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David E. Smith at 630 pounds, his current weight, and showing off his “loose skin”

Hello and welcome to the Internet’s best-loved and most-respected low-carb podcast, “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show With Jimmy Moore!”

In today’s episode, our host Jimmy takes a look at the amazing weight loss success story of a former 630-pound man named David E. Smith, whose amazing weight loss story has been all over the Internet and television in recent months. David lost over 400 pounds using a system of moderate exercise and the STAX nutrition system, a low-carb/moderate-fat diet plan designed by his personal trainer Chris Powell.

Listen in today for the full story and get ready to be inspired anew in your own weight loss efforts!

LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 108
- “World’s Heaviest Man” Manuel Uribe losing weight on The Zone
- David E. Smith’s Bodybuilding.com page
- People magazine low-carb weight loss cover girl Mary Smith talks about being sexually abused as a child
- “Good Morning Arizona” program
- Chris Powell’s STAX Nutrition System
- News story about David Smith featuring Chris Powell
- Home footage of David E. Smith at 630 pounds
- David Smith on Oprah
- David E. Smith’s MySpace page

Did you miss anything Jimmy said? Don’t worry, there’s a full transcript waiting for you — just click the following link!

TRANSCRIPT of Episode 108:

Coming up…the unbelievable 400-pound weight loss success of David E. Smith.

I’m so happy to be bringing you Episode 108 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” today and have I got an inspiring and uplifting story of amazing weight loss success to share with you today. It’s about a man named David E. Smith and the unbelievable turnaround he has made in his life as a result of losing–GET THIS!–over 400 pounds! You heard me right–David lost 400 pounds off his 6′2″ body frame. In other words, he lost about what I weighed when I began my low-carb lifestyle in January 2004 as a 410-pound man. And that’s how much weight he lost! INCREDIBLE!

David has been featured on all sorts of news programs sharing his weight loss success and I personally couldn’t be prouder of him for changing his life forever. It’s a humbling accomplishment to lose that much weight and to become an instant motivating factor for others to take on the challenge of losing weight and getting healthy themselves. This is arguably the most inspiring weight loss success story I’ve ever seen in my life. Except for the unbelievable weight loss journey being undertaken right now by Manuel Uribe from Mexico, formerly “The World’s Heaviest Man” when he weighed in a 1235 pounds in January 2006 and who has shed well over 400 pounds on the low-carb Zone diet, the amount of weight loss produced by David E. Smith from Arizona is unprecedented.

Have you heard about this guy at all yet? He is like Jimmy Moore–TIMES TWO! It may be difficult to fathom what weighing 630 pounds looks like, but go to the show notes section at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com to see a picture of what David used to look like when he was three times bigger than he is now! Seeing video footage of David walking around with no shirt on when he was well over 600 pounds brings back a lot of painful memories for me. Although I was “only” 410 pounds at my highest weight, the body image he had was similar to mine along with the wack-wack-waddle-waddle sauntering about trying to catch your next breath. Seeing those images of himself on video are probably what prompted David to finally get serious about his weight and health for good. What David has gone through since he finally got serious about losing all of that weight over the past few years runs so parallel to my own experiences following a massive weight loss. It’s kinda eerie hearing him talk about his struggles because they almost exactly mirror some of the same thoughts, emotions, and issues that I have or am going through as well. I would be willing to bet these are common themes amongst all of us who have lost more than 100 pounds.

According to his Bodybuilding.com page, David has been overweight for his entire life and was “written off by everyone, even myself,” he said. Here’s what he had to say about why he decided to begin a weight loss journey: “All of a sudden I woke up it seemed from my despair and I realized feeling sorry about my life wasn’t going to solve my problems,” David recalled. “I decided to change my existence.” David had a lot of reasons for his obesity, not the least of which was being molested by a friend he trusted when he was only six years old. Then the constant teasing and ridicule from being a loner caused David to sink deeper into his pit of despair that led him to eat just to cover up the pain. This is something that happens under such a cloud of secrecy as People magazine’s January 2007 cover girl Mary Smith has shared about her own weight issues. So David sought assistance for his dismal situation and reached out to a local television program called “Good Morning Arizona” to help him do just that. They implored the services of a personal trainer and weight loss coach named Chris Powell who was eager to help David take on the biggest challenge of his life! And the GREAT NEWS is David overcame his demons and HE DID IT!!!

There are some fabulous videos of David’s triumphant weight loss success on YouTube that I have posted for you in the show notes section of Episode 108 at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com. You WON’T want to miss these to see just how much this man’s life has changed. It’s not just his physical appearance, but the very noticeable boost in confidence and self-esteem that is reflective of a monumental inner-change that has defined who David is as the person he was always meant to be. Watching that news footage about his weight loss, though, is it just me or are these reporters who interview those of us who have lost large amounts of weight just plain dopey?! There was one in the YouTube videos I posted who asked if David confronts obese kids on the street now that he’s lost his weight who could not possibly be serious! Yeah, kid, you’re fat, I was, now I’m not, you should lose weight, too. See how well that works for ya! Sheeeeeez!

Ever since I lost my weight, I have had a strong desire to help people who want to lose weight. But you can’t compel people who aren’t ready. Talking to kids or even adults for that matter and telling them they are fat does nothing for them. However, when they are ready, these kids and adults will know who they can come to for help because they’re watching you. David will be thrilled to give it to them, too, just as do I. I’m happy that David used a personal trainer during his weight loss and I recently did that myself since I’d like to make my upper body especially a little more muscular than it is now. My legs are very strong, but my arms and upper torso need to be “pumped up” like David has. He’s done a fantastic job! Interestingly, David’s personal trainer Chris only had him exercise three days a week to “prove weight loss could be done without a lot of it.” How about that? So, the content of his diet became an important aspect of this journey. What exactly was the diet? It’s something developed by Chris Powell called the STAX Nutrition System. This program is neat because it stores all of your food for the day in a convenient little carrying case with stackable containers of all the proteins, carbs, veggies, and fat you need to consume with a handy little timer that let’s you know when it’s time to eat. COOL! See if any of these acceptable STAX foods look familiar: protein powder, salads, eggs, cheese, almonds, walnuts, blueberries, spinach, butter, polish sausage, olive oil, cream, and even Ezekiel low-carb bread. Hey, that looks like livin’ la vida low-carb to me! A closer examination of the meal plan reveals it is a moderate-fat, high-protein, lower-carb plan designed to remove the junk out of your diet. It’s portion-controlled, but you eat a lot of meals throughout the day. If it worked for David as well as it did, then obviously it can work for many others, too! As I always say, find that plan that will work for YOU and then do it for the rest of your life!

But, just as I have blogged about quite extensively following my 180-pound weight loss, David has some rather icky looking “loose skin” that made him feel uncomfortable about going shirtless in public. He even said that he can’t feel skinny until all of the skin is removed. Boy, I couldn’t agree more! It’s been four years since my Atkins journey began and I am stuck looking at the drooping and disgusting blob of skin that hangs from my tummy and inner thighs every single day. It CAN be discouraging, no matter how many compliments you receive from people about how good you look. I love to swim, but I can never go shirtless without feeling fat. That’s somewhat disappointing. For the most part, though, I’ve been able to deal with it because my financial situation does not permit me to have the skin removal surgery like David had. Granted, his problem was MUCH worse than mine as you can see for yourself in a picture of him I’ve posted at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com, but I’d like to get that tummy tuck and thigh tuck done myself someday to complete the new me. It would probably make me more excited about my resistance training so I can see the results I am producing underneath all that skin. Someday…

Today, David radiates with confidence and is humbled by all the attention he has garnered following his weight loss. He’s obviously a shy man who is just now coming out of his shell to take on life in a way he never thought possible. This former morbidly obese 600-pounder is now working at the gym that helped him get his life back and he will now begin helping people who were just like him take their life back, too. Paying it forward, sharing not just his knowledge but also his invaluable life’s experience to give others hope for a better tomorrow. What an incredible triumph of the human spirit that deserves all the recognition and accolades that come the way of David E. Smith. You are my hero, buddy, and I wish you all the best in your long-term weight management and newly radically-transformed life!

I’ll provide a link in the show notes section at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com so you can check out David Smith’s MySpace page and be looking for his as-yet-untitled book about his weight loss experience. This man is set to inspire so many people that it is NEVER too late to get started on your weight loss plan. He’s living proof that it CAN be done…you just gotta DO IT!

Thank you for listening to Episode 108 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” I appreciate you listening and encourage you to invite your friends, co-workers, and family members to tune in as well. We’re on iTunes and can easily be downloaded to your iPod to listen to while working out or just taking a walk. We’ll be back again for another exciting episode for you to enjoy about the healthy low-carb lifestyle on Monday. So, until next time, keep on livin’ la vida low-carb!

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