{"id":485,"date":"2024-01-28T20:55:10","date_gmt":"2024-01-28T20:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gymguyz.wpenginepowered.com\/franchise-opportunities\/?p=485"},"modified":"2024-01-28T20:55:10","modified_gmt":"2024-01-28T20:55:10","slug":"17-year-old-exercises-his-way-to-120-lb-weight-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gymguyz.com\/franchise-opportunities\/news\/17-year-old-exercises-his-way-to-120-lb-weight-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"17-YEAR-OLD EXERCISES HIS WAY TO 120-LB. WEIGHT LOSS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After John Pike\u2019s father died, he turned to food to deal with his depression<\/a>. By the time he was 16, the teen from Irvington, N.Y., had reached 280 lbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"John<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPhysically, I was always drained of energy,\u201d Pike, now 17, tells PEOPLE. \u201cI would sleep most of the day. Emotionally, my depression grew. I moved to a new school and although it wasn\u2019t overt, I wasn\u2019t welcomed, and I became socially anxious as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His weight also affected his health \u2013 Pike became pre-diabetic<\/a> and developed liver problems. At the urging of his mother and aunt, the teen began meeting with personal trainer Sam Langer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t very motivated at first,\u201d says Langer, who is a franchisee of GYMGUYZ<\/a>, an in-home personal training company. \u201cWe tried to make the workouts as fun as possible, whether we were boxing, whether we were running outside, we went for bike rides, we went for walks \u2013 anything to get him started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One night, Pike had an epiphany, and he realized he needed to lose weight to get his health back on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI started to think about my overall health and what would happen if my mom lost me,\u201d he says. \u201cShe already lost my dad. I just decided I have to take care of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pike began to approach his workout sessions with Langer with a new vigor, and he also stuck to a healthy meal plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEver since that night he was focused, he was motivated, and the weight just started melting off his body,\u201d says Langer. \u201cHe would be down 12, 15, 18 lbs. in a week. I\u2019ve been doing this for a long time and I\u2019ve never seen anything like it. It\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the year and a half Pike has been working with Langer, he has lost 120 lbs<\/a>., and now weighs 160 lbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe weight\u2019s been off for the past four or five months, so we\u2019ve changed the workouts from weight loss workouts to strength building workouts,\u201d says Langer. \u201cBut we\u2019re still doing hour-long workouts, and I\u2019m still making him sweat!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the physical changes, Pike has gone through an inner transformation a well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOverall I feel more energetic,\u201d he says. \u201d I graduated high school, and I like going out with my friends and meeting new people. I gained my confidence back, and I\u2019m happy now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"John<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CATEGORIES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n