This Man Lost 340 Pounds To Be A Positive Role Model For Others
At 600 lbs, Pat Brocco received a major wakeup call when his doctor told him he was at risk of dying in his sleep. So he began an incredible journey of transformation, beating all odds and becoming an example to so many.
Pasquale “Pat” Brocco, a former bodyguard for celebrities, knew it was time to turn his life around when his doctor warned him that his weight and lifestyle put him at risk of dying in his sleep.
At 28, Brocco, of Avondale, Arizona, weighed 605 pounds. After he returned home from that appointment, he took a photo of himself in front of a mirror.
My stomach was down to my thighs. My chest was hanging down here. I was disgusted.
Pat Brocco to ABC News
He had a job many dreamed of, and yet
At the time, he had a job many dream of, working as a bodyguard for celebrities like Kanye West, Katt Williams and Nicki Minaj, but as he was responsible for their safety, he had been neglecting his own health.
One day, after losing a bet, Brocco was challenged to do 50 push-ups, but after he dropped down to the ground to start, he couldn’t lift himself back up.
Feeling humiliated and weak, his confidence was shattered. Until then, he hadn’t realized just how out of control his weight had become and decided it was time to consult a doctor.
Finding out that his high blood pressure and high cholesterol posed a serious threat to his life, he became determined to lose weight.
He started with little steps
To do so, Brocco started by throwing out all of the food in his house and committed to walk 1 mile to the nearest local Walmart and back, every time he felt hungry. Only once he was back home could he have his meal.
You walk to Walmart three times a day, and you end up walking 6 miles. It’s amazing because I never walked 6 miles in my life, and I was doing it every day.
Pat Brocco
He started incorporating a variety of vegetables into his diet and eliminated everything that could jeopardize his weight loss efforts. “Once I figured out dairy was my downfall, I took it out of my diet, and instantly I started losing weight again,” said Brocco.
Following his walks to Walmart, he moved up to incline walks on a treadmill and eventually began lifting weights. At this point, he started to use all the gym equipment he couldn’t before.
I mean, at 600 pounds, I couldn’t even go to the gym. I didn’t fit on the machines.
Pat Brocco
He's lost a total of 340 pounds and went from being nicknamed “Fat Pat” to “Possible Pat.”
Since then, Brocco had surgery to remove 30 pounds of excess skin and continues to stay in shape. Today, he’s a fitness and life coach for others who want to create change in their lives, but his biggest hope is to be a good role model for his son.
“I’m setting an example for my son so he can be Possible Pat too,” Brocco said, in tears.
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