Kevin Marimoto is someone that I met online. As soon as I saw his pictures, I knew he was going to be an inspiration. Kevin is very dedicated to his nutritional and fitness goals, but only two years ago he looked like a completely different person. I never would have recognized him.

I’ll let him speak for himself.

KEVIN’S STORY

My name is Kevin. Today I am 39 years old. I am 5’4 and weigh 150 lbs at 17% body fat. But my story begins in 2008 when I first joined the gym and had my first official weigh-in. I weighed 220 lbs with 36% body fat.

I started my weight loss and fitness journey soon after I came home from a 2008 vacation in California. I was going over my vacation pictures and I did not like the person I saw. I saw a man wearing a 3XL shirt that was still too tight on him. My back would hurt just from tying my shoes. I told myself: I need to do this. I need to get healthy.

In August 2008 I signed up at 24 hr fitness club and hired a personal trainer. My first week was brutal, but I lost 9 lbs of water weight. The feeling made me so happy that I kept pushing myself. I took my diet and workouts very seriously.

I started to overcome a lot of obstacles from my past, like trying to train with tendinitis on both ankles from a childhood football injury that has haunted me my whole life. At first I couldn’t walk a mile without my ankles feeling sore. My trainer put me on a low impact cardio and strengthening routine, and now I’m happy to say that I can run on a treadmill for three miles straight at speed of seven.

Another obstacle was my battle with alcoholism. I started to drink heavily in college and beer began to consume my life. Today I am alcohol free because I follow a meal plan and I have learned that my beers were empty calories.

In 2008 I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I refused to wear the mask so that I would be motivated to train very hard and lose weight. That same year I won the Seattle 24 Hour Fitness Biggest Loser Contest, did two walks for MS, and one stair climb up the Columbia Tower for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. My next walk is for Alzheimer’s disease.

There have been many days I wake up thinking, “Man I’m not feeling it today. Maybe I should skip the gym…”, but then I remember all the things I have mentioned above.

My basic message is that it’s never too late to start. I was 37 and my goal is to be fit by age 40. I motivate myself every morning by looking at my old fat pictures and telling myself: Never again Kevin.

BEFORE

AFTER