A man has shed close to half his body weight and transformed his future – finally realising his dream of living independently, becoming a nurse and doing naked yoga.
Rodney has struggled with his weight all of his life.
For years, he has suffered unwanted stares and “humiliating” comments including a particularly painful memory of strangers trying to decide if he was a “man with boobs or a woman with a beard”.
When the scale hit 36st, Rodney decided enough was enough.
At the time, he was living in his father’s basement with his confidence at rock bottom.
Rodney dreamed of not only taking charge of his health but changing his career path, switching from his mind-numbing job in corporate sales to healthcare.
“No one expects much from an obese man, so I figured I had nothing to lose,” said Rodney from Iowa, US.
“I was eating too much and moving too little.
“Food was not just a source of nutrition but a comforter, healer, therapist and in a lot of ways, an addiction.
“Other people’s comments about my body were difficult to deal with.
“While visiting hot springs, I overheard a conversation where a group of people were trying to figure out if I was a woman with a beard or a guy with man boobs and no visible penis.
“It is the most humiliating thing I have ever experienced.
“That gave me a lot of motivation, even though it took several more years to get started losing weight.
“I desperately wanted to quit my job in sales and become an ambulance worker, and I knew I had to choose between my dream or being grossly overweight.
“It came down to a very simple decision made thousands of times.
“Did I want to be an EMT and eventually a nurse or sit around and eat potato chips?”
In the past, Rodney had tried everything from WeightWatchers to calorie counting, signed up to a gym and hired a therapist.
But the results were inconsistent and he struggled to keep the weight off.
The turning point came when he bought a stationary bike at a garage sale for $25 and signed up to naked yoga.
Rodney said: “I used the bike so much, I quite literally rode the pedals off it.
“Then I started doing yoga at around 365lbs.
“I knew I could never keep up with a group class at that size, so I found an instructor to take private classes from.
“But I always thought yoga would be better done naked – both for practical reasons and to continue the fight against horrible body image issues.
“My instructor didn’t offer this type of class so I started looking online, and stumbled upon True Naked Yoga, which offers videos online for you to follow yourself.
“I wanted to feel secure in my own skin and this felt like a good way to rip the bandaid off quickly.
“The first time was five minutes of sheer terror, followed by discovering that it was not nearly as bad as I expected.
“In fact, I loved it!”
Prior to his weight loss, Rodney – who is now 57 years old – would gorge on pasta, pizza, bread and other comfort foods, and always went for seconds or thirds.
He said: “I was never a big sweets fan, so cookies and ice cream were never a big deal for me.
“It was the carbs that did me in, like pizza, pasta and fried foods – everything would be in excess.
“I would use drive-thrus a lot – always ordering extra large meals or extras.
“In between meals, I would snack constantly on things like chips with dips.”
Now, his meal plan looks very different; Rodney will intermittently fast until lunch, eating things like turkey slices, tuna or other ‘healthier’ meats.
For dinner, he goes for steak, chicken or seafood with “nothing processed or out of a can or a box” with vegetables on the side.
In 2024(2014), Rodney has realised his dream of changing careers and works as a nurse.
He weighs around 20st – having dropped 16st since he first started his fitness journey 2010.
And he is on track to shed another 100lbs.
Rodney said: “Everything is easier; from walking, showering, sitting in a theatre or restaurant to being intimate.
“The best way to explain it would be to imagine walking around for a day with three to five gallon water bottles tied around the middle of your body, and then taking them off and feeling the freedom of movement.
“My body works better, I enjoy everything more and the sense of accomplishment is huge, even though I am far from done.
“My weight loss was just the start – naked yoga has given me a greater appreciation for my own body.
“Self-confidence is a huge part of the lasting effects.
“I still have 100 pounds to go and can’t wait to feel what it will be like with that off, too.”
True Naked Yoga was founded by friends Tom Severini and Gabriel Bienczycki in 2018 and offers instructional naked yoga videos online.
It caters for all abilities from beginner to expert, and offers programmes to both inform and inspire those who wish to try it.
Speaking about Rodney’s journey, Tom said: “When Gabe and I started True Naked Yoga, our mission was to help people embrace healthier lifestyles through the practice of naked yoga.
“As an online-only platform, we don’t always get to see the direct impact firsthand.
“Rodney’s story has been incredibly motivating and rewarding for us.
“He was one of the first members to reach out, sharing how transformative our videos and approach were for his own wellness journey.
“I still remember getting that initial email from him and calling up Gabe excitedly to discuss Rodney’s feedback.
“Hearing his insights over the years and witnessing his progress has been a driving inspiration to keep pushing forward, in hopes of being able to facilitate those kinds of positive changes for more people through naked yoga.”
DIET – BEFORE
Breakfast: biscuits and gravy and/or breakfast sandwich
Lunch: Fast food drive-thru mostly double cheese burger extra-large fries and soda
Dinner: Hamburger helper (usually the whole box)
Snacks: salami/cheese, chips with dip
DIET – NOW
Breakfast: fast on most days
Lunch: Tuna/chicken salad without bread, or wrap meat,cheese, lettuce
Dinner: beef, chicken or turkey with salad or cottage cheese
Snacks: low carb snack such as beef stick/sliced turkey/cheese
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