Success Stories

before

after

Name: Ryan R.
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Age: 25
Height: 6’3”
Was: 427 pounds
Lost: 110 pounds*
As Of: July 2009

Former Shut In Discovers New “Mission” With Isagenix®

For his entire life, Ryan had dreamed of leaving home after high school to serve on a mission for his church. At age 19, the day finally came, but instead of receiving papers telling him where he would be traveling to, he was told that he needed to shed 100 pounds from his 300-pound frame first.

Heartbroken and angry, he sank into a deep despair and locked himself in his room rarely allowing anyone from the outside world in to visit him. For seven years, he spent his days moving from his bed to a recliner simply to eat or play computer games. Before long, his weight had ballooned to more than 400 pounds.

It wasn’t until his parents asked him to pack his room in preparation for a move that Ryan truly hit rock bottom and knew he needed to change.

“I felt worthless because I couldn’t help,” shares the 25-year-old from Utah. “I watched my 53-year-old father pack up my room and the whole house by himself.”

At that same time, his cousin Jonathan called and encouraged him to come live with his family to get his life and nutrition back on track with Isagenix®. Though he had received the exact same offer multiple times from his cousin, this time was different.
“I never want to feel helpless or have that happen to me ever again,” says Ryan.

His cousin and uncle Jim convinced him to change his environment and move in with them to get on the right track. For extra motivation, he joined the 2009 IsaBody Challenge® and depended on his extended family for advice and support. It didn't take long for Ryan’s stunning transformation to begin. Though he hadn’t walked more than a few steps in several years, on his first day living at his uncle Jim’s house, he pushed himself to take his first short walk. He made it about 20 feet to the end of the driveway on his achy legs and walked back, his extended family cheering him on the whole way.

Before long, as he nourished his body with Isagenix, focused on his goal of losing at least 100 pounds as part of the Challenge and created a daily exercise routine of regular walks with his cousin, the weight and inches began to fall away. After six months, he finally got up the courage to look in the mirror for the first time in years and says he didn’t recognize himself.

Spurred on by his physical results, Ryan began to come out of his shell. Smiling and waving at fellow walkers every morning, he began looking people in the eye and fully embracing his transformation. He cranked up his walking routine and even participated in a three-day walk to benefit breast cancer research. Once cushioned safely away from the harsh comments and judgmental eyes he used to encounter when he ventured into public, he admits that his “insult wall” is no longer up and he’s doesn’t fear speaking to people anymore.

Now 110 pounds lighter* and the second-place winner in the Men 18-35 Category of the 2009 IsaBody Challenge, the soft-spoken man who once couldn’t resist a slice of pizza and spent hours on the computer, is back home with his family again — but his life is completely different. Instead of pizza every night for dinner, he fills up on IsaLean® Shakes. Instead of vegging in front of the computer, he goes for walks in the neighborhood. He’s even signed up for college in the fall.

Ryan says his new “mission” in life is to reach out to others who are facing similar circumstances and have shut themselves away from the outside world.

“My goal is to help them change their thoughts and realize that they can do it,” shares Ryan. “They’re in a place where they likely don't want to live and I want them to know that I’ve been there and life can be different. If I can help even one more person become happy like I am, then it’s all been worth it.”