Growing up in Rockford, Illinois, I was always a bigger kid. I played as a linebacker on my middle school and high school football teams, and I was encouraged to bulk up and stay big during that time. My weight was never really a problem, though, because I was still being active while playing football.during my freshman year, mainly because I made poor diet choices and started drinking. On top of that, I was in a really bad mental state at the time.
I ended up dropping out of the school in November 2017, because I wasn’t sure yet what I wanted to study. I knew I had to change my lifestyle.After I left school, I moved back home and started going to physical therapy and a chiropractor for a nagging back injury. That fall, I was at my peak weight of 368 pounds, and it was difficult for me to do simple things like riding a bike.
On the left, Ethan Taylor at 368 pounds in January 2018; on the right, Taylor at 184 pounds in May 2019.in June 2018. At first, it was small amounts: I would go a quarter mile, then stop to walk for a few minutes, then run some more. I gradually worked up to a half-mile, then a full mile, with walking breaks. I’d run 5Ks in high school, so I knew I could do it, even though it was really hard.
. There were so many people cheering me on, giving out water, and holding up signs—I had never had an experience quite like that, and it was so cool to be part of such a welcoming community. I crossed the line in—I was pleasantly surprised about my time, considering when I first started running, I couldn’t run a mile faster than 15:00.
Ethan Taylor and his older brother, Zach, celebrate their finish—and the hard work that got them there—at the Chicagoland Spring Half Marathon in May 2019.At the time of the half marathon, I had already lost about 170 pounds, and I lost the rest of it in the last month by running and eating healthier. My diet is super boring: I mostly eat chicken, rice, and broccoli, or a premade meal fromjourney, I’ve had so many people tell me how much I inspire them to lose weight, too.
Awesome job buddy!!
Awesome!!