This Guy Posted Before and After Photos and the Internet Responded Unexpectedly
By:
There is a sense of pride that comes from significant weight loss — especially after suffering from body image and/or health issues.
A 30-year-old man named Gabriel from north Florida is living proof of this.
At his heaviest in high school, Gabriel weighed 330 pounds, but after starting a consistent exercise regimen and drastically shifting his diet in 2013, he dropped 160 pounds from his heaviest weight. Gabriel shared a before and after photo of this weight loss on Reddit and Imgur:
Though he received lots of supportive remarks from strangers, some used his accomplishment to make mean-spirited and crude jokes about him.
Reddit - reddit.com
Reddit - reddit.com
Reddit - reddit.com
Reddit - reddit.com
Reddit - reddit.com
Reddit - reddit.com
Reddit - reddit.com
Imgur - imgur.com
Imgur - imgur.com
Imgur - imgur.com
Imgur - imgur.com
Gabriel, who asked ATTN: not to share his full name, wrote in an email that he expected to receive some digs for his photos but that he was "caught off guard" by the volume of negative messages he received.
"When you post a picture like that anywhere on the internet, there is bound to be some negative backlash," he told ATTN:. "The quantity of of negative comments did catch me off guard. Although I took them all with a grain of salt, and most of them were damn entertaining. 'Clumsy sidekick to main villain' was my favorite."
He added that he shared the image on social media to show how far he has come and encourage others to lose weight if that's what they want.
Other commenters, in fact, wrote that his image inspired them to make healthy changes in their lives.
"We get so [used] to our own skin that showing a community how far we've come can be a huge motivational tool," he continued. "I also enjoy showing others what can they can accomplish. I tried to answer as many private messages that [I] received as possible. When someone says that my picture has motivated them, it's a great feeling knowing that I've helped some stranger out in some small way, and maybe motivated them a little bit."
Gabriel told ATTN: that he got to his current weight by eliminating sugar from his diet, reducing his carbohydrate intake, and incorporating exercise into his daily life. He also didn't beat himself up for indulging in "bad" food or missing workouts on occasion:
"I stopped eating fast food, I ate rather low carb, and completely cut sugar out. Walking and biking to and from work daily helped, as well as waking up before the sunrises to get a morning work out in. Eat smart, and move smart. If I missed a workout or ate a bad meal, it wouldn't matter, I'd just keep on going, and having that attitude is what made the biggest impact."
[H/T Distractify]
