No matter how you slice it, Jose Matos’s diet was a mess.
The father of two often gravitated to salty, frozen and processed foods, typically eating three burgers, large fries and a giant soda for one meal.
Pizza rolls were his “biggest downfall” — he could polish off a bag in one sitting. He estimated he consumed about 6,000 calories a day.
It wasn’t until he developed Bell’s palsy, a mysterious neurological condition that causes half the face to seemingly droop, that Matos got serious about diet and exercise.
He dropped from 525 pounds to 375 pounds, losing his need for Type 2 diabetes and blood pressure medication in the process. The Bell’s palsy also completely resolved.
“The Bell’s palsy actually helped give me the mental fortitude to be like, enough is enough,” Matos, 32, told TODAY.com this week.
The marketer from Utah credits his success to prioritizing protein, limiting cravings, formulating an exercise philosophy and leaning on a “huge” support system. He plans to crack on to reach his goal weight of 240 pounds.
Focus on protein
Matos preps lunches with his wife on Sundays, choosing chicken, steak and fish over unhealthy junk foods.
Protein takes longer to digest than other nutrients, so it can help you feel fuller. It can also help preserve lean muscle mass — muscle burns more calories than fat.
The Recommended Dietary Allowance is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight — or 0.36 grams per pound. For a 200-pound person, that’s 72 grams of protein daily.
Limit cravings
Matos decided to get rid of his food triggers, especially quesadillas.
“I couldn’t have cheese in the house, I couldn’t have tortillas in the house, because I would eat them,” Matos told TODAY.com.
He also avoided dining out, drinking sodas and for the most part, eating pizza rolls.
If he desires them, he only grabs one.
Forge a support system
Matos praises his family and colleagues, particularly his co-worker and her trainer husband, for standing by him through his weight loss journey.
“They were instrumental in teaching me that this isn’t just a sprint, it’s not an overnight cure. It’s a lifetime. It’s creating lifelong habits,” Matos gushed to TODAY.com. “My support system has been huge for me.”
Maintain an exercise philosophy
The training tips were extremely helpful for Matos.
He started exercising by walking for half an hour. Then he added squats to his regimen, working his way up to push-pull workouts at the gym followed by 30 minutes of cardio on a treadmill or elliptical machine.
He also adopted an exercise mantra: “I know that I have to do it and that I want to do it and I get to do it.”
“I do it for the guy who felt like the world was crumbling around his feet because I don’t ever want to go back there again,” Matos admitted to TODAY.com. “That’s when I’m like, ‘Alright, let’s go.’”