There have been many miraculous weight loss stories and heroes who have staked a claim as victor in the seemingly never-ending battle of the bulge. Remember Jared – the “Subway Diet” guy – standing next to his giant pair of jeans? It turns out his case is extremely rare and he didn’t lose all that weight from eating subway sandwiches alone – he also drastically changed his diet and started exercising. But now another case is making waves – the case of Jon Gabriel who lost over 220 pounds without dieting or undergoing surgery of any kind. One of his weight loss secrets: undergoing CPAP treatment to tackle his obstructive sleep apnea.
In 2001, Jon Gabriel weighed more than 400 pounds – that’s about the weight of two Vespa motor scooters. The weight started to pile on ten years prior – unexplainably – and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t shake it. He even worked one on one with Robert Atkins – a weight loss guru who championed a low carb/no carb diet. According to Gabriel, most of his sessions included being yelled at by Dr. Atkins for being so fat. It looks like Jon Gabriel got the last laugh, because Atkins died of a massive heart attack in 2002.
From the moment I got the CPAP machine I started having more energy and less junk food cravings. And the weight started to melt away for good.
– Jon Gabriel
In every respect, it seemed that for Jon Gabriel, losing weight was a fruitless and hopeless pursuit. Every time he tried a new diet, his weight would come back with a vengeance. Not only that, but his high-stress job on Wall Street was leading him dangerously close to certain death. But that all changed when he missed a routine flight from Newark to San Francisco – United Airlines flight 93, which was hijacked by al-Qaeda operatives and crashed in a field Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania with no survivors.
This pivotal moment shook Jon Gabriel to the core and he realized that perhaps he was a survivor. With his background in science and economics, Gabriel set out to find the source of his mysterious morbid obesity. He dedicated his life to finding answers and he poured all his knowledge of biochemistry into completely changing his life around. What he realized was that losing weight and living a healthy life took a totally holistic approach – it wasn’t just about decreasing calorie intake, it was about completely restructuring the body’s hormonal balance.
In his list of lifestyle changes and keys to his miraculous transformation, Gabriel mentions that he started undergoing CPAP treatment to eliminate the symptoms of his obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea causes major imbalances in the body by releasing a particularly nefarious hormone called cortisol. Cortisol can increase your cravings for high fat, high sugar junk foods and it can cause your body to become resistant to insulin. Gabriel also said that immediately after undergoing CPAP treatment, he felt more energized and his desire for junk food almost went away completely.
In the end, Jon Gabriel lost 220 pounds in just two and a half years (cue your jaw dropping to the floor). Best of all, he has no physical signs that he has ever been overweight – just a bunch of photos that remind him to stay motivated and driven on the path to a healthier lifestyle. Gabriel also urges other people struggling from morbid obesity to find their way to the same path by eating more nutritious meals, reducing stress, meditating and working through emotional issues. And thanks to dedicated CPAP treatment and breaking some major habits, Jon Gabriel went from looking like Jon Candy on a bad day to a fit, Zeus-like dude who rules at life. Could CPAP treatment be your key to ruling life too?
Source: “The 7 Things I Did to Lose 220 Pounds Without Dieting.” MindBodyGreen. Gabriel, Jon. 31 Dec. 2013
