Most parents would tell you that they have made big sacrifices for their children. Some parents went back to school for their kids to start a better career. Some moved to a safer city that was more child-friendly. And some even set aside their personal dreams, goals, and desires to give their children the best life possible. Making these sacrifices can be very difficult, but in the end, many parents would not regret their decision.
As for Jacob Kiper, he decided to lose weight for his twin sons. Before his self-transformation, the 38-year-old father weighed almost 300 pounds. One of the main reasons he decided to lose weight was so he could physically keep up with his kiddos.
“My kids just turned 8 years old, and for sadly half of their lives I gave them a dad who couldn’t be physically active, who couldn’t chase them, didn’t have energy,” the dad said. “I like knowing now that I’ve given my kids the dad they deserve,” Kiper explained.
Apart from seeing that his kids would benefit from his weight loss journey, he knew his health also depended on it. It was his wife who helped bring that to his attention.
“Over the years, my wife started to get very worried knowing that I have a family history of heart disease and health problems related to poor diet,” he said. “She really wanted me to give an honest effort to take back control of my health.”
So, one of the first things Kiper did was work on the portions he was consuming daily. Prior to his journey, he’d eat a lot of fried food, donuts were his favorite snack, and at many meals, he’d consume three to four portions worth of food.
The Weight Watchers program helped him with portion control a well as introducing healthier foods into his diet. He started consuming more vegetables, fruits, and high protein-containing foods.
The dad also began going to the gym. Other times, he’d get his physical activity in the form of playing with or hiking with his kiddos.
Within weeks, he started to notice an improvement in his physique, as did his coworkers.
Over the course of a month and a half, the hardworking father of two nearly dropped half his weight. Then months down the line, he was able to successfully run with his children without feeling out of breath. He even states that his mental health has improved as a result.
“Now that I’ve retaken control of my own health, I feel much more empowered and I feel much more confident making patients at our clinic make some of those decisions,” he said.
Of course, Kiper admits that his weight loss journey was much easier said than done.
“There will be setbacks from time to time. While my weight has come off, there have certainly been days or weeks where my eating was less than honorable and not something I was real happy with, but I kept at it and got back on track and kept moving forward.”
Either way, he deserves a big pat on the back for being so dedicated to achieving a healthier lifestyle and being a great father in general! It’s not easy making drastic changes and sticking with them each day.
Watch below to see Kiper’s jawdropping transformation.
