- Name: Terrell Clemens
- Job: Tyre technician
- Height: 6′ (182.9 cm)
- Age: 26
- Location: Philadephia
- Highest weight: 280 lbs (127 kg)
- Lowest weight: 180 lbs (81.6 kg)
Like a lot of Amazing Losers, your story started out with a negative, which you managed to turn into a positive. What happened?
Ultimately, my weight loss was for a girl. The mother of my only child to be specific. She broke up with me a year after my son was born, which was unrelated to my weight. So it started out for her, but it became mostly about myself. You should know that I am probably the laziest, least motivated, instant gratification loving person in the world and if I can lose weight, anyone can. Seriously. 
Had you always been bigger?
Since childhood. My entire family is overweight except my aunt. In a lot of small ways, she helped me understand that being fat isn’t genetic, it’s bad eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Now that I think about it, realising that my obesity was my own fault is what helped me turn it around.
That’s a great motivation – what was your eating like when you were bigger?
When I was super fat? I ate everything. TV dinners, chicken nuggets, chocolate candy bars of all varieties, potato chips, General Tso’s chicken, pizza, stromboli. Basically stuff I see as poison nowadays. These days, I typically eat the same thing every day until I get sick of it. Right now I’m eating a four egg onion and cheese omelette, turkey sausage and a serving of grits for breakfast which is around 700 calories. Then I have Caesar salad for lunch, again around 700 calories, or 800 if I opt for croutons and chicken breast, brown rice and asparagus for dinner, about 500 calories if I eat it. I usually lose my appetite after an intense workout and I’ll have a protein shake instead.
What was your experience of being bigger?
So many bad things. Everything was laboured, my girlfriends would dump me because I was terrible in bed because I’d get winded rather quick and sweat all over them! I got doubled-over winded just running twenty feet. It goes without saying that I hated the way I looked. After I went back to school, I lost about thirty pounds without trying, so I decided to actually make an effort. Progress was slow and I was losing my motivation.
Then, a combination of doing the Philly naked bike ride and Instagram ignited a fire in me. Like, here I am all doughy and covered in stretch marks next to my bro Kevin who is ripped to shreds. Kevin barely speaks English, has a full time job and he dresses little dogs in dresses for shows. What’s my excuse? Why can’t I look like Kevin? Then I get on instagram and look at Ulisses Jr and found out body building wasn’t ALWAYS his job. He looked like that when he had a regular 9-5! It’s not unobtainable. I can do it.
So what changes did you make?
First all I did was to start lifting weights and to bike everywhere I went. Once I quit smoking, I got really serious and started running. I still eat whatever I want, but I never go over 2,000 calories per day and I never, ever skip breakfast.
There was a long plateau in the picture you can see below from September 2014. But it was no one’s fault but my own. I was lifting weights once or twice a week and still eating crap like ice cream and Chinese takeout once a week probably. I just looked in the mirror, picked up my gut and stopped kidding myself.
How has life changed now you’ve lost the weight?
In SO MANY WAYS, OH MY GOD! I’m way more confident, and more popular with the ladies. I thought casual sex was just a TV thing, but it’s not! Attractive women that find you attractive will tell you and do something about it! It’s so crazy!
And, less exciting, my job is way easier. I install and sell tires. It’s not super easy but it’s a hell of a lot easier than when I first started. Throwing around 50-60 pound truck tires like it’s nothing, mounting rims that are 100 lbs easily. I don’t even wake up sore anymore.
Also, I feel like I’m sharper. Since I started eating clean and adding running to my lifting I feel like my memory is better and my mind is sharper. It could be the B vitamins I take but I have a feeling that my body’s health is having a positive effect on my mental health.
It’s surprised me just how effortless everything is now. A few years ago, I envied my son’s energy at the playground. Now I’m a bit worried because he’s six-years-old and can barely keep up with me! I raced him to the park the other day and the little guy had to sit on the bench and catch his breath. And another thing, after doing it a while, working out feels so good. You get that pump and that runner’s high, ooh God! You feel like you can punch Zeus in the face and make him cry.
Who was there with you on the journey?
My mom and aunt helped me some, but my co-worker Mike helped the most I’d say. We change into our uniforms in front of one another at work and Mike made a point of telling me how fat I am! Working out with him too. He taught me new workouts and helped me push past plateaus. He showed me how much of a pussy I really was and got me to lift heavier on my own. He doesn’t approve of my cardio but he’s super strong and my goal is aesthetics, not to lift cars with ease like him. My big hindrance had to be my ex. She was a great cook and in great shape but she would binge a lot and drink a lot and I was right there with her because if I didn’t partake, she’d freak out. Glad I cut that off.
What law would you pass to help other people to lose weight?
If you are visibly over a healthy BMI, fast food places cannot serve you. Just like if you go to a bar visibly intoxicated, they can’t serve you.
