Nurse, 26, Lost 270 Pounds After Making These 3 Lifestyle Changes

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4 days ago

When his doctor prescribed the first blood pressure medication, Kevin Goode knew his weight probably contributed to it. He was 465 pounds, but he thought his high blood pressure wasn't 'too serious.'
Still, it remained high, and his doctor prescribed him a second drug to try to lower it. Soon after, he learned he had sleep apnea and his A1C was 'shooting upward.' If it didn't lower, Goode would need to add insulin to his growing list of prescriptions.
Then his doctor gave him a warning.
'My doctor told me that I wouldn't live past 40 with this trend,' Goode, 28, a nurse at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, tells TODAY.com. 'That's the moment that everything changed.'
At the time, he was 26 and visited a bariatric surgeon for a consultation. The doctor advised Goode that he needed to lose weight before he qualified for surgery. He immediately headed to the gym and sat on a bench to lift some dumbbells. Soon, he started eating a moderate-fat, low-carbohydrate and high-protein diet.
'(The doctor) wanted me to lose 20 pounds because that would show that I was dedicated enough for surgery,' Goode explains. 'I ended up losing 80 pounds.'
In December 2023, he underwent surgery. As he recovered for six weeks, he was anxious to get back to his exercise routine.
'I was very much like, 'How soon can I get back to the gym?'' he says. 'I was sitting around doing nothing, and I'm not liking it.'
Six weeks later, he was cleared to return to his regular exercise routine. Over time, he shed more weight, reaching 176 pounds.
'My goal from the beginning of this whole journey back in February of 2023 was, bluntly, to win back my life. It was never about the weight, never about the bodybuilding, never about looking good,' he says. 'It was very much about (how) I was told that I wouldn't live past 40, and that didn't sit right with me, and I wanted to get rid of all the diagnoses.'
This year, Goode took his love of weight training to the next level and is working toward becoming a certified personal trainer. One of the trainers in the gym approached Goode and suggested he consider participating in a bodybuilding competition.
'He was like 'Have you ever thought about doing a show?' and I was like, 'No, I just love it here and I come for the health aspect,'' Goode recalls. 'That's when I looked into the transformation competition.'
A transformation competition generally focuses on people who have lost weight. Goode will compete in October in Chicago. As part of his preparation, he has focused more on lifting and less on cardiovascular exercise.
'Instead of doing 45 minutes of strength training and 30 of cardio, it's more like an hour strength training and maybe 15 minutes cardio,' he says.
This caused him to gain some weight, and he's now at 210 pounds, but it's 'more muscle.' His diet has changed, too, and he focuses on counting macronutrients. He still eats a lot of protein, but with lower-fat foods and now incorporates complex carbohydrates into his diet.
Losing fat while gaining muscle has changed his outlook on calories and how important they are for energy, he says.
Since losing weight and transforming his body with lifting, Goode feels he's become 'more emotionally intelligent.'
'I share a lot more about myself,' he says. 'I'm 20 times more confident than I have ever been in my life.'
Ahead, Goode shares what worked for him when it came to transforming his body.
'Nutrition Is Going To Be Your Biggest Thing'
Eating fewer calories than he burned, what's known as a calorie deficit, helped Goode shed the weight.
'Nutrition is going to be your biggest thing,' he says. 'The biggest advice as far as actually losing weight is just (being in) a calorie deficit.'
'Fall in Love with the Small Wins'
Focusing too much on the scale can feel overwhelming. People might think they look great, but the scale shows their weight increased slightly. Instead of focusing on the numbers, Goode urges people to 'fall in love with the small wins.' Goode keeps a running list of his in his notes app.
'I don't have to pick up my foot to tie my shoe. I can just bend over,' he says. 'I always made a joke that laptops are not laptops. There's no way that is sitting on my lap. But now I'm like I got all this room.'
But his 'biggest non-scale victory' has been the difference he's noticed at work.
'Being able to move around (the hospital) room a lot easier, being able to play with the kids without getting out of breath,' he says. 'I enjoy it so much more now because I'm not getting (to) the end of the 12-hour shifts completely, like, dead.'
Find Support
While Goode taught himself how to work out, he hasn't been entirely alone in his process.
'I had the community support from the gym. My mom has been a huge supporter. All the nurses at work, they've been fantastic,' he says. 'I can't go without mentioning my amazing girlfriend. She's just been super supportive.'
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
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