Justin Willoughby

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For Immediate Release: Skin in the Game – After Extreme Weight Loss, Willoughby Seeks Skin Reduction

His weight loss success story has had him featured in newspapers, magazines, and television shows,

but even after losing 600 pounds, Justin Willoughby of Bradford, PA  has never felt comfortable in his own skin.

Local community members are rallying behind Willoughby to help him cover the expenses surrounding a skin reduction surgery,  Willoughby’s co-workers at Williams Agency Insurance started a GoFundMe campaign with the goal of raising 80K.

“As friends and co-workers of Justin’s, we heard about his desire for skin reduction surgery and knew that nothing would be covered by insurance. We knew we just had to help! Justin is an amazing person who has inspired and helped so many people to lose weight and build healthier lifestyles, says Patty VanSkiver, who along with Kristen Pecen are heading up the campaign.

“We felt that it was time for him to be on the receiving end of the blessings he pours out on others. Justin has worked way too hard for his weight loss journey to not be completed. On a daily basis we see the struggles he goes through because of the excess skin and we know that this surgery would change his life in so many ways,” says Pecen.

Willoughby has been working to maintain his weight loss for the last several years.

After a battle with extreme anxiety and food addiction, at 16 years old, he tipped the scales at 799 pounds, and was given an ultimatum by the doctors: Lose the weight or die.

Those words prompted Willougby to turn to his faith, and take his first step toward change, and within a few short years, had lost 600 pounds.

But the weight loss left him with a lot of excess, saggy skin.

A NJ doctor performed two skin reduction surgeries early on, but was not able to complete the surgery on his legs and arms, and after Willoughby continued to work to hit his goal weight, there’s more surgery needed.

Willoughby says that he has learned to live with the discomfort and insecurities of the sagging skin, but he did not see a way to solve the problem on his own.

“The need is beyond what I can afford. It’s hard asking for help, but my friends insisted that we should attempt a fundraiser.  I agreed, but it wasn’t easy. I had to drop my pride,” says  Willoughby.

In the first week, the online fundraiser has raised over 2 thousand dollars, and Willoughby has received numerous messages of encouragement, “I’m just so thankful for the support that I am receiving! I can’t wait to get this process started! I just want to feel comfortable in my own skin for the first time!”

Donations can be made online at http://gofundme.com/justinwilloughby

or can be sent via mail to:  Justin Willoughby, PO Box 1053, Bradford, PA 16701

The ultimate reality is this. Weight-loss is possible for every person. If you have a health problem, an under active thyroid, slow metabolism or whatever else. You can lose weight. Understanding this will help you move forward with your eyes looking neither to the left nor the right. You can have tunnel vision on success, and success is right in front of you.

If you are like the average person, you like to enjoy your weekends. Welcome to the club! I love to enjoy my weekends. After a long week of work and being able to finally relax and have a weekend to yourself, you tend to want to enjoy yourself. Enjoying yourself ends up being in the realm of relaxation (inactivity) and food. Does this sound familiar? We want to kick back and take our minds off of work and the hectic life that Monday-Friday brings us. So we indulge in our recliner or bed, and we serve ourselves up some good, not so healthy food. STOP RIGHT THERE! This will not bring you success!

Why won’t that type of life bring you success? Because ultimately, you are robbing yourself of experiencing a healthier more fulfilling life. Don’t get me wrong. I love taking a day off and not exercising. I love indulging on my favorite treats. I was that guy. I decided to indulge in my favorite sweets, well, pretty much a whole container of my favorite sweets. I would follow it up with some pizza or a 12 inch sub sandwich. I OVER indulged. I didn’t have self-control. Due the lack of self-control, I sabotaged my efforts and progress that I made Monday-Friday. Was it wrong that I ate pizza and sweets? No. But it would have helped if I didn’t use the weekend as an entitlement mentality to pig out. By cramming so much food into one single weekend, I did not see results. I ended up putting pounds back on, only to take them off by the weekend again, and putting them back on over the weekend. It was a wicked cycle. Pacing myself and self-control would have helped me in such a positive way.

Do you find yourself in this rut? Good news! There is hope to get through it. Here are some key ways to overcome this cycle.
1. Plan your weekends out.
2. Pace your cheats. (Don’t eat a whole pizza and a box of cookies in one sitting. Have a few slices and a few cookies and wait to see if it satisfies you.)
3. Substitute. (Find healthier options.)
4. Don’t cheat. (Some people are in a place where one cheat leads to a big cheat. That means you don’t cheat until you can control your urges.)

I know there are other options to help us in the development of self-control. But these are the few that have crossed my mind from experience. Losing 600lbs was not easy. I had to learn as I went along on that journey. I now share my experience with you. Apply these practical steps, and you will experience ONE STEP SUCCESS!

-Justin Willoughby
ONE STEP NATION

Only a Few People Can Say This Word….

It’s a word that has been used for ages, but not many people like to use it. Do we forget the meaning? Do we forget that it exists? Why do we have a

hard time pronouncing it? The word NO. Don’t stop reading. Let me inform you how important this word is to your health.  When was the last time you said “NO!” to your co-worker who offered you a sweet treat? When was the last time you told yourself “NO!” when it came to going through the

drive-thru? When was the last time we decided to say “NO!” to the urge to be lazy for the day and to not get active?

The word no has sabotaged good people into making bad choices. How many pounds would we have saved ourselves if we would have just used the word? The word no exists for a reason. When used in its proper placement, it’s a very powerful word. The truth is, you don’t have to be a YES MAN! You have a right to say NO to any temptation. Did you know that temptation does not dictate you? Did you know that you have the power to overcome it?

Saying NO gives you freedom. It gives you control over yourself and your cravings. When we master the art of saying NO, we will see a our health under a different light. I was a YES MAN to food for a long time. It wasn’t until I started to say NO to my cravings that I started to lose weight. It’s then I started to shed unwanted weight. It’s then I became stronger at the buffets, the dinner tables and at work. Remember that your life matters. Treat it like it does. By saying NO to things that will hurt you, you will put you back in charge of your life, and that will help you become a stronger person to stand up underneath your temptations. YOU CAN BE SET FREE! Let’s say it together. NO!

– Justin Willoughby
(ONE STEP NATION)

Justin here!
I am so excited to see the results that I am getting from my #62DAYCHALLENGE ! It’s been one difficult journey, and it’s not done yet. I’ve been learning some secrets on how to overcome the silly temptations that have been trying to get me off track. I would like to help you do the same.

1. NEVER BE BORED ALONE!  – Being alone and being bored will just make things miserable for you. Stay busy. Get active. Do something that will require you to get your focus off of the foods that you want.

2. SUBSTITUTIONS! – I know that you hear this all of the time, but really, it works. SUBSTITUTE your cravings for something healthier. If you are a soda drinker, you can find some herbal teas that have some really good flavoring. (Celestial Seasonings). Add a good TRUVIA sweetener mix to it, and there you go! If you like the fix, try using carbonated water with it. Sometimes it will require creativity to make a substitution. Honestly tho, it’s worth it. You won’t sabotage your efforts and end up feeling worse about yourself afterwards.

3. EDUCATE YOURSELF! – Google is our friend. It has plenty of information for us to read. Just type in the dietary question that you may have. Type in the benefits of eating healthy. The results will inspire you. Type in the negatives of eating junk. It will inspire you to make healthier decisions.

4. PRAYER WORKS! – Prayer is the remedy that surpasses all the other mentioned strategies. Jesus is alive and He hears us. He loves us and knows us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Pray and ask for that temptation to be lifted. Here is a secret tho, if you are going to be the person who does pray for the temptation to be lifted, don’t just sit there and say “I DON’T WANT TO EAT PIZZA! I DON’T WANT TO EAT PIZZA! I DON’T WANT TO EAT PIZZA!” What happens when we do that? Your mind is still on pizza. Pray, read the scripture, quote the scripture, and go and get your mind off of that temptation.

This may be old news to some of us, but remember this.. REMINDERS ARE HELPFUL! I am sure there are plenty of other things that work that I haven’t mentioned. These are just 4 pieces of advice that have helped me. Check out more daily hints and inspiration at www.facebook.com/onestepnation

GOD BLESS!
-ONE STEP

I was tired of stacking on a little extra weight. I let my guard down and gained a little back. Why? Because I relaxed and got lazy. The important thing is though, I caught it before it really got out of hand. If I am not careful, food can seriously take hold of my life and destroy it.  That’s why I decided to challenge myself to fight against this addiction to food. Many have asked what I’ve been doing, and what I am experiencing as I am taking this 62 Day Challenge.

Question: Why 62 days?

Answer: I wanted to take 2 months to get myself out of the habit or relaxing on my food choices and food consumption.

Question: What do you eat?

Answer: I am eating foods that work well with my body. We all should be in-tune with our bodies and how they respond to certain foods. I happen to be VERY carb sensitive. So I have to be careful on many carbohydrates I take in on any given day. I don’t count carbs, but I do eat foods with lower sugar, and less carbohydrates. I am a big fan of berries, vegetables, proteins, fats, and a small amount of dairy. I eat roughly 4 meals per day. I try to stay away from processed high sodium foods such as lunch meats and hot dogs. I can’t always escape them, but I do best when I don’t eat them very often. I will be writing an e-book that talks about my ONE STEP 62 Day Challenge very soon.  However, I don’t think there is a ONE-SIZE FITS ALL food list. Learn your body and watch how it responds to certain foods.

Question: How do you battle the temptation?

Answer: It’s not easy. It’s a mental game you have to play against yourself. I miss the pizza, cakes, ice cream, etc. I just want to see results. I know what I want to see in my body, and I won’t let a temporary struggle get me off my wagon. I want results. I often remember who it is that I live for, and I find Him enough to fulfill me. Food doesn’t consume me. I consume food!

Question: How often do you exercise with the 62 day challenge?

Answer: I workout 5-6 days per week. I am believer in activity. If you want faster results, you have to get exercising. If you are fine with a slow weight loss, then I suggest less exercise. I am all about activity. I will include my workouts in my upcoming e-book. I will say I do workout about 60-80 minutes per session. If I don’t have the time to workout, I go harder for a shorter amount of time and I watch what I eat even closer.

So here I am! I noticed a fluctuation in weight as I begin to really learn how my body responds to foods. I lost a total of 10.5lbs thus far in 18 days. I have gained 4 pounds back, lost 2 more of those pounds, etc. It’s a learning process. I find that I am safe if I stop eating past 6:30p.m. For me personally, if I eat past that time, it’s a safe bet that I will store some water weight.

My final words for this blog……? Simple…

Stop trying to get a quick fix with weight loss. Losing weight is not convenient, and it never will be. You will need to put in the hard work. You will need to sacrifice and not give up. You will need to say NO and learn to control your cravings. This is not some easy task. It’s a constant struggle to give up and start all over again the next day. Why do that? My clothes fit better. I feel healthier. I like the way my body is starting to look. Those results far outweigh the desire to cheat. Will I stick with it after the 62 days? Maybe not as strict. I can tell you tho, I am learning how my body responds to certain foods, and I will make sure I keep those foods on my grocery list. Thanks for reading! I hope it answers some of your questions.

-Justin Willoughby
(ONE STEP NATION COACH)