How Pascal Managed to Lose 30 kg (66 lb) in 7 Months

My name is Pascal, I’m 34 years old and I come from Duisburg. Seven months ago I weighed 155 kg (342 lb). For years, I had been telling myself, “Aww, that’s not so bad.” I couldn’t understand why my parents were so worried about my weight. I guess I just didn’t want to deal with it.

Then I visited my parents who were living in Spain. A day at the beach finally opened my eyes: My dad and I went for a swim and he left me far behind. I couldn’t keep up with him due to my lack of fitness. That was the trigger that finally motivated me to lose weight.

My first idea was to play soccer, but that didn’t last long because I got hurt. My doctor advised me to stop. That set me back to square one in my struggle to lose kilos. I wondered what I should do. My stepson came up with the answer: he said I should start running together with him. At first, I couldn’t even make it halfway across the local soccer field, but soon I ran my first 100 m stretch without walking or stopping. I was determined not to give up.

My wife tried to help further motivate me by giving me an activity tracker. I also decided to break one of my bad habits: my beloved gamer’s paradise, the computer. I had always found computer games very relaxing, but I didn’t want to fall back into old patterns. So I said farewell to the computer, and I have to admit it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

From that point on, I made more time for exercise. After a few weeks, I could already see the first results of running: I had lost 5 kg (11 lb) and could run 3 km at a stretch. I started to enjoy nature and learned that I could relieve stress by running. I was thrilled to see my performance improve with each run and to watch the kilos simply melt away.

It got to the point where my stepson no longer wanted to run with me 😉 But I didn’t let this stop me. From now on, I would travel the long and difficult road on my own.

At home, I had my family who cheered me on during my runs and celebrated even the smallest successes with me. On the go, people I didn’t even know cheered me on via the Runtastic app. This gave me an enormous boost.

What I especially like is that my family has stood behind me 100% on my weight loss journey. My daughter is also very active: she is doing krav maga, floor gymnastics and dance – all at the tender age of 5. I couldn’t be prouder!

If I think back on the past seven months, I can say that running has become an essential and relaxing part of my daily routine. I was able to lose 30 kg (66 lb) by sticking with it, cutting out sugar and running five times per week.

I currently weigh 125 kg (275 lb) and my weight loss journey is far from over. Thanks to Runtastic, your apps and of course the huge Runtastic Community who is always there to keep me focused and cheer me on.

Send your success story to mysuccess@runtastic.com. We’d love to hear about your weight loss journey!

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