Man loses half his body weight and finds love!
Wednesday 04 July 2012
A 28-year-old US man has lost more than half his body weight in a year after taking part in an American TV show.
Michael Giannulis, a small business consultant from Tarpon Springs, Florida weighed 493lbs when he began the challenge, but when he appeared on the show on Saturday he weighed in at just 238lb –17 stone.
Michael’s obesity had left him depressed and insecure, and he had never had a girlfriend or kissed a girl.
When he started the weight loss challenge he told ABC: “I want to share who I am with somebody else, but I mean, who would want to see this?”
“It's so awful. No girl deserves this you know.”
Michael lives with his brother who admitted he was worried that Michael’s eating habits would kill him prematurely.
The family are very close, and Michael would often drop in on his mother and aunt for dinner, despite having already eaten at home.
Michael said: “I don't have a full-length mirror anywhere in the house, and if I can avoid seeing myself, I guess it's out of sight out of mind.”
“But if I don't do something to lose the weight, I think I'll just go to sleep and that will be it.”
Michael followed Chris Powell’s regime of diet and exercise to achieve his weight loss target. Chris explains his methods in his book Choose to Lose: The 7-Day Carb Cycle Solution. His diet helped Michael regulate his metabolism by controlling his nutrition, burning fat by eating carbs, and building muscle with tough workouts.
But Chris also pointed out that for Michael, there were social and emotional triggers for his eating, and having supportfrom those around him made all the difference.
As a supportive gesture, Michael’s family volunteered to join him on his journey by losing 500lbs between them.
He also encouraged Michael by promising to put him in touch with aprofessional matchmaker, if he lost 120lbs in the first three months.
Michael reached the target and after help with boosting his confidence, he met Megan, who became his first ever girlfriend.
Megan supported him as he neared the end of the challenge.
He said: 'I’ve got a brand new girlfriend and things are going awesome.'
This weekend, showing off his new, streamlined body, he said he realised his weight had been a symptom of wider emotional issues, and recognised everyone who had supported him.
He said: “'You can’t do it alone. As we go through this process, real life happens, and we need to talk about it. We need to share in order to heal. It’s really important to reach out to those different people or there are incredible online sites as well.'
Michael, who can’t remember a time when he wasn’t obese, was amazed and delighted by how much weight he’d lost.
He joked: “' You know, I don't want to sound like an arrogant guy, but with my new body, I might just give modeling a try.”Michael followed Chris Powell’s regime of diet and exercise to achieve his weight loss target. Chris explains his methods in his book Choose to Lose: The 7-Day Carb Cycle Solution. His diet helped Michael regulate his metabolism by controlling his nutrition, burning fat by eating carbs, and building muscle with tough workouts.
But Chris also pointed out that for Michael, there were social and emotional triggers for his eating, and having supportfrom those around him made all the difference.