Mike Graham has accomplished something very few people have. He literally lost half of his body weight! At his highest, he was 380 pounds. He now weights around 190 pounds. He details his journey to a healthier life on episode 4 of Wisco Legacy.
The Monroe native grew up playing sports. In high school, he turned his focus to the football field, where he played both offensive and defensive line for the Cheesemakers. Coming into high school, Mike estimated that he weighed between 250 - 270 pounds. When he graduated, he was around 330 pounds. Mike's big passion is hunting and fishing. He is in his element when he is in the woods or on a boat. Even though Mike loves hunting and fishing, his weight did hold him back from attending some trips. There were times that he decided not to attend a hunting trip because he knew he would be have to walk farther than he wanted. For someone as passionate about hunting and fishing, it's hard to believe that his weight held him back from attending some of those hunting and fishing trips.
Mike has struggled with his relationship with food for a long time. He would eat until he was uncomfortable and snack as soon as he got hungry. He felt like he was eating all of the time. He would drink Mountain Dew constantly too. Soon after eating, he would lay on the couch, watch movies, or play video games. He was in a rut. He had tried to dig out of that rut many times, but never had success. Mike always knew he wanted to lose weight. He tried multiple times over the years but it never stuck. He was going down a path that he didn't want to continue. A little over two years ago, he decided to take the leap of faith and transform his life. He started small. He cut out Mountain Dew and started eating better. He started eating healthier and took walks around Monroe. He's been tracking his food and exercise too. Mike lost 80 - 100 pounds in the first year of his weight loss journey just by doing that!
He eventually decided to join Anytime Fitness in Monroe and found a passion for exercise. It was intimidating to head back to the gym, but Mike overcame the intimidation and started to go to the gym. Early on, he was focused on losing weight. He did a lot of cardio and some strength training. Now that he's lost 190 pounds, he is now focusing more on strength training and maintaining his weight. Mike took a great approach to his weight loss. One that has had success for many people, myself included. He took it slow, did it in a sustainable way, and found massive success. Day in and day out, Mike showed up. He put in the work and the weight started to fall off. Through discipline, consistency, and hard work, Mike transformed his life and will inspire others to transform theirs.
If you want to hear about Mike's 190 pound weight loss, check out episode 4 of Wisco Legacy, coming Tuesday, October 12 at 5:00 a.m. The video version can be found on YouTube and the audio version can be found on all of the podcast platforms.
The link to all is below:
Mike - thanks for sharing your story and inspiring countless folks to transform their life!
Comments