Darrell Hits a Breaking Point

"I had been a big guy all my life," Darrell told POPSUGAR. "I had tried and failed many times throughout high school and college to lose weight and, except for one notable but temporary success in high school, I was never actually successful. It never stuck. I had sort of resigned myself to my fate of being uncomfortably big forever."

After college, Darrell said he hit a breaking point. He was working at a restaurant, which meant he was on his feet and walking around a lot. His thighs would rub together and his pants would get holes in the inner thigh area. After having to replace his pants every few months, he invested in a tougher pair of Dickies work pants, but wore through those after five months.

"All of a sudden, I just couldn't deal with it anymore," he said. "I simply could no longer exist like that. So I talked to my girlfriend, told her I had to do something, and she decided to do it with me."

Darrell Begins His Fitness Journey

In August 2012, Darrell began his fitness journey. Within a year, he dropped 130 pounds, went from a 48-inch waist to a 30.5-inch waist and from an XXL t-shirt to a medium. Although he didn't measure his body fat percentage before the weight loss, he estimates it was 40 percent or higher, and he got down to a little over 10 percent body fat.

"This may not be the answer people want to hear, but I want to be very clear when I say this: there is no magic in how I lost 130 pounds," he told POPSUGAR. "There was no special, trendy diet. There was no hot new workout. There was no special combination of supplements, no mind-blowingly intense workout, no fat-loss clinic and certainly no special shake or detox. No magic pill."

Instead, Darrell said he started "eating the right amount of the right things." For fitness, he worked out five days a week with a combination of HIIT, functional training, and running. "During this whole process, I found running, and frankly, that's the only [traditional] cardio I did," he said. "Not for weight loss or fat loss, but because I enjoyed it." Now, Darrell competes in marathons and ultramarathons.

He parlayed his weight-loss and fitness journey into a career; Darrell is currently a certified personal trainer and fitness director at Anytime Fitness in Attleboro, MA.

What Darrell Eats in a Day

To stay in shape and fuel his rigorous workouts, Darrell eats a well-rounded diet of whole foods. But he doesn't stick to a strict diet. "Restrictive diets with lots of rules are tough to stick to," he said. "Breaking the rules and 'ruining your diet' can lead to feelings of failure and shame and can ultimately lead you to give up completely. Instead, I approach nutrition with some smarter, healthier choices and moderation."

Breakfast: Darrell wakes up each morning around 6 or 7 a.m. and has a cup of coffee with stevia. He'll usually eat breakfast after a morning workout and has one of three things: eggs and egg whites with some lean meat; oatmeal, often with a scoop of chocolate protein powder mixed in; or some sort of breakfast cereal with skim milk, like bran flakes or Special K Red Berries. Sometimes he'll have a piece of fruit as a mid-morning snack.

Lunch: He usually has some sort of lean protein and a side, like a veggie. Another lunch he has is a turkey burger on a whole wheat deli thin with a side of reduced-fat potato chips.

Dinner: Darrell said his dinner depends on his work schedule. If he's at the gym late, he'll bring a prepped dinner similar to his lunch. If he's home for dinner, he and his wife will cook something healthy like steak, chicken, or fish, usually with a veggie and a starch for sides.

What His Fitness Routine Looks Like

Running is still a major part of Darrell's fitness, and he is usually signed up for a marathon or ultramarathon. When that's the case, he thinks of his training as two parts: running and everything else.

He typically runs five days a week, with Saturdays and Sundays being his longer runs, sometimes up to 20 miles or so if he's training for an ultramarathon, which is usually about once a year.

As a trainer, Darrell knows that strength training is an important part of any fitness plan to build lean muscle to burn more calories at rest and change your body composition. He strength trains two or three times a week with functional training or HIIT, using dumbbells, kettlebells, bands, medicine balls, and bodyweight moves. He also prefers doing compound exercises [3] to work more than one muscle group at the same time. He added that running is the only "traditional" cardio he did during his weight-loss journey, but anything that gets your heart rate up is technically considered cardio: that's why he was able to get in shape with HIIT and other workouts instead of only spending hours on the treadmill.

"That said, I'm human; I'm not always rock solid on my workout schedule," he said. "It's important to understand that lapses, or temporary hiccups in your workout plan, are just that: temporary." Instead of beating yourself down or stopping completely, Darrell suggests learning from that lapse and moving forward on your journey.

His Nonscale Victories

Within the first year of his weight loss, Darrell said "a lot of cool things happened." He finished his first 5K, then a couple months later ran his first 10K. In October 2013, Darrell ran his first half marathon.

"Late in that first year, at a physical, my doctor measured my resting heart rate at 43. After taking note of how low it was, he said, 'but that's normal for athletes,'" Darrell said. "What a moment — that hit me right in the feels."

In August 2014, about a year after achieving his 130-pound weight loss, Darrell got married. He had kept the weight off and was able to fit into a slim-fit tux. "I looked damn good," he said. His wife, who had agreed to join him on his weight-loss journey, also lost and kept off the weight. They continue to live this healthy lifestyle together.

Now, as a personal trainer and runner, Darrell continues to challenge himself. "I finished my first marathon, then went on to finish nine more," he said. "I finished my first ultramarathon and went on to finish nine more of those, including two 50-mile races and two 100-mile finishes. Not once, but twice I ran 100 miles in one shot; there was a 30-hour time limit." Talk about dedication!

How Darrell Stays Motivated and His Tips for Others

"I feel good; healthy feels good. I don't ever want to go back to how I felt before the weight loss and before my health turned around," he told POPSUGAR. "I want to set a good example for my family, my future children, and my coaching clients." He also has a blog and podcast called So THIS Is Fitness [4]. In addition to training people at Anytime Fitness in Attleboro, MA, he also takes virtual clients that he coaches through their health and fitness journey.

He also wants to set a good example for this training clients, coaching clients, and the people who follow his blog and on social media. "I put myself out there on all those platforms to provide a little inspiration," he said. "I know there are people listening, watching, and reading who are in a similar boat now to where I was in the beginning. The hope is the inspiration I provide will spark some motivation inside them to do the thing and make a change."

Darrell's Tips for Others on a Weight-Loss Journey:

• Attitude is everything: "A positive attitude, positive self-talk and the belief that you can, in fact, succeed in your efforts and reach your goals has a big impact on the end result. Try not to let the rough moments get you down. People almost always underestimate themselves and don't give themselves enough credit. You're probably doing much better than you think, and you're probably capable of much more than you think."
• Build a support system around you: "It is so tough to do this alone, and I don't know how it would've gone if I didn't have my wife (then girlfriend) by my side. This might mean your significant other, family, friends, coworkers, your coach; anyone who you're in somewhat regular contact with who can impact whether you do or don't reach your goals. The hope is that they'll actively support and encourage you, helping make the journey easier."
• Understand it's a marathon, not a sprint: "It's going to take time, and shortcuts do not end well. Do it right, and give change the time it takes."
• You're going to mess up: "It's normal. You have to know 'screw ups' or lapses in your fitness efforts are completely normal. Nobody is perfect, and you're bound to hit a plateau or have an off day with nutrition or miss a workout. You have to ride the wave and take it in stride. Most journeys are not on a straight and level road, and that includes your health and wellness journey."
• You can't cheap out on your health: "As with most things, in order to hire a truly skilled professional to help you achieve your goals, cheap is often not the best choice. Being a coach is about more than just slapping together a workout plan, and if you're getting your fitness training for free or dirt cheap, there's probably something missing. There's a lot of value in that professional's time and expertise if you're willing to communicate and use them to their fullest capability. Plus, your fitness expenses now will be much less expensive than your health and medical expenses later."
• It's not just about eating less and moving more: "Yes, those are major components of the process, and I don't want to understate that. I do think it's important people understand though that physical fitness is just one aspect of health and wellness. Emotional health, stress levels, interpersonal relationships — it all works together and affects each other. One of the biggest reasons why people fail in their fitness and weight-loss efforts is stress. Make sure you're paying attention to the other areas of your life and feel good about your universe as a whole."

What's Next for Darrell

Darrell continues to train and coach clients. Although he's not planning for any ultramarathons this year, he does want to work on getting faster. "I think a big goal of mine this year would be to break a four-hour marathon and get my body fat down to 10 percent," he said. "I think I'd be happy with both of those goals."

"If you're near Attleboro, MA, you can work with me at Anytime Fitness. If you're not near there, you can still work with me through virtual coaching at SoTHISIsFitness.com [5]," he said. "I love what I do, and if I can help someone have success like I did, that makes this all worth it."