Hello. Hi everybody, and welcome to the fit to fat to fit experience podcast. I’m your host, drew Manning, and I’m your cohost Lynn Manny. Guys, today we have an awesome episode. So exciting. As you know, yesterday my TV show fit, fit, fit on a the aired, it was the premier, JJ and Ray from that first episode. We have them on today to discuss the details and behind the scenes stuff that happened on their episode. So if you enjoy the episode, you’re going to love this podcast cause we talked to them about kind of what w what they went through behind the scenes and you get to know to know them on a more intimate level and it’s just a fun conversation with both of them and kind of what they took away from his success.
Yeah. We talked a little bit about, you know, of obviously what they learned. Like really what insight did they gain from doing the journey. If you actually watched the episode, obviously you saw a lot of that from the episode itself, but even if you didn’t watch the episode, you guys, there’s a lot to learn about someone’s health and wellness journey from listening to this episode. So hopefully you gleaned some good insight from there. We talk about, um, you know, the ups and downs, what JJ learned from having for the first time in his life, being overweight and uh, what really helped Ray to transform and
yeah, and you’ll see how JJ had a similar experience to mine, right? We’re very similar the way we were before and what I went through my fifth fat to fit journey. What I learned from it, you’ll see, he kind of learned the same things, which was my hope for him because, you know, he came across very judgmental. I’ll be honest, before he went through this all and, uh, it was a good humbling process for him. But before we jump into the episode, today’s episode is brought to you guys by dollar workout club.com. Now, dollar workout club.com was created by Natalie Hodson, Lynn and myself. The three of us came together, created this online program that we deliver, high quality content workouts, recipes and motivational videos for a very affordable price. And how it works is you pay $1 per week and that gives you access to five at home workout videos that you can stream to your, your smartphone, your tablet, your computer, uh, five motivational videos and five healthy recipe videos. All 15 videos, a new content each week for just $1.
Yup. No contracts, no hidden fees. You guys, um, we’re really proud of this, this program. We’ve spent countless hundreds of hours creating the content, making it so anybody can use it at any fitness level and that so it can benefit the masses. So hopefully you check that out and let’s go talk to JJ. Right?
All right. We’re so excited to have JJ and Ray on the show today. You guys just watched their episode last night and we have them on the podcast today. How are you guys doing?
Doing great. I’m still wiping tears away, you know. Oh no, it was a tear. Jerker not sure I’ve gone an hour without solving for Oh no, I was, we were talking before, before we started recording it as I was telling them, women love women love
when men can be real and real men cry. Drew cry,
real men cry. But then we work out afterwards. So it’s like a balance. It’s all good. Right? Uh, thank you guys so much for coming on the show. Uh, the fit, fit, fit, experience podcast, and you guys were the first episode of fit to fat to fit the TV show. Um, and you guys did an awesome job. You guys, transformation was amazing. So I’m going to start off a little bit, uh, asking JJ some questions, Ray, but be ready cause we’re gonna have some stuff for you as well. Um, JJ, tell us a little bit about your background, how you got into health and fitness. Have you always been into health and fitness? Like, when did you become a trainer and how did that happen? Just to give people a little bit more of a background about, you know, who you are, cause they didn’t see that on the episode.
Yeah. My story’s a little unique I think. Uh, so I’ll take you back to when I was three years old. That might sound strange to people, but
I, uh, I had both my kidneys shut down when I was three and I had a really rare, uh, kidney disease called hemolytic uremic syndrome. And it shut down both my kidneys and I was on dialysis for 38 days and I spent a lot of time in the hospital. And while I was there, I kind of fell in love with the human body and I was fascinated with how it worked and why it didn’t work and what was wrong with my kidneys. And, um, I think I was blessed to remember a lot that happened when I was three. And from whenever you say I, uh, like when everybody else was reading what a kids read nowadays, a Harry Potter, I don’t know what [inaudible]
everyone reads Harry Potter. Okay. I was reading like books on anatomy
and physiology and I wanted to know how the body works. So I was reading like college textbooks as a child and that’s what I would check out of the library. And so I was just, I was always fascinated with the human body and how it worked.
Wow. That’s crazy man. So like you became a trainer at three or
then he got certified at six years old. Got my first cert like at four. No, I grew up in an athletic, yeah,
family. Kind of like you drew. I, uh, I was the youngest of six kids and I had older brothers and uh, you know, they’d beat up on me and we played sports together growing up. But, uh, always into something active, you know, baseball, basketball, football, something like that. Um, it’s just going to tell like, like 18 or 19 when you graduated from high school and you’re not good enough to be a D one athlete. And so you kind of start, you know, you still like the weights and so you start lifting and you start eating right. And I was always fascinated by nutrition and things. And so, uh, I, uh, I built a physique and friends started asking questions, how did you do it? How are you doing this? And so I, uh, I just, it was never anything formal, you know, until 2005. So I’ve only been a trainer for about 10, 10 years, but it’s just started off pretty casual, just helping friends, you know, build better bodies, uh, things like that.
Yeah. So, so, uh, with that being said, uh, tell us what were your initial thoughts about this fit to fat to fit idea and how did that first, like how did you first find out about it?
Oh, you know what? I didn’t know about the weight gain portion of it until it was too late. Are you serious? [inaudible] sign the contract on this really cool TV show here. Sign right here, sign right here. And then we’ll get started with the TV show. Oh, by the way, you have to gain, you know, it’s a trick transformation type deal. You’re going to be helping him lose weight. I’m like, Oh, that sounds so fun. You signed the contract. Oh, by the way, I’m not sure if you read on the 87 page and very, very small print, you have 40% of your original body weight. And at first I’m like, wait, what did he just say to me, you know, during interviews. But uh, I was already committed at that point and, and you know, I’m just kidding. Kind of like, I, I knew a little bit about the premise behind the show and things, but, uh, I didn’t know to what extent. I didn’t know they wanted me to gain 61 parents. I thought it was going to be, you know, 10 15 pounds.
Yup.
Cause wow. Yeah. 10 15 pounds. It’s a lot.
Well yeah, exactly. Well to a trainer.
Yeah, it is. Uh, but that was partly my fault. I’ll say JJ because basically what they did for the TV show was they took the overall percentage of weight that I gained from my fit to fat to fit journey. And they’re like, Oh, it drew gained 30%. So we feel like these trainers should be able to gain the same percentage. And so they plug that formula in and said, okay, JJ, your percentage, you know, roughly 40% is 61 pounds or whatever, go and do it. So, uh, that was my bed. Um, but
no, I appreciate it.
It tells you, you thank me later and you know, here we are today.
Yeah, no, but obviously, especially after watching the show, we’re so glad that you decided to take on this endeavor, this challenge and that you grew so much from it, you know, kind of starting from the beginning though, you know, how do you think, you know, if you’re being really honest, how do you think you viewed overweight people before this journey? You’ve
heard a little tidbit where I, I said I was judgmental before this whole process started and I that I was being honest when I said that Saturday it is to admit it. I, uh, I think you grouped them into like the, I don’t know, this K knowing that I’ve changed, let me go back and honest with where I was. Right. Because groped him into lazy and unmotivated and like get off your butt and do something about it. Type people. Right.
And Ray Ray staring at you right now with those Inca, right
Ray, whatever you’ve been with Ray for basically the past year. He knows
judgemental, uh, positions coming from the other side also. So he’s, yeah.
And which we’re going to talk about. We’re going to talk about nuts. Gray. So yeah. Cause I want to talk about that too. But, sorry, go ahead.
No, so I was coming from a place of judgment for sure. And uh, you know, in hindsight it’s, uh, I feel pretty bad about it now. Like my eyes have truly been open through this whole process. So now when we see someone now who, you know, could, could use a little help in that department instead of casting judgment, it’s like, let’s help, you know, like how can we help? What can we do? What we’ll just do is reach out. Yeah. What can we do to help them?
Yeah. Yeah. And you know, the deep, and I think anyone that’s been overweight or struggled, knows the deeper feeling that it’s not even, Oh, I have to help them with all these tools. It’s that, yeah. Most of the time, people that are overweight know that they’re overweight, but you remember that sinking feeling, that feeling that you have when you’re at your lowest, when you don’t believe in yourself, when you’re depressed or you know, you really don’t have the energy and you remember how hard it is to get started and to believe in yourself. So I think that’s kind of one of the most important things for being on the other side, that people kind of realize that it’s not like that. They’re just like, Oh, I have all this energy and all this confidence in myself and I just, I’m not doing it cause I don’t want to, you know, it’s so much more than that.
Yeah. And you know, some people don’t know this, but Jay, Janna and I actually know each other from being in Utah and I knew that he was on the show. And, uh, you know, I had a chance to sit down and talk to you, uh, before all this JJ, before you started the process. And I remember we had a conversation about this and I kind of, uh, I admitted to you that I was that judgmental person. I was, you know, I, I was very judgemental towards people who were overweight. And I’m like, well, why is this so hard for you to just do it? It’s easy workout, you healthy. And I was the exact same way. And I remember you telling me how judgmental you were and I’m like, this is the perfect thing that you’re doing going through this, this experience of fit to fat to fit and being on the show.
Because honestly, I think a lot of people that are skinny or fit, uh, um, that have good genetics and for them it’s easy and a lot of people could learn some, something very important by going through this fit, fit, fit, experience. Do I believe everybody needs to do it? No, I don’t. But at the same time, I think a lot of people out there who are judgmental could gain a lot of understanding from doing this, this journey. Now getting to your ribs, if you don’t mind talking about your judgment on the coming from the other side of it. Cause I do believe that that exists. And my whole goal with this fit to fat to fit movement is to hopefully bridge the gap and gain a better understanding on both sides. People who are skinny and fit over here, people who are overweight over here and bridge that gap that exists because there is that silent gap that not a lot of people talk about. But there’s, there is that judgment and my hope is that with the show we can bridge that gap and bring those two sides together and have more understanding. But can you talk a to that Ray?
Oh yeah, absolutely. I, uh, before I would have, I was never comfortable walking into a gym or any kind of situation where it was a bunch of set people in me. Um, I mean this past year I went to a fitness convention and it was like traveling to a foreign country. Like anyone there, I felt like I spoke a different language than everyone else. And, uh, I, it’s felt like everyone was looking at me and, uh, I opened my mouth and opened my mind a little bit and, and talk to people and I learned that, uh, a lot of the judgment I perceived was in my head and the best Jordy of the fitness world is super excited for someone who like me, was pushing 400 pounds and was beginning to try and change their life. Um, most of their judgment I felt from the outside was actually source from the inside of my insecurities.
No, no, that’s so true. Because I feel like that’s a lot of people’s, uh, feelings. And when I went through my Fitbit fit experience and going back into the gym after getting all the weight, I felt judged. But most of that judgment was in my head. Cause I don’t know if people were judging me, I didn’t ask them, Hey, are you looking at me because I’m fat? Like why are you looking at me? So weird? I didn’t ever ask people that, but it was all in my head and I perceived that judgment. But I totally agree with you. A lot of it is made up because we can’t tell if someone’s looking at why someone’s looking as at as the way they are. Yeah.
Well, and I remember, I can’t remember who told me this, but one time I think, I can’t remember it was my dad or somebody said to me once, I was, I was saying something about judgment. People judging me or women judging me or these different things. And I think it was my dad, he, he laughed and just said, you know what? Everyone is too busy with their own lives, with their own sense of self, with their own families to give a crap about you and what you’re doing. Like all of it’s in your head. It really is like, we worry so much about what other people think about our jobs or our families or our looks. And it’s like, for the most part, people don’t care. They really don’t. So like it most of the time is our own fears and insecurities. Reflecting back to us
having, having been on a somewhat both sides of the aisle here. I, uh, you know, I can go to the gym and I’ll see someone who’s, who’s really big still and I will look at them and smile and, uh, you know, I’m more on the fit side now and I don’t, I’m not looking at them because I’m judging them. Of course. How dare I, you know, cause I was right where they recently, but I am so impressed and inspired by them doing everything they can to fight in that moment. You know? It’s as if it’s a bigger person catches me looking at them now. It’s because they’re my heroes.
Oh man. You’re going to make me cry.
That’s awesome. Right. Thank you so much for sharing that. Um, that’s so cool, man. That’s why I love you guys. Um, I love your personalities. I think people are really going to be drawn to it. So prepare for a lot of attention coming your way. All right. Jumping back to the episode a little bit. Um, going back to you, JJ, here you are. Um, you start this journey, uh, you’re starting to eat all this food. Was there a sense of like, Oh, this is fun and if so, how long did that last for before you’re like, Oh, I’m so over this, but I still have three and a half months to go. Or, or at what point when did that happen?
Oh man, you take me back to a dark place. Uh,
okay.
It was fun for about three minutes.
The first three minutes of that pizza were just so good
or that I had a donut for a long time. Um, and now it’s one of my addictions. Thanks true.
I told you, I warned you.
I mean, it is one pill is a real thing. Oh man. It wasn’t, man, it was so hard for me and I don’t know if it was as hard for everybody else, but it wrecked me in every way. I think I was prepared for it physically. I knew that the apps were going to go away and the body was going to go away a little bit as you gained 60 pounds, that happens. But I wasn’t prepared for what all of the food did to me mentally and emotionally. That’s where I was completely wrecked.
Dude, you struggled, man. And I think the one of the challenges with the TV show is that they’re trying to show eight months of footage and in one hour episode. Right. And there was moments where you were like balled up in a fetal position, you were crying and there was so much more emotions that weren’t on the episode.
Yeah. Or even like I remember talking to Erica or crying to me, you know, going through, you know, her feeling so helpless. Like, you know, I’ve been with this man forever. I feel like I can’t relate to him. I can’t connect to him. Like I feel lost. So I know that it affected you so much more emotionally than you thought it was going to
look like. We’re high school sweethearts, like Erica and I, right? Like we’ve been together forever and ever and ever. And we’ve always been on the same page. You know, like we eat the exact same way. We train the exact same way. And so for me to go polar opposite, it was so hard on our relationship and I actually felt bad for her and that’s where some of my depression came from. Some of the anxiety I felt came from knowing like what I was doing to her also because it was not good.
Yeah, that’s, yeah. I know man. I, I can definitely relate to that. Um, but I kinda, it’s funny cause I, I told you, I’m like, man, you be prepared. This going to be a lot harder than you think it is. And I think I told all the trainers that they’re like, yeah, yeah, you know, I know it’s going to be hard, but I think I got this, you know, and then seeing how humbling the process was for a lot of trainers, you included, it’s just, um, it makes me feel like it all that was worth it because it changed you in a better way. Um, kind of, uh, I want to go back to your Ray and asks you a question and I’m going to ask all the other clients that come on the podcast about this. Do you feel like JJ having gained the weight and then losing it with you helped to build a stronger bond versus if he never had done it to like was there a value in him getting the weight or was this kinda cool, like, Oh, cool, thanks for getting 60 pounds, or was there appreciation there? Was there value in him doing that? And if so, from your perspective, what, what did it mean to you?
Uh, it made a huge difference for me. I, uh, you know, before we were allowed to see each other, you know, they, uh, the show, let JJ, you know, give me a little gift basket and let me get a head start, um, before we could work together and then let me write him a letter. And, uh, I, uh, I spoke to that in that letter and it’s just, he, when I was finally turning away from, you know, the demons that accompany obesity, he was suddenly facing them head on. And that’s, I mean, that made a huge impact for me. I, uh, even before we were allowed to work together, I knew he was, he was facing all those demons and, and uh, on my behalf. And how dare I not give everything I had to my part when I, I knew the, uh, the struggle he had to have been going through.
Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. I mean, I, I really am curious, we want to think of a lot of people are, you know, are gonna be curious about, okay, was there value in these trainers gaining weight on the show? Cause I know for me, people have told me all the time, thank you so much for doing what you did, even though there’s haters out there that say you’re stupid, you’re crazy. That’s just a gimmick. You’re trying to just get on TV shows. Um, but I, I,
we’ve got that one neighbor.
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And so I kind of want to ask, you know, the clients on the show, was there value in these trainers gain the weight versus if they just had stayed fit and just tried to train them like a, the normal format for weight loss TV shows. And it’s refreshing to hear that coming from you. Right? Like I really appreciate you being honest about that cause I’ve had people tell me, you know, thank you for what you did. It meant a lot to me. It really changed my, uh, perspective on living a healthy lifestyle. And the way people have it to me is like for people that are overweight, it’s like, Hey, we’re on this race and we’re at the very back rhythm like in last place and to have you who’s up in the front, stop what you’re doing to come all the way back to the end of the race where we are and finish the race with us at our level. That’s kind of the way that they described it to me. And that makes me, you know, sleep better at night knowing that there’s people out there that find value even though it’s crazy. They find value in this. And so,
well there’s something empowering about relate-ability. Like the best way that I can think of it from a non-weight point is, is of course, because I’m a woman is pregnancy. And I really do not mean this in a judgmental way, but when I would run into the, the few women that would say things like, Oh my gosh, pregnancy was like the easiest and greatest time of my life. Um, I felt amazing. I had so much energy and I mean my skin was like perfectly clear and I just, I mean I could do everything all day and I didn’t gain any weight. I felt wonderful. Like best time of my life. I would just look at them like really? Like I feel like I can’t even trust you at this point because I cannot relate to you in any sort of way, you know, versus the women that I, you know, that would come to me and be like, Oh yeah, you know, this is my experience with pregnancy.
And I’d be like, Oh, I totally know what you’re saying. So when then they would, when they would give me advice I think, Oh man, I, they, they’ve been where I’ve been, they know what I know. Like I should try that tip or I should try that advice. I feel the same way. Like if a trainer were to say to me, I don’t even like donuts, I’d be like, Whoa, back up. Okay, back up and turn around and get out of here. Because if you don’t even like donuts, I, yeah. I can’t even trust you at this point.
Just for me though, like even like, I hope it was big for Ray, which I think it was, but for me as a trainer, I had never been in those shoes before. I honestly had never felt heartburn. So
interesting. You’re like, what is this? I’m dying.
And I’m like, Oh my gosh. But it burns so bad.
That’s why they call it heartburn, but yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. That’s pregnancy
pretty eyeopening for me too. Yeah, I did. I would never, ever do it again.
Well, I would love to hear from both of you the greatest lesson that you learned through this journey. I know that’s like a big meaty question. You can sum it up. You can just give one great lesson you learned or three tips that you learned. But like, if you had to summarize the biggest thing you learned from doing this journey, each of you, what would you, what would you say that is? I love how you differ. You’re like, it’s your turn.
Yeah. How do I encapsulate? Um, that’s what I’m trying to, I,
uh, one of the biggest things I learned is to remember that it’s worth that afterwards. You know, it’s a cause when I’m on the couch and I don’t want to do it and I just want a lazy day or I’m at work and I work at a police department. So thousands of cities, the holidays just finished and thousands of citizens drop off chocolate and sugar to thank us.
We’re working on all that
undefined, millions of calories of sweet deliciousness and, um, it’s, it’s worth it afterwards. And it’s, I mean, the skill of, of putting a longterm goal in front of the short term reward is, uh, is powerful in every walk of life. And, and, uh, in this realm, in, in fitness, in, in health. I’ve, uh, I mean I, I’m by no means perfect, but man, I’ve learned that lesson over and over that it’s worth it if I just decide right now to get up and do it anyway. Whatever it is.
Yeah. Which by the way, those t-shirts you had made a look awesome race. We’re gonna have to talk about at the end where, where we can get some of those. So make sure, uh, create a website for that. Okay. JJ, your turn.
It’s so hard to sum up what I learned from this. That’s just been a, it’s been such a huge blessing, you know.
Well, let me ask you this. This might help out. How do you train people differently now versus how you used to train people before and maybe that can kind of lead you into,
yeah, so from a training perspective, I think the greatest lesson I learned is that it’s a, it’s more about love than it is about number of burpees.
That’s a good way to put it. Um,
I guess it used to be just like a, in my mind, it used to be like a cookie cutter process. No matter who you are or where you come from, this is how you do it, this is how you’re going to get it done. And I didn’t even take any thought to um, what their backstory was, where they’re coming from, what they’re dealing with emotionally. What are your food addictions, like, what’s your family life like, what are your relationships like? I didn’t even, I didn’t even bother to ask any of those questions prior to this journey. And that makes me really, really sad cause it’s such a huge part of overall health and wellness. Um, for me, the, the mental part of it, the emotional part of it, if you don’t have those things in place, like if you’re not in a good spot mentally and emotionally, let’s not even talk about exercise yet. Right? So a love can we just, let’s, let’s just sum it up.
I love, love. I love though,
you know, than anything else. Now I
just, I really, really want what’s best for the individual as the whole. And not just, let’s see if we can make them throw up during this workout. That means the day did so good. If they pass out or throw up, I, my job is done
freestyling. There’s so many, it’s so much deeper than that to me now. So it’s changed everything.
Yeah, no, I get asked that question a lot too. Like how do you train people different? Like what did you learn from this whole experience? And yeah, I do focus so much more on the mental and emotional challenges and helping them overcome that versus like, okay, let’s focus on how to do a burpee correctly, which is important. You know, those kinds of things. The physical side of it, they ha you have to exercise and eat healthy for the most part. Um, but if you focus only on that, then that one hour they spend with you is helpful. But the other 23 hours it’s like, okay, well what did I do? Or, you know, uh, how do I navigate through the other 23 hours and be successful? It’s, yeah.
Yeah. I mean not, not to throw religion into this, but like it kind of makes me think of, you know, it kind of makes me think of Jesus when they talk about like giving a man a fish. Yeah you can give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day or you can teach them a fit how to fish and he’ll eat, be able to eat for a lifetime. I feel like in fitness and nutrition we’ve really missed the Mark and why so many people quit is because we focus on the fish. We focus on this is how you do a burpee by the way, should eat more broccoli. You know basic concepts that are yes, good to know. The knowledge is good to know. It’s great to have fish but without the underlining, without the how do you stay motivated, how do you gain inspiration and that all comes from self, self love, self confidence and that all comes from the emotional and mental side. So teaching the person how to fish for themselves, they’ll never be able to sustain it, which is why so many people quit. So I love that your underlining lesson is love because that’s really where it begins. Love.
I’m going back to the episode. You guys kind of want to talk about this. So the first workout back, JJ, and not, not the one at the gym, but the one on the track where you put Ray through this hell and you’re telling them just to push harder and, and, and then did you know at that point that you would have to do the same workout or how was that set up?
Uh, yeah. I, I did know, but let me preface, let me, cause you, you, you saw the workout before and I had an imagine like 120 days without a workout and then all of a sudden you get released from prison to move again. I had so much adrenaline, I was on such an emotional high at that point I could have thrown a car a mile. I think that what you saw was a fair representation of how I truly felt. It was just like all of those emotions. I mean like some stupid stuff going on. But fast forward to the next day where you were kind of coming off that high, that emotional high, and you have your first real workout at the track. And dude,
I, I could not believe it. I got the 400 meter warmup lap this like I couldn’t breathe. And then trying to flip that 200 pound tire, like that just wasn’t happening. And then I could collapse on the bear crawl and almost died.
Yeah. Yeah. You know, I think, I think that’s a brilliant part on the producer side to put that part in there on each person’s episode is cause the S to show how humbling it is to start at the bottom for the most part. I mean, they’re not, it’s not like these four months. Put them as, as out of shape as you know, some of the clients who have been overweight for years, but to see them struggle finally for the first time and be humbled. It’s really powerful. I think people are really gonna love that because people love seeing me on my journey. Be humbled. And I remember one moment, um, when I was in the gym, I was doing mountain climbers or something and one of my old clients walked in and he just sat there and just stared at me with a big smile on his face watching me, you know, trying to put my, push my shirt back down cause it was writing up, my love handles were bouncing everywhere and I was so self conscious and he just was like, payback man, this is exactly, you know, what you’ve been putting me through in the past.
And so to see you struggle I think is really powerful. Um, so I’m, I in a way, JJ, like I know it sucks to, to suck at something. Uh, I’m glad that you, that you went through that Ray, did you find value in seeing him struggle? Uh, at that point?
Oh, it was a, I’ll never forget that day. It was, it was powerful to see the, I mean it was evident that JJ had worked his whole life and develop the skill of pushing himself as hard as he possibly could physically because that’s, that’s what he did. But his body was not able to do the things that he was used to. And so he had to dig deeper to get that done. Then I think he expected to, and me and the people behind the camera and the sound guy and the producers and the little crowd gathered to watch us. You were all afraid that Juju would never quite make it
back up off the grass.
We’re all aired on his behalf because we saw how scared that workout made him.
Yeah. But it’s cool to see you kind of, um, it was cool to see your Ray kind of pushing JJ and now you’re the coach, you’re kind of in his shoes and to see the support you gave him, which I think is valuable as well because you just went through the workout right before, you know, and you know how hard it was from your perspective and you see JJ going through the same thing. I was really powerful to see you kind of helping to push him and coach him along the way cause he needed it at that point. So you kind of became the trainer, which is really cool.
Yeah. It’s for somebody like J J that is probably, you know, cause he has been all, had always been fit and he had been into health and fitness his whole, and I’ve seen him work out before. Like he obviously, you know, he’s like Superman. Like everything’s with that ease. It’s kind of great for every trainer to have that experience where they’re like, wow, this is hard. I’m not an expert at this. I’m not perfect at this. Because if not, how are you going to relate to your client when they’re struggling to get through or they’re struggling with form or they’re struggling to complete it. You know, if you haven’t done, if you haven’t experienced that same thing, if everything you do is so easy, Oh, I can do pull ups with one hand. Like, you know, how are you going to ever relate? You know, it’s good that you experienced that so that you could know how it felt so that you can be encouraging every time you see a client with that same lens.
So, uh, Ray kind of wanted to ask you this question cause in the episode you sh you, you struggled a little bit without Jay Jay’s help, um, during the episode until you realize that you can become your own hero. Um, now that the show’s over and for the most part, like the cameras aren’t on you and people are watching what you’re eating and how you’re working out and maybe JJ is not trained new every day. Maybe he is. How do you foresee yourself maintaining this lifestyle? Because so many people after weight loss shows like biggest loser and extreme weight loss, a lot of them gained the weight back because the fame has gone, the cameras and lights are, all that attention has gone. How do you plan on maintaining this healthy lifestyle now that you’ve lost the weight? What are some things you’re doing to put in place to make sure that you don’t gain the weight? The weight back?
Yeah, that’s a, I mean it was, it’s been kind of the perfect storm the last couple of months cause the, the show got over and suddenly Thanksgiving and Christmas are here. You know, so I, uh,
[inaudible],
you know, for a little while there I felt lost and there wasn’t someone watching me the whole time. And, um, where am I going to focus my narcissism now? Cause there’s not a camera on me and, uh, but he, you know, I, uh, it was another chance for me to, uh, like, uh, put the signs in my house that are still up. It was another chance to be my own hero. It was a was I, am I going to decide to do it anyway or not? And it’s still powerful to decide to do that. And, uh, you know, I’ve still got a little ways to go, but I, um, you know, at this point have not backtracked from, from where you saw me at the show. And, and, uh, I’m, I can do a few pull-ups at a time. And, uh, I, uh, I made progress for the first time ever climbing a rope. Um,
cool.
Well, there’s, there’s all sorts of the cool things that I want to see if my body can do still. I mean, just before we started talking today, J J and I started talking about our next a Spartan race that we’re going to do. And uh, you know, you’re right. And that I’m not training with JJ every day. I seen him about once a week now. And, uh, but you know, I, I do have to figure that in, uh, in my life and I’m working it out. And I mean, I have an amazing wife who is awesome. Julie’s lost over 70 pounds herself.
Seven. I know. It’s so amazing. I think like, she could have had her own episode, you know, like, that’s, that’s amazing that she’s doing it with you. So congrats to her.
Got some pretty amazing inspiration. Uh, the sitting next to me at home.
Yeah. That’s so awesome. And doing it together. I mean, that makes such a huge difference. I know JJ touched on it briefly with him and Erica and I know Erica and she’s amazing and inspiring. And when you’re doing it together, when you’re both eating similar foods and you know, both into physical activity, it doesn’t even have to be the gym. I’m not huge at the gym, but the fact that, you know, if you have friends or family that liked to go on hikes or biking or just be active, it makes a big difference. It makes it so much easier.
Yeah. And I’ve had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people, you know, from the shows and I can kind of see, you know, the ones that have gained the weight back and the ones that are able to still maintain this healthy lifestyle. And a couple of things, Ray and um, and you know, I’m not just speaking to you or giving you advice, but other people out there is one, number one, accountability. So you’re going to get a lot of fans from the show that are going to ask you questions like, Ray, you know, you’re my inspiration. You’re right, you’re my hero. You know, how do I lose weight? You know, what can I do? And so they’re going to be looking to you. And so the ones that I’ve noticed, um, are maintaining the healthy lifestyle are the ones that are continually posting on social media and things like that.
And being active with their followers. Um, the ones that kind of drop off and don’t post anymore their meals or don’t post their workouts or you know, even sometimes selfies, you know, it’s kind of, you’re, you’re staying accountable to your following and then at the same time it’s, it’s setting new goals. Like the Spartan race is a great way to stay motivated to stay in shape cause you paid the hundred bucks or whatever it is, you know, for the Spartan race and, and six months from now you can’t show up on race day out of shape. You know, you’re going to be screwed. So you have to stay in shape to, to, um, you don’t want to let that money go to waste. So setting new goals, signing up for new races, staying motivated throughout the year after year is, is the way to, to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It sounds like you’re, you’re doing that and you have a support system and you’re your awesome wife. So
I sure do. And I’m so excited to, uh, to kind of focus 2016, you know, I’d declared 2015 the year of right. And, uh, it absolutely was, I’m super excited to kind of make the 2016 the year of everyone else. I’m excited to reach outside myself and see, uh, it’s weird to be an inspirational figure, but since, since there are people going to be inspired by my journey, how awesome is that to get my hands, elbow deep in their own journeys? You know, it’s, I’m are excited for, uh, for this next year and, and the transition
of, of turning outside myself now that I’ve got the inside somewhat figured out.
Yeah, man, it’s all about paying it forward now. You know, and now that you’ve, you’ve learned how to do this, you can teach other people how to do it now and you’re paying it forward by, you know, being an inspiration to others. Last question before begin to lightning round you guys, cause we’re running out of time. Uh, J this is for you, JJ. You know, I noticed in the episode you let your kids kind of eat some of the foods as you’re gaining the weight. Um, now that you’re back to fit, has that caused some controversy or contention in the house where your kids are like, I want the donut and the shake. I, I miss my, my old dad, you know, and we got eat the good food. How does you, how do you, how do you and Eric and your kids now maintain a healthy lifestyle? How do you implement cheat meals? I know you guys have a tradition of going to a pizza place out there in Utah. I don’t know if you still do that, but how do you guys, what are three tips you can give people to maintaining healthy lifestyle as a family? And then you can kind of talk about the, the contention with your kids if they miss the old dead, my chubby daddy,
you know what, it actually, this whole journey helped them. Uh, they’re, they’re young, you know, um, I think for the, for the most part, it, it helped my eight year old the most, cause she’s a little bit older. She kinda gets it. Um, my three year old, she doesn’t quite know what’s what’s going on yet. Uh, she, so she helped me with some of my donut eating challenges and it like donut number three for her. She was feeling the pain I was feeling. So she was on like the verge of tears. And then she entered the food coma state and then she woke up, nauseous and threw up. So it was, it was good for her to, uh, to see that this food is not as fun as it, it looks. So, uh, it was, this whole journey actually helped our, our little family a lot.
So we, uh, we’re back to clean eating. We’re on Erica’s meal plans, um, and we, we feed them, but it’s on the meal plan. You know, we don’t, I think you’ve said this in the pasture. We don’t, you know, we don’t go outside at night and, uh, do Mac and cheese or nuggets or anything else for them. Like they eat what we, and, uh, if, if they’re not eating, they’ll, uh, they’ll get hungry enough where they will. So, um, we’re trying to teach them good habits in the home, you know, so if it’s not in the home, if like the crap food is not in the, in the home, they’re going to have a hard time eating it. So we just don’t bring it in. Yeah.
I love that. Yeah. And of course, like people are going to spurs from time to time. Yes. My kids have ice cream. Yes. My kids last night, we’re eating an Oreo with me. It’s not like my kids never get that, but for the most part, you know, we keep healthy foods inside the home because it’s what their body needs. They’re little growing beings. If anything, they need it even more than us. They need the nutrient dense foods as their bodies are growing. Um, so it’s, um, so I, and anybody that has ever tried any of Erica’s meal plans and recipes, they are like the bomb. They are so good. Erica is, Ugh, I just want to move in and
we’re still waiting for her to start a meal prep company starts shipping nationwide, especially Hawaii. Really quick before we jump into the light, like this just popped up cause I know people are going to be curious. Ray, can you update us as far as, um, any progress with, uh, any adoption plans or you get you and your wife having kids? Is there any pro, is any news there?
Uh, you know, we, we’ve got some leads. Uh, nothing solid, no, no papers signed. But uh, I have, I just feel so sustained in the faith that my transformation is going to bring a baby into our home.
I love that man. Thank you so much.
Where can people find both of you guys, you know, your website or social media, you know, tell everybody your handles and we’ll put it in the show notes because I want people to be able to follow both of you guys, um, to, you know, kind of see where things go from here.
Yeah, go, go ahead. Right.
Uh, on Instagram. I am do it any way Ray [inaudible].
All right, do it any way Ray and we’ll put that in the show notes.
Well you can find me. I had had a hit trainer on Instagram or hit trainer 33 on Twitter, just JJ Peterson on Facebook. And then I cleaned simple eats a is my wife’s a website or a hit trainer, fit.com is my website.
Try and fit. And that’s H I T people, so yes. Awesome. Love it. Okay. Well that’ll be on the show notes. If you guys want
kind of follow along and to ask you guys question or gain inspiration. Of course people like me, I want to be able to follow and see how things go for you and your wife race so that way we can follow you guys. So now we’re going into my favorite part, which is the lightning round question. For those that don’t know what the lightning question is, that’s where we’re going to ask just a few random questions that have no rhyme or reason or purpose. Literally I just want to know, and you guys, I’m going to, we’re doing a different, cause we normally don’t have two people. You normally have one person. So we’re going to go from one to the next person. Different questions though. The key is you have to answer the question as quickly as possible and the first thing that comes to your head.
Yeah. Okay. Yep. So, so last one question and we’ll have a, I’ll tell her who you know, cause some of these are for both of you. Um, and we’ll start with Ray
[inaudible].
Right? What food do you miss the most? Sushi. JJ. JJ pizza. What kind of, what kind of pizza?
Oh, bacon wrap. Deep. Deep.
Yeah. We just had Dan Partland on and I think that pizza that you had was like, cause I asked him, I’m like, okay, you saw all these trainers eating all this delicious. Which food
did you like? Want to dive into? Cheeseburger. Double bacon.
And I think that was from you. This question
for both of you, but I want JJ to answer first. What is your most embarrassing Jim moment? And when I asked that, I mean really an embarrassing moment. Like maybe you had to fart and you’re like, no one’s around, but then it was silent and violent. Or maybe someone’s spotting you and they’re holding your feet and you come up for a crunch and you accidentally let one rep I want to know.
And Jim moment, I don’t think I have like a farty
well, if it’s, I’m just giving you an example.
It doesn’t have to be a party. Uh, you know, I think, uh, I think I was trying to max out on bench one time. This was a while ago. And drew, you’ve done this before too. Just please tell me you’ve done this and you’re going for your max and you’re like screaming and yelling and you’re doing like all the grunting and weird noises that people make and all of a sudden like one side starts to tip and you’ll lose it. And then the other side tips and there just happens to be a mirror on that side. And the barbell crashes into this giant mirror, shatters everything.
Oh,
I’m telling you like if there’s seven years of bad luck for that mirror, like I’ve got to come in late. That’s what it was loud and it was bad. You guys. So that was probably most embarrassing. Was this at CrossFit the point? No. Oh no, no, no, no. We don’t have gyms or out mirrors. There was a, it was a, it was in college. She was in, it was in the gym at [inaudible].
Okay. That has not happened to me. Uh, that, uh, I seen it on YouTube though. A lot of people do that on YouTube, so you’re not alone has the farting, embarrassing stories. Okay. So, I mean, where did I get those examples for? That’s all I’m going to say. No, just get it. Okay. Write your check. Think about this
Jim moment.
I don’t have to think much. Mine is flatulence. It was that very first day JJ and I started working together. I was so nervous. You’re nervous. Your body will build up some gas and I was doing my max sit-ups in a minute and one of them squeeze out a little fart and it may or may not have come out on the audio. You might have heard it on the show. I’m not sure. But I know the sound guy confirmed that he heard it.
Hopefully JJ wasn’t holding your feet down. I should. Yeah, he was holding my, what I signed up for.
I love it. I love it.
Okay, so either Ray first and then JJ, and you might’ve already answered this with your, your farting story, but either your funniest or funnest moment when you filmed the show. Your favorite, your favorite show moment.
Oh boy. Um, there’s no, my, my favorite moment was my first Spartan race and uh, it was at the end and there were, there were a couple of times, my first Spartan race was a super and I was still at like three 30, three 40 or something. And uh, I thought it was crazy to even try it. And uh, it was near the end. It was the second to the last obstacle cause the last obstacle is always a jump over a fire.
Yeah, I remember that done that one.
It was this, uh, like nearly vertical wall that I had to climb and I just stood at the top of it and looked down and I saw the fire, I saw the finish line and all these emotions came rusting, uh, rushing to, to the front. And I just took a moment at the top of that wall and I, and I flexed in my arms and I just felt like the King of the world there.
Oh,
that was a powerful moment. I’ve done a couple of other Spartan races, got my trifecta this past year and I always kind of pause it. That same obstacle. And, and remember that moment. It was, it was such a beautiful and empowering moment for me.
That’s awesome. Oh my gosh, I love that. And I, I had seen when you guys were doing that, that Spartan race, so I just want to say, you know, kudos man. I, I’ve done that and I, I, I basically told everyone I died. They’re like, how was it? I’m like, Oh, evil, I died basically. Like it’s, it’s no joke.
It is not an, and I’m proud to say that your black toe made an appearance on the, on the episode, right?
Yes. I want know of Sparta.
I love that.
Yeah. And I’m excited to hear about your guys’ next Spartan race. Are you guys doing the Vegas one Vegas in March maybe.
Okay. JJ, your favorite moment of the show?
Mine for sure was the, like the final reveal. Like when Ray walked through those doors in, you know, in, he was dressed really nice. Like all of his family’s there. My family’s there. That was like the culminating moment of this whole entire journey to see Ray walk through that door looking like 1 million bucks holding his head high, his shoulders are back is, I mean just all the confidence in the world. Like of course I cried, I lost my mind. But that like made all of this, I mean the whole eight months of whatever, we just did worth it in that moment. It was amazing.
That is awesome. I love that. I love that you guys. Cool. Well that was our last lightning round questions. You guys survived only one flatulent story, so that’s great. But no, seriously you guys, we are so grateful that you guys came on that episode. We were so inspired by your journeys and we know that so many thousands of other people are going to be inspired too. We’ll make sure everybody is able to link up to you guys through the, the information on the website through Instagram. We’ll leave it in the show notes and yeah,
and uh, I’m guessing you have no plans to do this for season two, right? JJ J D
you ready for round two?
It’s like that contract I’m used to. I’ll plan to read through that.
It’s so easy, right? It’s so easy just to gain it. Just kidding. Dude. I love you guys. You guys are so awesome. I’m so glad that you guys were picked for the show cause you were perfect for each other and I love seeing how it brought you two together and the bond that you guys have down. I mean it’s so cool to see you each are each other’s heroes in a way, you know, and it’s, it’s awesome to see that bond that not a lot of people get to have. Even as personal trainers, you don’t always get that bond with other people. And so, um, I’m happy for you to, I’m happy for you too and you guys, you know, and I can’t wait to see you guys again back in Utah hopefully soon and in the future be working with you guys. Thanks so much. Okay guys,
just kidding.
Thank you guys for joining us on today’s episode. We really hoped you enjoyed today’s content and discussion with JJ and Ray. Please. If you do enjoy this podcast, please support us. Definitely would love your support. There’s a place to donate on our website, fit to fat to fit.com for sash podcast and there’s a donate button on there. If you, if you want to keep our podcast alive, who would definitely appreciate that and please leave us a review on iTunes, subscribe to our show, tell your friends and family about it if you find this content valuable. We love doing this for you guys and we would love to continue doing it for you.
Yeah, and if you want to find us, you guys, you can find us on social media or on our websites. My handle is the number to fit at home and you can find me on Instagram and on Facebook. Um, I do have a Pinterest and Twitter but I don’t use it very often and my website, the number two fit@home.com you can read UpToDate blog posts, I have other great, amazing fitness content on there. And you can sign up for my newsletter, which I usually send out at least one newsletter a month.
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