- Name: Kyle Klobe (ask him anything on Talk)
- Height: 5’11” (180.3 cm)
- Job: Recovery Coach. I work in the field of substance abuse. I work with parents when their kids have been removed from the home. We try to get them the help that they need so they are able to get their kids back into their custody.
- Age: 30
- Location: Granite City, Illinois
- Highest weight: 425 lbs (192.1 kg)
- Lowest weight: 241 lbs (109.3 kg)
Kyle – start off by giving us a bit of history about you and weight – have you always been bigger?
I have been heavy for quite some time. I knew I needed to lose weight, but never was able to stick with any kind of diet or exercise regimen. I would go for a few weeks here and there and then I would get tired of working out.
Did it always bother you being overweight?
I have always had a good sense of humour, so I was able to laugh off a lot of things on the outside, but I really wasn’t very happy with the person I was on the inside. It would sometimes deter me from going to sporting events due to me being too big to sit in the seats. I would always be too self-conscious to take my shirt off and things like that. I had a very low level of confidence when it came to approaching women and would often sacrifice my feelings and wants/needs to keep a girl happy because I didn’t feel like I deserved enough to have a girlfriend. Buying clothes at a big and tall store was always uncomfortable and somewhat embarrassing. I found a lot of comfort in food. It never judged me. It wasn’t ever mean to me or rude to me. It was always there for me.
So what made you want to change? Where did the initial motivation come from?
Seeing so many people close to me make changes and better themselves got me into the right mind frame to get myself into a gym, and get a diet that I was comfortable with and that started producing positive results. In November 2012, I decided that I had had enough of the way that I was living my life. That was around the time that I was at my peak weight. Since that time, I have not looked back and have made steady progress and have lost 184 pounds to get to my low weight of 241 pounds.
So we all know that exercise is just a small part of the battle, what eating plan did you follow?
In February 2013 I did WeightWatchers with a few friends. I started that program at 369 pounds. I did really well with it for the first six months and lost a fair amount of weight on it. I had already lost a little bit of weight before joining the program. I lost around 70 or so pounds during the time I did WeightWatchers. Most recently, I started a Biggest Loser contest on January 2nd, 2015 that ran through March 28th, 2015. I started that contest at 295 pounds and by the time it was completed I was at 241 pounds.
What made it different from the times before?
As I started to see progress it got me wanting to learn more and more about what my body was going through, so I got back into school and am studying exercise physiology in graduate school. This helps me recognise what is going on in my body and keeps me around a lot of like-minded people. I also really fell in love with going to the gym every day and decided that I had to stick with a routine, or else I would end up back in a place that I don’t want to ever get to again. As far as the gym goes, it helped a lot to have people with me in the gym to help keep me accountable and to make sure I went every day.
What were the changes that made the most difference do you think?
Cutting out soda was a huge deal. I used to drink numerous sodas throughout the day and rarely drank water. Making the choice to drink at least a gallon of water a day was a huge key in starting my process. I also made myself get to the gym at least 5-6 days a week every week. As I have gone on in this journey, I have learned to alter routines and do things so that my body is able to perform and stay away from injuries.
It’s amazing isn’t it what a big difference just stopping drinking calories can make isn’t it. I think there are still a huge number of guys out there who don’t fully understand that they’re taking in a huge amount of calories through fizzy drinks. What else were you eating in a day?
Junk food. I don’t think there was any typical thing I would eat, but very rarely was it healthy. I ate fast food a lot, and with that came the 44 oz. sodas and french fries and all of that. Potato chips, candy, and so it goes on!
Has it been straight forward?
As is the case with any weight loss regimen or journey to the extent I have been on, there will always be plateaus. I have always been a competitive person, so when I would hit plateaus, I would get really upset and almost take it personally in a way. With WeightWatchers, we weighed ourselves every week and if there was a week I didn’t lose any weight, I would get very frustrated. But instead of letting it get me down, I set it as a challenge to myself to work harder. There has been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears shed throughout the process, but to say that I haven’t enjoyed every minute of it would be a lie. I don’t have anything against people who lost weight via surgery, but I feel like if I would have done it that way, I wouldn’t be nearly as proud of myself as I am now.
How has life changed now you’ve lost the weight?
I have so much more confidence. I, along with many others, notice that I smile a lot more now than I ever used to. I am able to approach people and not wonder or care whether or not they are judging me for something. I am able to buy clothes without going into a big and tall section or store. I went from 4XL shirts to XL in some. I went from a size 54 waist all the way down to a 38. Some 36s, but mostly 38s! I am just overall more happy about who I am and the choices I have made to make me the person I am today.
What surprised you about losing weight?
What surprised me the most about the whole process is how much I really enjoy exercising. I always hated going to the gym. It was always easier for me to sit and watch TV for those couple hours. I have done a 6k race and have competed in 40 flight stair climbs. I look forward to going to the gym every day that I don’t have school. I think seeing some progress somewhat fueled my fire and got me to want to keep going. Hearing the compliments daily from people I went to high school with and things like that was also helpful to keeping me going over the past few years.
What one law would you bring in to help others who are obese?
I have never thought about this before. I know that here in America, changes have been made in some public schools that have taken soda out of vending machines in order to help kids drink more water and take in fewer calories and sugars. One thing I would like to see is for healthier food to be less expensive than what it is. It is so much easier and more cost efficient for people to buy unhealthy food and junk food than it is to buy wholesome and nutritional food.
What three pieces of advice do you give to guys who ask you how you did it?
1.) It is a long process. I did not gain all of my weight in one night and it surely was not going to come off in a night either.
2.) It doesn’t have to be a terrible experience. Losing weight and exercising can be really fun if you make it that way.
3.) It will without a doubt make you a happier person when it’s all said and done. I spent so much of my life being unhappy with who I was. After losing weight and seeing how much happier I was, I could not imagine going back to that point ever again.
What do you think of Kyle’s story? Are you inspired? If you’re thinking about starting Weight Watchers, or you just want some advice about getting your own diet in line, as with all our Amazing Losers and their weight loss before and after stories, you can find Kyle on Talk.
