A Minnesota man wanted to become a Marine, but he was facing a weighty problem.
However, Tyler Nelson dropped 147 pounds in eight months to fulfill his dream, KEYC reported. Now weighing 220 pounds, he will shipping out for boot camp in December.
Nelson weighed 367 pounds in March, and was told by U.S. Marine Corps recruiters that he could weigh no more than 247 pounds to join, the television station reported.
"I'm truly amazed and humbled to actually be able to work hand-in-hand with Tyler Nelson," Sgt. Ramiro Trevino, who recruited Nelson, told KEYC. "We didn't know how much commitment or dedication he was going to put into it at the beginning. We knew it was something to accomplish together as a team. "
Nelson, from Mankato, said effort and patience allowed him to reach his goal and honor his late grandfather, who was injured while serving in the Marines during the Vietnam War..
"When I first started, (I) didn't feel like going to the gym, but I went," Nelson told KEYC. "I went two or three times a day, I still go two or three times a day and I haven't looked back since."
Nelson followed a diet recommended by Complete Nutrition, and he began to shed the weight, the television station reported.
"If we would have talked about this eight months ago, I wouldn't have guessed this was where we'd be at," Garrett Mensing, store manager at Complete Nutrition, told KEYC. "(Nelson) just showed an incredible amount of dedication and commitment, you don't see that in a lot of people. I'm just glad we got to be a part of it."
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