Elbert Riley

Setting attainable goals and knocking them down one by one has helped this JYM Army member lose weight and help many others do the same.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated September 28, 2023

Written by Elbert Riley

My fitness journey began in 2009. I was a sophomore in high school at the time and had been heavy-set for as long as I could remember. I just knew at that point that it had gotten far out of control. I was absolutely fed up with everything that came with being overweight and decided to make a change.

When I started my journey, I was in the 420-pound range. I started by cutting the things I knew were unhealthy and replacing them with healthy alternatives. I also started walking and setting goals.

Once I accomplished a goal, I would set another realistic goal. Setting a goal and crushing it is one of the best feelings you will ever experience. It taught me that you need goals in your life to work toward and to never be completely satisfied. Keep striving for more!

I had taken several fat burners, protein powders, and pre-workouts, and even made my own stack with raw ingredients from watching YouTube videos of Jim talking about supplementation.

Then, one night I was searching the Internet and ended up on bodybuilding.com. Pre JYM had just been released and was on the very first page of the site. I clicked on it and started reading about the science behind the ingredients and was immediately sold.

I was surprised that the guy who actually formulated the supplement was backing it and explaining why each ingredient was there and the reason it was used. I then started looking through all of the programs on the website that Jim had released, and it was history from there. I starting using his programs and supplements from that day on. Still to this day, I see continuous results from supplementation and training.

Throughout my life, I have always wanted to be in a role in which I could help as many people as possible. It didn’t matter what I was helping them with, as long as I could say I did something to help.

After spending countless hours reading articles, watching videos, training, and eating right, I made up my mind. I wanted to do something in the fitness industry in order to help ordinary people like me succeed at something that could seem so out of reach.

I started helping friends by writing out a meal plan to follow so they could hit the proper macros, and I had them hit the gym with me. I have helped countless numbers of people in my life lose weight and make a complete lifestyle change.

The biggest keys to my success would probably have to be the motivation that I received from friends and family, proper supplementation, and proper exercise programs. Also, the knowledge I received from reading Jim’s articles and posts helped leaps and bounds. I am now the "go-to guy" for all of my friends and family for fitness and nutrition advice. I knew I couldn’t let them down.

Due to me being young and having little-to-no knowledge of what I was doing, I never had my body-fat percentage measured and to this day, I haven't had it measured.

Since I was so overweight, I have a large amount of excess skin that I will have to deal with unless I undergo surgery to have it removed. Like I said earlier about setting goals, having that surgery is a goal that I have set, so maybe one day it will be within reach for me.

I hope this article will help at least one person realize that it can be done. As long as you set your mind to it and want it, anything is possible.If anyone reading this wants to ask me any questions, feel free to reach out to me on social media. I will gladly answer any questions anyone has and help as much as I can.

My next goal: To meet Jim and be able to sit down with him and thank him for helping me change my life and for being such a big influence during my journey.

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