I lost nearly 350 pounds without surgery or GLP-1s. It started with wall pushups and a trainer.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Henry Gonzalez.

It has been edited for length and clarity.

I’ve lost nearly 350 pounds and kept the weight off.

I was a bigger kid through my teenage years.

When I was 21, I weighed 470 pounds.

I was able to lose 50 pounds, but then gained weight again.

In my 20s, I got in trouble and went to jail, and ended up gaining more weight because I thought nothing mattered and I should just do what I wanted to.

At 27 years old, I weighed 565 pounds.

I was working the graveyard shift then, and I’d wake up, eat a bunch of eggs with bacon or sausage, and go right back to sleep after a huge breakfast.

Then, I’d wake up again and go to Taco Bell or Jack-in-the-Box.

Then, I’d snack at work all night on stuff from the vending machine.

I was also drinking a lot of alcohol.

I have no idea how many calories I was eating a day, but it was a lot.

I was worried about getting my life on track.

But I was self-conscious, so I avoided working out at bigger gyms.

But I felt comfortable at a private gym I found through a friend.

In the beginning, it was body weight exercises.

Being that big, just moving your body is a workout.

So I’d do things like wall push-ups or assisted squats.

Then, I was using 15 to 20 pounds and going slowly.

A post shared by Healthy Henry (@healthy__henry) The trainer was great, so I just shut my brain off and listened to him.

He set me up with a meal plan for about 2,500 calories per day, and he bugged me every week to keep the calorie deficit and stay motivated.

From November 2019 to January 2020, I lost 50 pounds.

Within the first six months, I lost 150 pounds.

I was tired of being ignorant and thought I should learn.

I never finished school, and I hated learning.

I started paying closer attention and asking more questions, and the more I understood what was going on, the easier it felt.

It was easier for me to eat fewer calories because I understood the goal.

I became fascinated with how our bodies work.

And seeing results kept me motivated.

I just did my first skin removal for my neck, and I’m doing another one later this year.

I want to lose another 20 to 30 pounds of fat, and then I’ll be happy.

I’m currently 225 pounds, but I want to remove the excess skin and get down to 200 on the scale.

I now eat the same foods almost every day: two eggs plus one cup egg whites with a couple of slices of turkey bacon and half an avocado.

Lunch and dinner are 8oz of the protein of my choice with rice and veggies.

I drink a gallon of water a day, and I have cheat meals every once in a while.

I am training three to four days a week and walk about four to six miles every day.

I almost had gastric bypass surgery.

At the orientation, they told me things I didn’t like hearing, like what all the restrictions are after surgery.

Some people need surgery, but I told myself I’d try it naturally first.

My advice to anyone who wants to lose weight naturally is to take the first step and just try.

I didn’t care about losing weight, but something told me to try it naturally.

I’ve invested so much time and money into myself.

I don’t want to lose what I’ve done.