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Starting Weight: 366 lbs
Week 12 Weight: 190 lbs
Total loss: 176 lbs
Hometown: Boothbay
Goal Clothes: A t-shirt given to me by the teens from the first church I was a full time youth pastor at. They all signed it and wrote messages to me on it - it's one of my favorite possessions and memories, and it has always bothered me that I couldn't fit into this special gift. |
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 Biography
Matthew is a sweet, outgoing, youth pastor and father of three who put on 100 pounds in the five years since his marriage. Horrible eating habits and a more sedentary lifestyle got him to the point where he is too heavy to be able to use a treadmill and has developed sleep apnea, which requires that he sleep with an oxygen mask. With the recent birth of his third child, Matthew has vowed to make a change and get fit enough to go hiking, canoeing and camping again, and get rid of his sleep apnea. He wants to be able to put on a t-shirt signed and given to him by the teens from the first church he was a full time youth pastor at. It has always bothered him that he couldn't fit into this special gift. Matthew is committed to being a healthy spiritual and physical example for the youth of America. He is one tough competitor you want on your team!
Goal weight: 220
Why the weight gain: Basically, I had horrible eating habits through high school and college, but got away with it because of my activity level. Once I got into the real world, I lost a lot of the physical activity because of my work, etc. - but my eating habits slowly got worse and worse. The result was putting on a hundred pounds in the five years since I got married!
Biggest hope: I hope that through changing my eating and exercise habits I will not only save my life, but that my wife and children will also follow my example and avoid the health consequences I am now facing.
Motivation/reason for wanting to lose the weight: I want to set a healthy spiritual and physical example to the youth of my region.
Hardest thing about being overweight: Being judged and looked down on because of my weight; people just don't take overweight people as seriously and it can be frustrating.
Dream physical activity: I look forward to hiking, canoeing and camping again!
Best physical feature: My eyes! They're really blue - which my wife loves!
Mantra: Forgetting the past, I press on towards the goal.
Hardest part about losing the weight at home: Losing weight is hard work, and it's very easy to let other things get in the way. I've had to make it a real priority and give up other activities and opportunities so that I could give the kind of commitment necessary to make this happen. Ultimately, it's taking the time to recognize what's truly important - yes, sometimes things come up that seem more urgent, but in the big picture are not nearly as critical. Gaining that perspective is critical, but not easy, and that has been one of the biggest challenges for me.
Most valuable thing you learned at the ranch: I honestly did not believe that I was capable of doing the amount of working out that is necessary for this. Through my brief time on the ranch, and during the boot camp, I was amazed at the degree to which I could push my body. No, it's not pretty, and I was literally sore every day for a solid month during my initial working out, but our bodies are capable of so much more than what we give them credit for.
 Go behind the scenes with Matt at the beginning - watch now!
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