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Veteran Thread For those who used to be overweight or underweight, what lead you here?

Veteran Discussion
sometimes i will just be doing my groceries or something, then randomly i'll look around and notice that almost everyone around me is overweight or obese and i am reminded of the sobering reality that it's just getting worse
its Getting worse in Asia because of the growing middle class and the ability to eat out all the time. In India the rural areas where they farm and are poor they have thin people but closer to the cities where people make money they can afford to eat out all the time. That’s the killer plus all the sugary foods.

people need to stop treating food as a treat daily. But that’s hard because of the social dynamics and that food is addicting. So people literally eat their way to diseases

That’s why I do my best to educate people about proper nutrition and that it’s OK to feel hungry every day. Hunger is a good thing not a bad thing it’s not the same thing as starving or being famished.
 
I’m not finding ur handle on there. EF platform was redone a month ago and much of everything was wiped out. so All you have to do is just sign up again all over again and you should be able to use that login or just make something similar
 
I was always a smaller kid. Shorter and quite thin. People always tended to poke fun at my size but I never let it bother me when I was super young. When I was 13 my mom forced me to go to a gym with a personal trainer every Monday Wednesday and Friday. I’ve since tried to find her but had no luck. She had a thick Russian accent and had 3 1st place plaques on the gym wall. Her name was Yvonne. Once summer had passed I stopped going and had zero interest in the gym. Once I got to high school I shot up in height. I was and still am average height but weight didn’t really follow. The comments from friends and family really started to dig at me. 130lb at 5’10” for reference. I started to eat everything in sight, and around the same time I took a weight and conditioning class. I got up to 145lb and started to struggle with depression. High school ended and I tried school and dropped out for a year I sat in my room and played video games with inconsistent jobs for no more than a couple months. I reconnected with a girl I was friends with in high school and I pushed myself to be the best version of myself for her. Stopped smoking, started to eat “better”, and went to the gym 5x a week, after about 5 months I got a job and we started dating. Throughout dating she consumed my life. Work, gym, time with her. I lost all of my friends and had no life outside of work. Going to the gym became super inconsistent and I was in constant waves of going for a couple months and then off for a couple months. After 2 and 1/2 years she dumped me. I became a depressed mess and loss the little progress I had. My wonderful mother quickly made me realize that I didn’t need her. I decided I needed to better myself and not for anyone else but myself. I quit drinking, started going to the gym 5x a week, and eating health. I quickly realized my habits had become very similar to those of 75 hard. I started that and plan to maintain this for as long as I possibly can. Loving everyday and making so much progress. I think my true regret is the lack of self love and self care over the course of my life.
 
I’m not finding ur handle on there. EF platform was redone a month ago and much of everything was wiped out. so All you have to do is just sign up again all over again and you should be able to use that login or just make something similar
I think it has me IP banned. I can’t even browse the site.

Oops! We ran into some problems.​

You have been banned for the following reason: Spam. Please contact the administrator if this was done in error..
 
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I think it has me IP banned. I can’t even browse the site.

Oops! We ran into some problems.​

You have been banned for the following reason: Spam. Please contact the administrator if this was done in error..
Okay let me see if I can get that sorted
 
1) Were you overweight or underweight? - I was in the middle. For me, I was always the shortest kid in the class so I wanted to get "bigger".

2) Did someone say something to spark a change? - I was just motivated to get bigger and was also a huge sports fan growing up and knew what kind of training they did.

3) Was it for health and fitness or primarily for aesthetics? - both

4) If it was someone else who influenced you, was it due to positive or negative reinforcement? - I started training solo at a very young age. Once I met others closer to high school, it was all positive and encouraging.

5) If you started using gear, what lead you to make that decision? - waited a very long time and just wanted to push to the next level. Felt that I was educated enough after being on the forums for many years.

6) If you could go back to the beginning, is there anything you'd do differently? - understand at a younger age that diet is so much more important than anything else.
 
its Getting worse in Asia because of the growing middle class and the ability to eat out all the time. In India the rural areas where they farm and are poor they have thin people but closer to the cities where people make money they can afford to eat out all the time. That’s the killer plus all the sugary foods.

people need to stop treating food as a treat daily. But that’s hard because of the social dynamics and that food is addicting. So people literally eat their way to diseases

That’s why I do my best to educate people about proper nutrition and that it’s OK to feel hungry every day. Hunger is a good thing not a bad thing it’s not the same thing as starving or being famished.
100% agree but most people will label even remotely healthy eating and setting boundaries around it (e.g no thanks, i don't feel comfortable eating chinese takeway with you) to an eating disorder. I have had multiple actual eating disorders so i know what the bloody difference is lol... one is obsessive-compulsive, the other is just having standards for yourself. people will twist it and label it as something unhealthy to make themselves feel better about the fact they are unhealthy. yes for sure hunger is normal even when maintaining weight, it's just a signal that says "i need some food now". but many people mistake the feeling of appetite for hunger. even thirst for hunger.
 
I was always a smaller kid. Shorter and quite thin. People always tended to poke fun at my size but I never let it bother me when I was super young. When I was 13 my mom forced me to go to a gym with a personal trainer every Monday Wednesday and Friday. I’ve since tried to find her but had no luck. She had a thick Russian accent and had 3 1st place plaques on the gym wall. Her name was Yvonne. Once summer had passed I stopped going and had zero interest in the gym. Once I got to high school I shot up in height. I was and still am average height but weight didn’t really follow. The comments from friends and family really started to dig at me. 130lb at 5’10” for reference. I started to eat everything in sight, and around the same time I took a weight and conditioning class. I got up to 145lb and started to struggle with depression. High school ended and I tried school and dropped out for a year I sat in my room and played video games with inconsistent jobs for no more than a couple months. I reconnected with a girl I was friends with in high school and I pushed myself to be the best version of myself for her. Stopped smoking, started to eat “better”, and went to the gym 5x a week, after about 5 months I got a job and we started dating. Throughout dating she consumed my life. Work, gym, time with her. I lost all of my friends and had no life outside of work. Going to the gym became super inconsistent and I was in constant waves of going for a couple months and then off for a couple months. After 2 and 1/2 years she dumped me. I became a depressed mess and loss the little progress I had. My wonderful mother quickly made me realize that I didn’t need her. I decided I needed to better myself and not for anyone else but myself. I quit drinking, started going to the gym 5x a week, and eating health. I quickly realized my habits had become very similar to those of 75 hard. I started that and plan to maintain this for as long as I possibly can. Loving everyday and making so much progress. I think my true regret is the lack of self love and self care over the course of my life.
that's really great you decided to bounce back after a hard time instead of allow yourself to dwell in it. And it sounds like you have a very supportive mum too!
 
1) Were you overweight or underweight? - I was in the middle. For me, I was always the shortest kid in the class so I wanted to get "bigger".

2) Did someone say something to spark a change? - I was just motivated to get bigger and was also a huge sports fan growing up and knew what kind of training they did.

3) Was it for health and fitness or primarily for aesthetics? - both

4) If it was someone else who influenced you, was it due to positive or negative reinforcement? - I started training solo at a very young age. Once I met others closer to high school, it was all positive and encouraging.

5) If you started using gear, what lead you to make that decision? - waited a very long time and just wanted to push to the next level. Felt that I was educated enough after being on the forums for many years.

6) If you could go back to the beginning, is there anything you'd do differently? - understand at a younger age that diet is so much more important than anything else.
sounds like you were pretty smart about your journey, props to you!
 
i really love this response, thanks dylan. Yes it's true you can't out-exercise a bad diet, it's hard hearing about stories from people who grew up overweight/obese eating foods like that and it seems they always blame themselves for it. At the end of the day it is down to the parents to educate their children and provide them with decent food. hit home when you mentioned the first time it really hit you... i remember for me i was probably 5 years old when i remember first crying about being "fat" and hating my tummy (i was actually never fat as a child, i was on the thinner side) a lot of it was due to my mother's anorexia and bulimia and those behaviours being normalized, then i developed multiple eating disorders by the time i was 13-14. body dysmorphia is very hard to deal with because it completely distorts reality, it's like you don't even know what you look like anymore because the image is ever-changing. it's bizzare i've never thought to pray about it i might start doing that actually, most of the time i just refuse to look in the mirror and wear huge clothes on bad days. it's like i've just accepted it.
i'm glad your experience has at least shaped you in some way positively, your story definitely has the potential to reach many young people, especially young men. it's incredibly important that they know they aren't alone because men with eating disorders and body dysmorphia are often even more lonely than women who struggle with the same, men's mental health in general isn't taken seriously
Its something ive never been comfortable talking about until i realized that i was actually being selfish by not sharing it because of how it could help others.. im glad you made this post and you are going to be a real asset here... i can already see that
 
sometimes i will just be doing my groceries or something, then randomly i'll look around and notice that almost everyone around me is overweight or obese and i am reminded of the sobering reality that it's just getting worse
It's getting that way here. Older people look more in shape than the younger ones.

I also did a voluntary Youth Worker role (qualified for that too) and the youth social worker had stats on poor dental health among kids for who both parents worked. It was super common to have ready meals vs any kind of proper home cooking and said meals have glucose syrup in them etc etc
 
100% agree but most people will label even remotely healthy eating and setting boundaries around it (e.g no thanks, i don't feel comfortable eating chinese takeway with you) to an eating disorder. I have had multiple actual eating disorders so i know what the bloody difference is lol... one is obsessive-compulsive, the other is just having standards for yourself. people will twist it and label it as something unhealthy to make themselves feel better about the fact they are unhealthy. yes for sure hunger is normal even when maintaining weight, it's just a signal that says "i need some food now". but many people mistake the feeling of appetite for hunger. even thirst for hunger.
I must have outgrown the 'giving a f**k what others think some years ago. That and anyone who knows me knows what the deal is.
 
Its something ive never been comfortable talking about until i realized that i was actually being selfish by not sharing it because of how it could help others.. im glad you made this post and you are going to be a real asset here... i can already see that
i'm glad you think so ☺️ evo is an awesome community
 
It's getting that way here. Older people look more in shape than the younger ones.

I also did a voluntary Youth Worker role (qualified for that too) and the youth social worker had stats on poor dental health among kids for who both parents worked. It was super common to have ready meals vs any kind of proper home cooking and said meals have glucose syrup in them etc etc
for sure, i grew up poor didn't have access to good food, neglectful mother, never took care of my dental hygiene as a child because i was never told to, since i was little i had to make most of my food myself so i just has easy-mac and powder mash potato everyday lol. i'm lucky to still have decent looking teeth but i've had to get a lot of fillings etc because of it.
 
I was the skinny guy that was good at most all sports just very athletic. After I had kids and was out of the sports side for a bit I picked this up and haven’t looked back
 
I was the skinny guy that was good at most all sports just very athletic. After I had kids and was out of the sports side for a bit I picked this up and haven’t looked back
that's great, lifting seems to be pretty popular for people who used to do a lot of sport or even for retired athletes
 
I would say getting into sports at a young age eventually drove me into the weight room, I was just an average teen not fat yet not under weight, my high-school strength coach who was a very accomplished high-school and D1 college football athlete is what really got me serious into weights and training. Two years into training I went from no deadlift into a 505lb Deadlift with his training and guidance.

I stopped after high-school then got into semi pro american football in my early 20s and my journey started back up, I played football till I was 30 years of age I played outside linebacker and middle linebacker also did kick punt and special teams I rarely left the field lol.

Bodybuilding has always been my true love and passion so I've been hardcore gym rat since my 20s I never thought I could amount to much, I have decent genetics, then one day I found this place and I got to know alot of the guys here and they've been so helpful and helping me realize I can chase my vison and possibly do something within the world of bodybuilding and fitness even if it's small it's something I can say I did it and had a whole community behind me helping me reach it.

Gearhead who is on here has helped me more than anyone will ever know, years ago I took a break from the message boards and said I would return when I got my head clear as i hit a bad depression, he welcomed me back with open arms when I was ready and has helped me so much and teaching me constantly, I take up so much of that poor guys time yet he remains a class act and a true brother and friend in the Iron brotherhood, if it is one person who always believed and believes in me it is him and he helped me realize I could reach my full potential and go for my dream and vision, as well as the entire community here is amazing and I am grateful for everyone in it.

I can ask anyone for help here and no matter what they get back with u and help you fully, this is a beautiful place that i love being part of! 💪 people truly want to see you succeed here and it's rare having that these days so it is important I also help always and give back to the best of my ability.

My favorite all time body builder is Frank Zane and I love the shredded look the best.

Funny enough when I started training I was 240lbs roughly the one photo I was 195lbs the other photo I was 215lbs

I will show the photo progression when i achieved the best shape i had ever been in. when I first started working out looking pretty average and two photos show half way progress and final progress years apart from one another.
1000001316.jpg
 
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I would say getting into sports at a young age eventually drove me into the weight room, I was just an average teen not fat yet not under weight, my high-school strength coach who was a very accomplished high-school and D1 college football athlete is what really got me serious into weights and training. Two years into training I went from no deadlift into a 505lb Deadlift with his training and guidance.

I stopped after high-school then got into semi pro american football in my early 20s and my journey started back up, I played football till I was 30 years of age I played outside linebacker and middle linebacker also did kick punt and special teams I rarely left the field lol.

Bodybuilding has always been my true love and passion so I've been hardcore gym rat since my 20s I never thought I could amount to much, I have decent genetics, then one day I found this place and I got to know alot of the guys here and they've been so helpful and helping me realize I can chase my vison and possibly do something within the world of bodybuilding and fitness even if it's small it's something I can say I did it and had a whole community behind me helping me reach it.

Gearhead who is on here has helped me more than anyone will ever know, years ago I took a break from the message boards and said I would return when I got my head clear as i hit a bad depression, he welcomed me back with open arms when I was ready and has helped me so much and teaching me constantly, I take up so much of that poor guys time yet he remains a class act and a true brother and friend in the Iron brotherhood, if it is one person who always believed and believes in me it is him and he helped me realize I could reach my full potential and go for my dream and vision, as well as the entire community here is amazing and I am grateful for everyone in it.

I can ask anyone for help here and no matter what they get back with u and help you fully, this is a beautiful place that i love being part of! 💪 people truly want to see you succeed here and it's rare having that these days so it is important I also help always and give back to the best of my ability.

My favorite all time body builder is Frank Zane and I love the shredded look the best.

Funny enough when I started training I was 240lbs roughly the one photo I was 195lbs the other photo I was 215lbs

I will show the photo progression when i achieved the best shape i had ever been in. when I first started working out looking pretty average and two photos show half way progress and final progress years apart from one another. View attachment 20152
Amazing response and transformation! Thank you for sharing your journey with everyone on here. Yes i agree evo is an incredibly supportive community, I love that everyone always has your back when you're going through a tough time. Best of luck on your journey in bodybuilding, you seem to really have the drive and passion for it!
 
Amazing response and transformation! Thank you for sharing your journey with everyone on here. Yes i agree evo is an incredibly supportive community, I love that everyone always has your back when you're going through a tough time. Best of luck on your journey in bodybuilding, you seem to really have the drive and passion for it!
No problem at all I enjoy that you asked questions like this, it's almost like a meet and greet in a way as it opens the door for conversations and for everyone getting to know everyone a little better I feel it can really help drive more open dialog and people becoming friends 😀
 
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