An Austin man has revealed how his struggle with obesity spiraled so far out of control that he couldn’t even lift himself off of the couch.
Kyle Brown-Latham’s, 33, weight issues came to a head two years ago when he found himself so short of breath that he couldn’t finish mowing the lawn; that’s when he decided to end his struggle with obesity, fatigue, self consciousness and fibromyalgia – a condition that causes crippling pain along the body – and resolved to hit the gym.
But the process that saw him half his weight from a shocking 400lbs to a much healthier 208lbs, was much more difficult that it sounds. His lifestyle U-turn cut out sugar and gluten and required the unfit Texan to hit the gym six times a week. But Kyle – a self described perfectionist – pushed himself and is now reaping the rewards of an eye-popping Adonis body.
Spot the difference! Kyle Brown-Latham’s, 33, weight was spiraling out of control at a whopping 400lbs, but today he is a completely different vision at a trim 208lbs
Flexin’! The journey was hard for the Austin, Texas, man who halved his size in just two years, pictured above on Instagram post flaunting his new toned body
Feeling himself! The fitness fanatic takes to social media to share images of his new Adonis physique and even some gym inspirational workout videos to encourage his followers
Today Kyle is a vision straight from a bodybuilding competition, with his stomach toned, biceps massive, and muscles protruding from every inch of his figure. On his Instagram he shares photos of his proud new body and at first glance covered and tattoos and donning a husky beard, Kyle looks like a regular ab-crunching, weight-lifting fitness star.
But it looked drastically different two years ago. Kyle revealed his weight gain started to spiral out of control after he was bedridden after a knee surgery just three years ago.
The serious knee-injury required 12 surgical operations to heal and not only hampered his walking, but also twisted his spine, leaving his bedridden for months. During his dark, healing time, he turned to food for comfort.
‘Being restricted to my bed for months and the lack of self-discipline, I just ate my feelings and had given up. I had just eaten myself into a hole,’ Kyle revealed.
‘I was barely getting from point A to point B and stopping for food along the way. I hated myself but I wouldn’t do anything about it. Being that big involved a lot of pain especially because of my injuries,’ he added.
Not only was he addicted to food, he struggled with daily physical activities such as walking and even getting off the couch without the help of his husband John, and suffered from painful fibromyalgia that started in 2015.
‘I would have to rock my body a couple of times to even get up off the couch and if I was sitting on the floor or somewhere where I couldn’t push up or grab on to something, I would have the assistance of my husband or somebody else to help me up,’ Kyle confessed.
‘Anywhere we would go; the grocery store, out to eat, I would have to stop periodically because I was too tired and in pain then it just became the norm,’ he added.
Major gains! Kyle’s greatest achievement, however, is his rise in self confidence since working out, a major shift from his prior clouded self esteem where he called himself a ‘loser’
Before and after: Kyle is unrecognizable with a trim face, hefty biceps and a toned tummy
Dramatic transformation: A major diet change where Kyle cut sugar and gluten and a rigorous exercise routine that included hitting the gym five, six times a week were his keys to success
The combination of little exercise and an unhealthy diet caused the young man to tip the weight scales – although he wasn’t sure how much he actually weighed because the number was so high, it didn’t actually register on the scale.
‘I know I was over 392lbs because I went to weigh myself on our scale but it wouldn’t register my weight and I was too ashamed to seek out a scale that actually would,’ Kyle said.
‘I was outside mowing the backyard and having to stop after each pass to stretch my back by sitting down for relief because I was so exhausted after only a 50ft walk behind the mower,’ he added.
‘That’s when everything hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn’t ready to be done. I wasn’t ready to just let this take over,’ he explained on the moment that changed his life.
And this time, wouldn’t be like the others. Kyle confessed that in the past he’s tried a variety of diets, none of which stuck and only saw eventual fluctuations in his weight.
‘I fought with extreme yo-yo diets all my life; I would lose some weight and I would slim down for a while, but once I stopped taking the pills or starving myself, I would gain it all back and then some,’ he explained.
What followed after much research was a diet that completely cut out gluten and sugar, which he learned was the second-most inflammatory substance he could consume. He swapped those fatty foods for a nutritional protein-rich diet with complex carbohydrates. He also began to workout five to six days a week, a dramatic jump from his couch potato lifestyle.
‘I had an epiphany. I have always been a control freak but the one single thing that I had complete control over I wasn’t doing anything about,’ he said.
Always by his side: Kyle (left) shares that at times he was so heavy he couldn’t get off of the couch on his own without the help of his husband John (right), pictured together at the beach
Beach bum! The social media star has always loved the sun, but now bares it all with new found confidence with his tight and toned physique
Bedridden: He revealed that the culprit for his massive weight gain was a spine and knee injury that left him in bed for months unable to move around, and where he took to food for comfort
‘My research opened my eyes to information that I had never know in my 30 years on this earth. Everything I thought I knew about food was wrong,’ he shared on his learning journey.
Soon after hitting the gym to balance cardio and weight lifting workouts, Kyle shed a whopping 192lbs to create his current bodybuilder figure that he can’t help but flaunt on his social media feeds with drastic side-by-side contrasts of his old physique.
His boost in self confidence is a major contrast from his prior gutted esteem issues.
‘People just stared at me like I was a loser and I let myself believe that I was as well,’ he revealed.
‘Movie theater seats were even getting too small for me. I was so unhappy and hated myself so much for what I had done to myself but I still only tried to find comfort in food.
‘I realized that nothing in my life was changing because I kept doing the same things and making excuses around it, just hoping something would change,’ he added.
And changes he indeed made.
‘I have literally lost half of myself by making these lifestyle changes. It was small steps toward a big goal and it all started with my mindset,’ Kyle said.
Old skin: In 2015, Kyle felt fatigue and pain after minimal exercise in his 400lbs figure (above)
All smiles! Now 192lbs slimmer, Kyle’s smile is distinctly brighter and his body shockingly trim
Pedal to the metal: He continues to hit the gym multiple times a week and shares his gains with his followers hoping his life story can be inspiration to others suffering with fatigue and obesity
‘It is painful and hard at times but the pay-off will be that I don’t have more issues down the road. Today I don’t have the issues I did back then,’ he shared.
And now Kyle is giving back documenting his fitness journey on Instagram and sharing his strides with his 2,000 followers with the message that anything can happen, even shaving half your weight in just two years.
‘I have the energy and strength to go do stuff and live in the moment. I don’t have the weight holding me back and now with my fitness I can do things I would never have dreamed of,’ Kyle exclaimed.
‘I am so blessed for being able to have come this far and want to share this gift with everyone. I want everyone to feel this good,’ he added.
Online he hopes his videos of his weight routines and pictures of his gains will inspires others who suffer with self esteem and obesity issues, to feel they too can make great strides with a little determination.
‘If I can help show just one person that they aren’t done and that they can change their lives, this will make it that much better,’ he shared.
‘Nothing gives me more joy than to know that others out there are being inspired to make a personal change because they saw what I have done,’ Kyle added.