The fitness trainer's
journey had come to an end after successfully losing more than 70 pounds
-- six months after he purposely gained the same amount.
"Like it never happened," host George Stephanopoulos said.
"Kind of," Manning said.
Both Manning and his wife, Lynn, can attest that a lot actually has
changed in the past year. While Manning's body may have returned to its
six-pack heydays, his mind, in many ways, has not.
Always a fitness junkie,
staying in shape comes naturally for Manning. He's that guy at the gym
the rest of us love to hate, the one who likes to use his biceps for
pumping iron instead of changing channels, and who prefers sucking down a
spinach shake to indulging in a brownie sundae.
Trainer gains 70 lbs on purpose
Because of that, Manning
was a "judgmental" trainer, his wife says. "He would look at someone who
was overweight and say, 'They must really be lazy.'
"I was convinced people used genetics or similar excuses as a crutch," Manning writes in his new book, "Fit2Fat2Fit." "You either wanted to be healthy or you didn't."
That point of view wasn't
helping Manning help his clients. When he failed yet again to push
someone over to the light side, he knew something was wrong. In order to
better understand the struggles his clients were facing, he had to face
them himself.
He gave up the gym and
started consuming junk food, fast food and soda. In just six months, he
went from 193 pounds with a 34-inch waist to 265 pounds with a 48-inch
waist.
Lynn saw the difference
in her husband in less time than that. He became lethargic, stopped
helping around the house and was less than eager to play with their
2-year-old daughter.
"He was so insecure -- saying 'I'm so fat. I look so horrible,' constantly complaining about how he looks," she said.
Manning says he didn't
realize the effects of his weight gain would be more than physical. It
altered his relationships and his self-confidence.
Returning to the gym
after the Fit2Fat portion of his journey made him nervous. The fact that
he had to do push-ups on his knees was almost humiliating.
"The biggest thing [I
learned] is that it's not just about the physical. It's not just about
the meal plan and the workouts and those things. The key is the mental
and the emotional issues. I realized those issues are real."
Of course, Manning had
his critics. Experts said that his stunt was dangerous. His blood
pressure and cholesterol shot up with such dramatic weight gain. But
Manning has no regrets. The followers on his website have encouraged him
with their own tales of weight loss.
"We see the success
stories of people losing all this weight, but it's more common now," he
says. "To see someone do it in reverse on purpose -- it's mind blowing. A
balance of craziness and inspiration.
Manning suffered through
soda deprivation headaches and food cravings on his way back to fit.
The journey was easier for him than for most, he'll admit, but he's
eager now to provide tips for others to follow in his footsteps.
Lynn is just glad to
have her husband back, maybe a bit better than he was before. Before
Fit2Fat2Fit, the self-described foodie wife would make treats, and
Manning wouldn't even look at them.
"Now he craves them," she says with a laugh. "It might be cruel, but I like that. I like that he's humanized."
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