I was always the ‘big guy’ before losing 300 lbs — now I’m ripped

One big change transformed one big man’s life forever.

Jonathan Hodgson once weighed 560 pounds, until one day, he put his foot down and made a decision to lose weight.

The 36-year-old miraculously dropped 300 pounds without doing surgery, instead finding inspiration elsewhere.

The South Yorkshire, England, native has always battled his body, telling Caters News recently how he “was always a big kid.”

“You kind of roll with it after time. Being a big guy was eventually a persona for me,” he said.

But recently, the electrician found success with his health and got shredded by following the advice of one man: Pete Shaw, who owns Barnsley Barbell, a boot camp used to whip clients into shape.

In September 2020, Hodgson encountered Shaw’s daily motivational fitness videos while he was just making tea in his kitchen.

His wife, Katie, had wondered why he was viewing the clips, but not doing anything with them.

Her words sat with him for months as he endured an internal battle with his body image.

Hodgson was unsure if he should message Shaw for help and recalled not having “the guts” to send it.

“You’re thinking, as a man, it’s not easy to ask for help,” he explained.

When Shaw went live on social media to let his followers know that the deadline for his 28-day boot camp was coming up, Hodgson got the courage to send the trainer a message — by accident.

Shaw replied to Hodgson that he “could guarantee results.”

He continued: “It was like a big weight had been taken off my shoulders. So I did the 28-day program, and I never looked back. I just totally changed.”

In the first week, Hodgson lost nine pounds and the good results were helping “spur” more changes.

Throughout his life, Hodgson had lost weight naturally before, and his mom even offered to pay for gastric band surgery. However, he would often gain the pounds back.

But he wanted to be held accountable by people who weren’t his friends or family.

“My wife has always been really supportive. She’s never fat-shamed me or anything,” he said.

He added: “I feel like it was fate for me to meet this guide, because my family, friends, wife, anybody close to me, I would have just ignored them.” 

He now gets his sweat on at the gym five times a week and no longer is out of breath when walking up the stairs.

His transformation has even allowed him to take on more jobs, and he has tripled his income. He’s also going into surgery to remove his excess skin in March 2024.

While Hodgson found his inspiration in Shaw, he now hopes others can find their own catalyst to get healthy.

His advice? He urges people not to “rely on motivation.”

“You need to focus on discipline, because motivation comes and goes, whereas discipline stays regardless if you’re motivated,” he said. “Whatever you’re wanting to do, you’ll achieve it if you have the right mindset.”