Three years ago, Pasquale “Pat” Brocco was up to 605 pounds, and his doctor said he was looking at some very serious health issues including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
“My stomach was down to my thighs. My chest was hanging down… I was disgusted,” Brocco, who says he was known as “Fat Pat” growing up, told ABC News.
Ready for a change, 31-year-old Brocco threw away all the food in his house and decided that every time he got hungry, he’d walk a mile to a nearby Walmart, buy his food, then walk home. Two miles, three times a day. He says in less than two years, he dropped 200 pounds.
As Good Morning America/Yahoo notes, all the exercise in the world can easily be canceled out if you keep eating tons of junk food each day. Brocco had to change his diet, too.
“Once I figured out dairy was my downfall, I took it out of my diet, and instantly I started losing weight again,” Brocco said.
Here’s what Brocco would eat on a typical day before his weight loss (11,200 calories/day):
• Box of cereal
• 1/2 gallon whole milk
• 1 package peanut butter cups
• 1 candy bar
• 12-inch meatball and cheese submarine sandwich
• 100 fast food chicken nuggets
• 1 fast food apple pie
• 1 fast food milkshake
• 2 liters soda
• 4 doughnuts
And after weight loss (2,250 calories/day):
• 2 gallons water
• About 20 egg whites
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 24 ounces chicken breast
• Green beans
• 6 ounces ground lean bison
• 32 almonds
• 1/2 sweet potato
Brocco now works out at a gym instead of taking his daily walks to Walmart, and he recently underwent plastic surgery to have 30 pounds of excess skin removed.
Pretty inspiring, right?