Vance Hinds, the Assitant County and District Attorney for Ellis County Texas, struggled with his weight for many years.
He would make attempts at losing weight but nothing ever stuck.
“Over my life, I’ve lost and gained hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. Normally, periodically, I start these paths, and I lose weight for a while, exercising on my own,” Hinds told waxahachietx.com.
“But with my wife, it’s just us two, and it’s easy to talk yourself out of it. You do pretty good for a few weeks and a month, and then you start slacking off, and then you quit. I’ve done that over and over and over again.”
But recently some of his favorite comedians inspired him to make the most drastic weight loss of his life.
Hinds was listening to “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast where they discussed comedian Bert Kreischer, the guy who always takes his shirt off and is the subject of the #bertisfat hashtag.
Kreischer ran a half marathon without any experience.
“I woke up and started drinking my coffee, and I was looking at Instagram, and there’s a video of Bert finished the St. Pete half marathon in California,” Hinds said.
“I was sitting in the chair thinking, ‘you know, if that silly son of a b**** can run a half marathon on two and half weeks then I can get off this couch and walk.’ And so that was my inspiration.”
Hinds decided that he would embark on another weight loss journey, but this time he would document everything about his journey on social media to help keep him accountable.
He tagged Kreischer and Joe Rogan in his first post and they ended up acknowledging the post. That inspired Hinds even more.
When Hinds first weighed himself he was 475 pounds. As the weeks went by, Hinds began to lose weight.
He even received inspirational messages from people as far as Australia and Scotland.
“I don’t know if I have a choice anymore at the age of 52. I have to get this weight off of me,” Hinds said.
“I just think if I have some extended sickness or injury that I’m going to get to the point that I’m not strong enough to move 462 pounds to be mobile. I don’t think I have a choice. When I started this, I was damn near 500 pounds, close to a quarter ton, so I gotta get it off.”
Hinds’ physical regimens include walking to the park or around the track, water aerobics, and body pump.
He also does DDP yoga.
Hinds’ friends have even joined him on a weight loss journey. Every Wednesday his friends will join him for a walk. He had 12 people walking with him by week four.
“It’s awesome seeing himself try and push himself, sweat and we just gotta get him back healthy and same with me. You gotta lose as much weight as you can and benefit from our friendships so we can live a long life,” Hinds’ childhood friend Mark Howell said.
Hinds says he is also losing weight for his children.
Not only to be healthy for them but also to show them that they can do anything they put their mind to.
“I feel like once I cut it open, […] I don’t have anything to hide. Hell, I put myself on the Internet in my underwear weight 475 pounds. It’s liberating, but it’s also humbling to see all of the support.”
Hinds ended up losing 198 lbs in just one year. You can follow his weight loss journey on Instagram at @vance_hinds. You can also learn more about his transformation in the incredibly inspiring video below.
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