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How RJ Summers Beat Addiction, Lost 40 Pounds, and Restored His Health

After years of substance abuse left his health in crisis, he rebuilt his body and his life with consistent training, smarter nutrition, and a dialed-in supplement stack.

How RJ Summers Beat Addiction, Lost 40 Pounds, and Restored His Health
Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD
Updated December 2, 2025

 

When RJ Summers sat down with his wife in November 2024 to go over his first full blood panel, he already knew he wasn’t in good shape. 

But the numbers were worse than he expected. His cholesterol levels were elevated, and his liver damage number was “off the charts — I believe I was at 40 or close to it.”

Years of drug use (from roughly 2015 to 2019) and heavy drinking had caught up with him. “Deep down I was fighting an addiction. I had a problem but didn’t want to admit it,” he says. 

RJ’s doctor didn’t sugarcoat the situation: Change your lifestyle now or the consequences will get far worse. She had him coming in every 3–4 months for follow-up bloodwork.

That conversation was a turning point.

Rebuilding From the Ground Up

RJ went back to what he knew best: training hard and cleaning up his nutrition. 

“Right out of high school, I was dedicated for a few years in the gym, then once I got into drugs I fell off,” he says. 

This time, he wasn’t looking back. At the start of the new year, he downloaded the Jim Stoppani Workout App and got serious about dialing in his routine. 

One JimStoppani.com workout program in particular stood out: “If anyone is like me and they like extreme things, then check out Project X for your first program… you’ll thank me later.”

Finding the Right Stack to Power His Days

With a 3 a.m. wake-up time and long days that didn’t end until 9 or 10 at night, fatigue was becoming its own obstacle. That’s when RJ committed to a consistent JYM supplement stack : Pre JYM Plus , Post JYM , and SS8 Advanced Fat Burner .

“The new formula with Pre JYM Plus has given me that extra push in the gym after a long day at work,” he says. Recovery was another game-changer: “The moment I added in Post JYM, I noticed the recovery time in my muscles improved — that sore feeling didn’t stick around long.”

And while SS8 is a fat burner, RJ found a different benefit that mattered just as much: afternoon energy. “I was using it more for the boost I’d get from it in the afternoon… and that stuff did not disappoint.” The fat-loss bonus didn’t hurt either.

Fast-Forward One Year

Twelve months later, RJ barely recognizes the guy he used to be. He’s down 40 pounds, sitting between 238–242 pounds after starting at 275–280. His goal now is the 220s — a number he once thought was impossible.

More importantly, the bloodwork that once scared him straight has nearly normalized. “Cholesterol numbers are back to normal and my liver damage number is down to 36!” he says “One more point lower and I’m back on the chart.”

The physical changes are obvious, but the deeper transformation is harder to quantify. “Addiction can be beat — you just can’t rely on anyone else, it all comes down to you,” he says. “I was given what’s needed to succeed from Dr. Stoppani and his team… I just needed to put in the work.”

Consistency became his anchor. Progress photos became his reality check. And over time, the hard days weren’t as hard.

“Day by day, the more dedicated I stayed to bettering myself, the changes kept coming and the easier it became to stay on a consistent schedule,” says RJ.

He also keeps one quote from an unknown source close: “Consistency and discipline birth success.”

For RJ, that’s no longer just a saying — it’s his guiding principle.


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