We bring you an update to a big weight-loss story we first told you about last year.
Now, hundreds of pounds lighter, that man's journey just hit an even bigger milestone.
While rowing on a Friday afternoon, John Nieman is putting in the work to keep losing the weight.
"Honestly my cousin's wedding. December 2019, saw pictures of myself and I looked like melted ice cream. I was in pretty bad shape," said Nieman when recalling when he first wanted to lose weight.
Nieman weighed in at 509 pounds.
When we first shared his story, he had just started dieting himself, until he says he hit a plateau.
After driving by it several times, that's when he decided to stop by and work out at the Standard Crossfit in downtown Toledo.
"When I met John last year, COVID had just kinda started to relax a little bit. We were just starting to get some of the restrictions lifted. Met somebody who wanted to change. He had a lot of depression in his life. Was looking for a way out of that," said Sam Woodring, a Level 2 Trainer at the Standard CrossFit.
At that time, Nieman was able to lose more than 130 pounds.
Since then, he recently hit another milestone.
"My original goal was to lose 210 pounds by the time I was 40. I'm 16 months in and I'm down 200. I hit my goal of 210 pounds. Now I"m gonna try to lose another 30 or 40 before I feel like I'm in a good place," said Nieman.
At 39 years old, he's months ahead of his birthday in January.
Woodring, his trainer, says it's because he did things the right way.
"Lifting weights. You know, running, biking. Getting on a rower. Lifting heavy things. Eating proper nutrition. If you're trying to lose weight, having a calorie deficit. Those are the ways that you're properly gonna lose the weight and the weight's actually gonna stay off."
And now Neiman wants to inspire others.
"Don't give up. The community is here. The support is here. We'll always be here. You just have to know the right places to look. And come downtown. I'm usually her. Look for the giant. I'm not hard to miss," said Nieman.
Nieman says you can reach out to him if you'd like to hear from him and his weight loss efforts.
His Instagram name is archetype_kong or you can message him on his Facebook page at John Nieman.
Meanwhile, you can visit the Standard CrossFit here to schedule a free introduction to its workouts.
