{"id":49216,"date":"2015-01-29T15:08:50","date_gmt":"2015-01-29T20:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/?p=49216"},"modified":"2015-02-27T16:54:08","modified_gmt":"2015-02-27T21:54:08","slug":"amazing-weight-loss-eddie-mccoy-lost-120-pounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/amazing-weight-loss-eddie-mccoy-lost-120-pounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazing Weight Loss: How Eddie McCoy Lost 120 Pounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eddie McCoy, 37,\u00a0Controller of an Industrial Contractor, Villa Rica, GA<\/strong><\/p>\n

How much weight have you lost?<\/strong> 120 lbs<\/p>\n

\"After:<\/a>

After: Eddie McCoy<\/p><\/div>\n

Tell us what the \u201cold you\u201d used to be like:\u00a0<\/strong>I was a guy who grew up being\u00a0competitive, but never good in any sports. I was always on the chubby side and\u00a0played offensive line in high school football. I went to college at Auburn\u00a0University where I worked with the football team and could remain fairly active.\u00a0My senior year, I got a full ride to do video and that involved a lot of late nights\u00a0and eating terrible. That was the point which I started really packing on the weight.<\/p>\n

Once I got out into the real world and started sitting behind a desk, it just got\u00a0worse. I had ballooned up to over 300 lbs. I was not very active and remained that way for several years. I liked to play golf and hunt ducks, but other than that,\u00a0I hated going outside or sitting outside. Living in the South during the summer, I would sweat my butt off because I was so big. I had trouble catching\u00a0my breath if I did anything labor intensive. I just wasn\u2019t in good shape at all.<\/p>\n

What prompted your weight loss?<\/strong> I went to the doctor’s office for a yearly physical, and my blood pressure was really high. High to the point where\u00a0they really were considering putting me on medication to control it. At the time, I\u00a0had two daughters, Emma the oldest at almost three years old, and my youngest daughter\u00a0Abby who had just been born a couple of months earlier. I had a real fear that I\u00a0was going to die of a heart attack and that my daughters were going to grow up\u00a0without a father. It totally scared the daylight out of me. I knew that I had to\u00a0change and change permanently.<\/p>\n

How did you lose the weight?<\/strong> As a person that had struggled with weight for\u00a0most of my life, I had done a couple of \u201cdiets\u201d that would lead me to lose 50 lbs and 70 lbs.\u00a0 But each time I did that, I deprived myself of things that I enjoyed and when I was\u00a0satisfied with my results, I would just cave in and eventually gain all the weight\u00a0back plus some. After being scared by my blood pressure, I drove straight to the 24-hour gym that was just opening and immediately signed up.\u00a0I started the next day by hitting the elliptical machine. I honestly started\u00a0without a real plan, but adopted portion control of the foods I liked. I would not\u00a0give up anything, but I would monitor and log what I would eat. I also became\u00a0one and the same with the Elliptical machine. I would go seven days a week and\u00a0spend an hour on that machine each day. By monitoring my intake and working\u00a0out, I would work my way down. In the end, it was really hard work and busted my butt. The funny thing is that the more I lost, the more my food tastes changed.\u00a0I would not like the \u201ccrap\u201d that I used to eat and I would willingly choose healthier\u00a0options and preferred them.<\/p>\n

\"Before:

Before: Eddie McCoy<\/p><\/div>\n

I eventually added weight lifting to the mix to\u00a0start toning up. When I started lifting, I made a friend that would really change\u00a0the course of my life at the gym. I was a Disney fanatic, and he was too. He also\u00a0liked to run. He challenged me to run a half marathon at Disney,<\/a> a challenge that\u00a0I eventually accepted. I was convinced that I could not run outside because I had\u00a0a bad knee from playing football in high school. I trained exclusively on the elliptical machine and showed up for the 2011 Wine & Dine Half marathon <\/a>not\u00a0knowing exactly what to expect. I ran that race without stopping. I was completely\u00a0dead at the end, but that feeling of crossing that finish line changed me. I knew\u00a0from that point, even though\u00a0 I was so sore I could barely walk, that running was\u00a0going to be a big part of me.<\/p>\n

It turns out that not only did I enjoy it, but I was\u00a0actually pretty good at running. I pushed\u00a0myself hard and made a commitment in\u00a0early January 2012 to run a marathon and qualify for Boston. Later that October\u00a0in 2012, I did it. I qualified for the Boston Marathon. For someone that could\u00a0barely run one hundred yards without being completely gassed, it was an\u00a0amazing turn of events for me. I continue to run six days a week and I never have\u00a0an issue getting out of bed at 3:30 a.m to get the day started. I love it.<\/p>\n

How long did it take?<\/strong> It took me about 16 months to lose all the weight.<\/p>\n

What was the hardest part?<\/strong> The hardest challenge for me was getting up early in\u00a0the morning and making that a routine. If I got up at 4:00 a.m, that would be a\u00a0time that no one would interfere with. It would be my time. Getting adapted to\u00a0that schedule was the hardest part.<\/p>\n

Most fun part of your weight loss?<\/strong> The most enjoyable thing, by far, was doing\u00a0things that I once thought were impossible. There is nothing quite like sticking up\u00a0the middle finger at your old self and saying “look what I just did!”<\/p>\n

Most rewarding experience?<\/strong> The obvious most rewarding experience for me is\u00a0the fact that my girls have never really known the \u201cfat\u201d Eddie version. They still\u00a0cannot believe it is me when they see pictures. Another highly rewarding\u00a0experience was crossing the finish line of the 2014 Boston Marathon. I didn\u2019t\u00a0have nearly the race I had hoped, but the feeling of knowing I earned my way to\u00a0that great race and I will be forever known as a Boston Marathon Finisher is\u00a0something no one can ever take away from me.<\/p>\n

Who\/what inspires you when you feel like quitting?<\/strong> I never feel like quitting. I\u2019m\u00a0always running away from the old person I used to be, so I never think for one\u00a0second about quitting. “Fat Eddie “still scares me and drives me.<\/p>\n

How has this weight loss changed you life?<\/strong> It has changed how I feel about\u00a0things. It has made me determined to be a good role model for my daughters and\u00a0hope to help them live an active lifestyle. From a professional point of view, I\u00a0believe people look at me differently and sadly … with more respect because I am\u00a0not over weight. I could not imagine a day in which I don\u2019t want to be outside doing\u00a0something. The only thing that keeps me from going outside is ice and lightning.\u00a0I love running in extremes and I think others see that and it helps them to get out\u00a0as well.<\/p>\n

Have any advice for others who\u2019d like to lose weight?<\/strong> Don\u2019t diet. It doesn\u2019t work.<\/span>\u00a0It will never work.<\/span> <\/a>The only thing that works is making a lifestyle change.\u00a0Embrace it. Bust your butt and reap the rewards. I\u2019m living proof that you can do\u00a0the impossible.<\/p>\n

Your must-have fitness equipment:<\/strong>\u00a0My running shoes.<\/p>\n

Favorite training song:<\/strong> Depends on when, but right now probably Fall Out Boy\u00a0\u201cUma Thurman\u201d. I go with the times.<\/p>\n

Favorite healthy food:<\/strong> Hmm\u2026I still stink at this as I struggle to eat vegetables.\u00a0Don\u2019t follow my lead on eating healthy. I would have to say grilled chicken!<\/p>\n

Favorite not-so-healthy food:<\/strong> Pizza without a doubt.<\/p>\n

Funniest \/weirdest\/most awkward experience during your weight loss journey:\u00a0<\/strong>When I show up to the start line of 5k & 10k races, I always get someone\u00a0coming up to me after a race and tell me that they just knew they were going to\u00a0beat me … but then I would run away from them. For a faster runner, I\u2019m big\u00a0compared to others that run this same speed.\u00a0 It’s always fun to have someone\u00a0judge me at a start line and come up shocked at the end.<\/p>\n

Future goals:<\/strong> I\u2019ve done Boston and I would honestly like to go back, but the next big challenge for me is taking on the Ironman. I have a goal to do the 2016 Chattanooga Ironman. I have recently bought a bike and I\u2019m about to start\u00a0hitting the pool. It will be a huge test but one I will embrace.<\/p>\n

Eddie, Not only have you accomplished so much yourself, we know how much you positively influence others. Your leadership in running groups via social media is doing so much to help so many people follow in your slim and speedy footsteps. Kudos! Fitz and the entire team at Fitzness.com<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n