Cody Engelman

This former U.S. Marine adopted a proper diet and training program to turn his fitness around.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated March 28, 2024

Written by Cody Engelman

All my life, I've been overweight. Always made fun of for being fat, never getting to play sports because no one would let me.

So when I graduated high school, I joined the Marine Corps. I lost 70 pounds and was finally “in shape,” yet even then, I still struggled with weight.

In the Marines, my max weight was 186 pounds and I was constantly floating around there. Unfortunately, the exercise in the Marines aren’t structured like Jim Stoppani's workout programs. I was able to keep it under wraps, and then I ended up getting out of the Marines after two tours in Iraq.

Once I was in the civilian world, I had no one to yell at me or make me run eight miles at 4:30 in the morning anymore, so I continued to pack on weight – I still ate like I had been, but I didn’t move like I used to.

At one point, I got so frustrated and angry for letting myself go and not being up to Marine standards anymore that I tried the horrid HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) diet. I did lose weight, but after that, I was diagnosed with low testosterone. Since then, I have learned from my mistakes and I am intentionally changing my life around – moving from “live to eat” to “eat to live.”

My father always had the “live to eat” mentality. Because of that, he has had four heart attacks and multiple bypass surgeries. Watching him go through life with eating as a priority changed my whole outlook on food. Because of that, I see food as a tool that's going to enable me to reach my goals. Food is fuel for my body, and I want the best kind of fuel as often as I can get it.

Last year, I set my goal to get shredded. I wanted the six-pack I have never seen, and I wanted a very hard yet obtainable goal to drive me. After all, I had been a Marine, so I knew I had the dedication to get it done.

Getting started was probably the hardest part of my journey. Getting into a whole new routine and a whole new way to live life was a huge adjustment. But once I locked in my day-to-day, which did not include bread and sugar, the weight just started falling off.

With those results, I was able to push past the days I didn’t feel like I was progressing. Now, I'm so happy I didn't turn tail and stop. I pushed beyond what I wanted to do and what I felt like what was working and what wasn’t. That’s also when I researched all the science about fat loss and muscle gains, diets, what food does to your body, what supplements are important to take and which ones I can live without.

That’s when I came across Jim's amazing programs, products, and articles that were backed by science! I picked Super Shredded 8, because the last four weeks of the program seemed almost impossible in my current state. It took 16 weeks, but I completed SS8. I refused to progress to the next week until I finished every single exercise, all my reps, and every single day of the week.

By the end of it, I lost 50 pounds in about six months, even through the holidays (I started at the end of September).

I used Jim's fish oil (Omega JYM), Pro JYM, and Pre JYM, along with a great diet, and I was able to see great results!

I couldn’t have done it without the encouragement of my friends and family, the huge help from my wife in creating great low-carb food options, and Jim's products and programs!

I only have 3 to 5 percent body fat left to lose, and once I get my six-pack, I plan on doing a lean bulk-up to 180 pounds. Then I will just go into maintenance mode, but not change my current lifestyle that got me to where I need to be.

I will say to anyone who has similar goals or background as mine: Keep pushing past the “I can’t see any results” phase. Your body is doing a lot of things — just be patient. Always use max effort and never short-change yourself! Push every set to failure, and then some.

Lastly, if you can’t control what you eat, you'll never be able to control your weight. Make that body of yours submit to what you want it to do and don’t let your body have its sugar- and carb-addicted way.

Related Articles

Foundations