Alan Martin before and after his 90-pound weight loss.
Alan Martin
24, Milton, Ont.
Pounds dropped: 90
My turning point: At 284 pounds, I was unemployed, depressed and anxious, sitting down with my family for holiday dinner in 2011. With my brother due to achieve his masters and my sister with a budding family, I didn't have much to show for myself. At this point, I realized becoming healthy was no longer a resolution, something to be shed trendily with glee – it was a war on insecurity, a fight to stay alive.
My method: 2012 is the year I took my life back. Vegetables, fruit, meat and knowledge. My path was an evolution and incorporation of good strategies. From restricting the foods I eat, to lifting weights four days on one day off (using protein shakes), I am a weight-shedding powerhouse. I started what I call basement bootcamp – weight lifting for one hour a day, four days a week – and it continues to this day. The numbers jumped off my scale like fireworks. With the relevant information I became a whole new person; I saw it was really possible to change.
My kryptonite: A soft pretzel from the St. Jacobs market. I can't leave without one!
This interview has been edited and condensed by Amberly McAteer
Tell us how you lost it: tgam.ca/weightloss
Amberly McAteer