drop!”
Haha, I lol’d at that one.
I have been chatting with Drew on Twitter for months now.
Aside from being a great guy, he is a heck of a role model for ANYONE who needs to drop some weight.
Like he says, he had never been overweight and as a result had never walked in the shoes of many of his personal training clients.
Now he can
I’m really looking forward to the transformation from Fat back to Fit
Scary pictures. I hope he makes it through this experiment safely.
This story is inspirational – keep it up
This is crazy!!!! my goodness. I can’t imagine how this must feel for you. YOu must have worked so hard to get fit in the first place and then putting on the weight must have been so emotionally challanging no?? THis is super encouraging. THanks for posting and challanging your self in such a crazy way!
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