Jacob Interviews….From Fit2Fat2Fit’s Drew Manning

By: Jacob Elyachar

Last December, I had the opportunity to correspond with personal trainer Drew Manning.   When I contacted him, he just finished the fat stage of his journey and was in the early part of his weight loss journey.  This morning on ABC’s Good Morning America, Drew revealed the results of his weight loss journey.

I kept in touch with Drew throughout his journey and he agreed to do another interview with me when he was finished with his grand experiment.  During our second interview, we discussed the day that he stopped weighing in, Team Drew’s weight loss journey and what is next for the FromFit2Fat2Fit brand.

Jacob Elyachar: Congratulations on reaching the end of your journey! How did it feel when you stopped weighing and measuring yourself?

Drew Manning: It was kind of a relief.  Before I started this fit2fat2fit journey, I rarely weighed myself.  It was nice to know that I didn’t have to meet a certain weight each week. I think people often focus on “weight” as the end all, be all to fitness. I think it’s more important to focus on how you feel, your measurements, regular blood tests with your doctor and your overall health. My wife and I may chuck the scale into the garbage after all this! 🙂

JE: You last posted a picture of your progress on February 25, 2012. Why did you decide to not show your progress and leave the world in suspense?

DM: I wrote a blog post on this on February 24, 2012.  Here it is: http://www.fit2fat2fit.com/2012/02/drew-march-1-june-1/

JE: One of the main features of your site is showing the progress of members of Team Drew’s weight loss journey.  What was going through your mind when you were looking at their stories and stats?

DM: Yes, since the beginning, the whole purpose of the second half of the fit2fat2fit journey was to invite as many people as possible to join me on the journey back to fit.  I didn’t want to make it so much about me and my journey back and say to people, “Look I can do this, so it should be easy for you too.”  I wanted to say, “Let’s do this together!”  So, I honestly felt so proud and so blown away as well at how many stories were sent in to me and how many people were inspired by this crazy journey.  To know that this has impacted thousands of lives for the better makes all of the man boobs/love handles/discomfort that went along with this, all TOTALLY worth it. 

JE: Let’s talk about your book. Did you always have the intent on writing a book? Why or why not?

DM:  No, I did not in the beginning.  I had not idea this would become so big.  A couple months in though, I had multiple people tell me I should write a book, but I never really pursued it.  Then a couple days after my website showed up on the front page of Yahoo.com, I got a call from HarperCollins and since then I knew the good this book would do and so I was on board from that point on.

JE: Could you describe the features of your book to my readers?

DM:  Basically, the book goes in depth (more in depth than the blog did) about the personal nature and impact this journey had on my wife and me.  It also contains three months of meal plans, detailed recipes, detailed workouts, and exercises with pictures and descriptions.

JE: What is the next for the FromFit2Fat2Fit brand?

DM: Well, I’ve had the “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to sit down with a formulator and formulate my own supplements. Rather than just sticking my name on a label of some stuff that I have no idea what’s inside of it, I wanted to be in control of exactly what goes into my body.  So, I will be launching an all-natural line of supplements.  It will include a special formulated whey protein isolate for women, a whey protein isolate for men, a whole food multi-vitamin, and digestive enzymes.  I also plan on traveling and doing public speaking engagements and offering a customized online fitness platform that my followers can subscribe to in order to receive additional content on top of the free six months of meal plans, workouts, grocery lists, recipes, etc.  This will allow my followers the opportunity to receive meal plans, workouts, and coaching customized to their needs, wants, goals, likes, dislikes, etc.  Both the supplements and the online fitness platform will launch shortly after the book.  I can also say there are other great things in the works, but I can’t release the details just yet….so stay tuned!!!

To learn more about Drew’s journey or the FromFit2Fat2Fit brand, visit their Website: http://www.fit2fat2fit.com/