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Luverne’s Brian Abrahamson lost over 160 pounds in the past year and is motivated to keep losing weight, possibly another 30 pounds or more.
Why? Two years ago he topped out at 430 pounds, and he worried life was passing him by.
“I want to be there for my kids,” said Abrahamson, 41. “It hurt to move. I could hardly get off a chair. I hurt all the time. … And I just didn’t feel well.”
How did he do it? Diet and exercise, he said.
“There are some people out there that assume that I must have gotten surgery to lose the 160 pounds of weight I did,” he said.
“I had no surgeries. All the weight I lost was on my own. … Diet, exercise, hard work and determination.”
How did he get that big in the first place? That’s a bit more complicated.
Abrahamson said family genetics tend toward extra weight, but he accepts responsibility for his circumstances.
“I used to eat two to three big sandwiches for lunch with all the processed meat and preservatives,” he said. “Plus, I lived on snack cakes.”
Abrahamson works overnight shifts as a direct support professional in Sioux Falls where he monitors adults with disabilities.
During a typical shift he’d eat a box or two of Twinkies or Ho-Hos and wash them down with six cans of pop or energy drinks.
He shakes his head today to think about it.
Eventually the weight — and the toxic diet — took a toll. He said he felt physically sick.
His wife, Angela, said it was hard to watch. “I was worried he was going to die,” she said.
“But it’s been quite the transformation. The weight just started melting off. I’m so proud of him. … It takes a lot of dedication to go to the gym after an overnight shift.”
He laid off the junk food, started moving more, and the numbers on the scale started inching downward.
Because moving was difficult, he started with a senior exercise program that focused on balance and strengthening hips, legs and joints.
Abrahamson read up on healthy eating and decided on a ketogenic “keto” diet, a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that puts a body in a metabolic state called ketosis.
“I eat a lot of bacon,” he admitted, “and butter and cheese …”
He knows some have been critical of the keto diet, but he said it’s working for him.
He eats no grains and especially no junk food, meaning processed carbohydrates. But he does eat some fruits and vegetables and tries to get adequate omega-3s
“I try to come at it from all angles,” Abrahamson said. “I use intermittent and extended fasting, which takes a lot of motivation, dedication and focus to do.”
It wasn’t long before he graduated from senior fitness class to his own membership at Power Fitness.
As his weight dropped, his exercise routine picked up momentum.
In addition to burning calories on a stationary bike, Abrahamson works the circuit of weight machines, focusing alternatively on arms, legs, shoulders, etc.
Power Fitness manager Courtney DeBoer said the progress was noticeable.
“Brian has come such a long way since he joined,” she said. “He comes in and gets straight to work … working hard the entire time he is here.”
After learning the basics of exercises and form, he progressed to working independently, now rarely missing a day. “I would say I’m addicted to working out,” he said.
But DeBoer sees that as a good thing.
“Brian is very motivated and dedicated to transforming his life,” she said. “It's great to see him in here on a daily basis working toward his goals.”
He joined Tashia Klosterbuer’s community weight loss challenge for extra motivation.
“I was already losing weight, and I decided I’d donate my winnings to the food shelf,” he said.
On the Nov. 19 final weigh-in, Abrahamson met his goal weight of 220 pounds — 160 down from the start of his weight loss journey on Nov. 22, 2018.
During the challenge that started Oct. 1, he lost 12.59 percent of his body weight, making him the winner of $225, which he donated to the Rock County Food Shelf.
Inspiring story
Abrahamson said he enjoys that people have noticed, and he’s happy to tell his story to anyone who will listen.
On his Facebook page, he posts updates on his weight loss and has received more than 1,000 “likes” and comments from people — some of them complete strangers — following his journey.
On Nov. 7 he posted that his weight loss story would be told in the Star Herald.
“I’m just a humble dude,” he wrote, “but I hope I can inspire others in my community.”
That was also the message he shared with the Star Herald.
“I want to be an inspiration for others.”
Telling his story sometimes includes what he calls “confessions of a fat guy” on Facebook.
On Nov. 9 he posted that he used to eat boxes of snack cakes in a day, “sometimes adding a half gallon of ice cream in one setting ... maybe half a pie. … Don’t go down that same path.”
But mostly, his posts are uplifting.
“It was a great feeling to lose 10 pant sizes,” he shared on Nov. 11. “How do you think a 20 pant size loss feels?”
At 5 feet 8 inches, 220 pounds, Abrahamson still is determined to shed another 20 to 30 pounds. But he won’t be doing it alone.
His wife periodically sends him photos of his former self to encourage him. “Nobody can do it for you,” he said. “You have to do it for yourself.”
And he’s enjoyed the company of his online supporters.
“I’m here to say you can put the snack cakes down,” he tells his Facebook followers. “It takes more than just saying it; it takes work. But we can do it together.”