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Dear Chris and Heidi,
Thank you! Thank you for choosing
Bruce and helping him change his life. Because of that one decision you guys
made you have in a small way choose me too and for that I’ll be forever
grateful. I thought I would share a little bit about my story and the unseen
impact that your choice has made.
A
little over 2 years ago I was weighing in at over 320 pounds at age 30. I was
totally unhealthy, unhappy and tired of living. After much pushing my wife got
me into see a doctor to start changing my life. I was found to have severe clinical
depression and anxiety. There were days in my life where if a car was barreling
towards me in an intersection I can’t say that I would have moved. I was a
coward, I didn’t want to live but couldn’t take the steps to kill myself, which
I’m grateful that I never did. The doctors put me on medication to help reduce
my levels and help me start getting on the right track.
Fast forward
a few months and I was starting to be happier and being more involved in my
wife and kids lives. I had mostly better days but things still weren’t perfect
in my life. I had a second, unhappy person weighing me down literally and
physically. At that point I felt like I would try Weight Watchers and see if I
could lose the weight. That didn’t work, I hated their plan, the people in
there and the “trainers.” So I figured my only choice was bariatric surgery.
During
the time I was looking into weight loss surgery my wife injured her back and
the funds that I had hoped to use for me ended up needing to go to her back
surgery. So I was stuck with this burden to keep carrying. I didn’t know what
to do or how to lose it.
Once
again fast forward again to 3 months ago. After more pushing from the wife it
was time to get rid of the weight and its burden. She didn’t think any weight
loss would happen until I got my head right. My emotions were much, much better
but things still weren’t right in my life. I spent the next several weeks
meeting with a counselor to work through my issues.
During
this process one of the most horrifying things that could have happened,
happened. I had gone to a fast food place with my 2 kids to grab some breakfast
on the go when an unassuming employee made a comment without knowing their emotional
impact. She questioned if I would eat all the food in the bag on my own, but
trust me it was much more brutal and unfriendly manner I could ever imagine. It
hit home so bad that it sent me into a spiral, to the point where I was on the
verge of being hospitalized for my depression.
It took
me several more weeks to finally figure out how to overcome that experience and
use it as fuel to change. I was fortunate to have family, friends, my wife and
a counselor that helped me see the good in me again and begin the process of
unwinding the damages done. It was during this time when I saw Bruce post about
a 6 week boot camp he was running, little did I know how much that 6 weeks
would change my life.
I was
so excited to start with learning from Bruce. I had sat on the sidelines and
saw his transformation. Bruce is my wife’s cousin so I had sent her to go see
him at the weigh in’s that happened in Utah, his finale and even watched his
episode live with him when it aired. You could see how happy he was in life and
I wanted it for myself.
Money
was tight, I tried to self-sabotage joining him and his boot camp several
different times. But ultimately my wife handed me the money, new gym clothes
and told me to go. That first time was brutal. I weighed in at 315 pounds and
looked horrible, to the point I wouldn’t take off my shirt for pictures. Bruce
promised me that if I followed the diet plan, put in the work and bought into
it I would see results. So I bought in with my heart, mind, soul and body.
During
the first few weeks I saw great numbers coming off, I was looking better and
gaining confidence again in myself. I haven’t been this happy in years. It
doesn’t mean that everything is perfect in life, nor do I expect it to always
be easy but I’ve found a new drive in life and battle to lose this weight once
and for all. Now that I’m nearly done with this challenge I find that the
numbers matter less and what matters more is how I feel. I love myself and
where I’m heading in life.
Because
of all these changes I see my kids, 8 and 5, wanting to give up junk food,
soda, and be more active. I see my wife trying to make these same changes. The
snowball effect of your one choice in choosing Bruce has gained momentum and
turned into an avalanche of change for me, my family, the other people in the
boot camps, and more unseen lives. Thank you! Thank you from the bottom of my
heart, I want to say that you started the process of saving my life.
Sincerely,
Spencer Pranger
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