I’m Michael Harvey from San Antonio, TX. Back in 2002, when I was 13 years old I was 360+ pounds. I was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and the year prior, my father had passed away of a massive heart attack! My mother suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which she had gone undiagnosed for most of my adolescence. So the passing of my father not only took it’s toll on me but my mother as well. She wasn’t able to handle the stress and took a lot (if not all) of her frustrations out on me (physically, psychologically, and emotionally). “You will never amount to anything,” or “you’re never going to get a girl looking like that” were almost daily quotes my mom would use. I was even blamed for the death of my father. I became depressed and even thought about suicide.
During this stage of my life I already had poor eating habits. My mom would just fed me whatever (McDonald’s was almost a frequent stop) but with everything going on at the time, food then became my place of comfort. Food made me feel good so I ate and I ate and I ate! I was gaining more and more weight but frankly I didn’t care. I was taking anti-depressants. I didn’t know how to handle my emotions. I was taking 1000mg/day of Metformin and Insulin shots as well due to my diabetes. But the stress of everything was getting to be too much for me. The constant arguing with my mother would drive me out of the house. Which now that I think about it led to the start of something great. Sometimes I would take my CD player and a bunch of Cd’s, put on my headphones and just walk for 4-5 hours straight. So now this routine I had developed to avoid my mother had started to become a form of therapy for me, it was my time of zen, to be away from all the problems I had and was having.
In 2006, I was coming home from work (I was working at Target at the time) and I just felt sick. My Aunt and Uncle (I had moved in with them by this time due to social services) had made burgers for dinner. So I sat down and ate, but I found myself not being able to keep anything in. I was making 2-3 trips to the bathroom. By the 3rd time I had gotten up to walk towards the bathroom when I suddenly got really dizzy and was blacking in and out when the last thing I remember was thinking “Where am I?” Then I collapsed! Once I fell to the floor I came to. They gave me an insulin shot and took my blood sugar! Now the blood sugar levels of a normal person are between 80-120mg/dL. I was above 530mg/dL. I could’ve died. So I knew from that point on I had to make a change! No longer could I beat around the bush with my health and fitness.
So I was already walking but I knew it was going to take more than that. I had to eat right. Nutrition is critical in any fitness endeavor. So I started teaching myself. I would read magazines and books about anything and everything dealing with exercise and nutrition! As I pushed myself more and more I started seeing results and I was feeling…..GREAT! As I continued on my endocrinologist started lowering my medication dosages to the point that I no longer needed them anymore. The psychologist I was seeing at the time took me off my anti-depressants. I was taking back control of MY LIFE! I was losing weight and educating myself. Through my continued efforts and discipline I was able to drop 140 pounds by the time I was 18! That’s right 140 POUNDS and now I’m FREE of diabetes. I was told I was going to live with this for the rest of my life and now I don’t have it!
I’m 24 now and will admit I’ve had a lot of ups and downs since then. But I have been able to grow and mature and develop in ways I would’ve never imagined. You can accomplish ANYTHING you set your mind to. and the only person holding you back is yourself.
Michael Harvey
“Be the change you want to see in the world”
Instagram: @HealthyLivingHeavyMusic
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