Minneapolis Man Loses 206 Pounds, Wins National Competition

When Eddie Adegeye stepped on the scale and saw 401 pounds, the 31-year-old from Minneapolis knew something had to change. His mother's warnings about family diabetes and his grandfather's weight-related death finally pushed him to act.

Eddie started small, working out late at night when the gym was nearly empty because he felt self-conscious. For a full year, he walked on an incline, lifted weights, and pushed through the embarrassment. That dedication paid off with an 80-pound loss, but the real transformation was still ahead.

A friend convinced Eddie to try heated yoga at his athletic club. The first class felt rough. The second felt worse, so he quit and returned to his usual routine.

Months later, that same friend asked him to give yoga one more chance. This time, Eddie stopped criticizing himself and started listening to the instructor's voice. When he matched his breath to the movements, everything clicked.

Yoga became more than exercise. It turned into a mental release that helped Eddie understand himself better. Soon he was attending classes four times a week, bringing five to ten friends along. His social circle nicknamed him the yoga guru.

By late 2023, Eddie added intense cycling classes and heated yoga sculpt, which combines traditional poses with weights. He also cut out fast food and soda, started intermittent fasting, and grilled his own proteins. That year alone, he dropped 100 pounds.

COVID temporarily derailed his progress. When gyms closed, Eddie gained 60 pounds back and fell into old eating habits. Starting a food truck business called Flo's Eats made staying on track even harder.

But when gyms reopened, Eddie jumped back in. A coach named Wes saw potential in him and encouraged Eddie to compete in Life Time's LT Games, a hybrid fitness competition similar to CrossFit. Wes even offered to sponsor Eddie for the national championship.

The competition changed how Eddie viewed himself. He stopped thinking like someone trying to lose weight and started training like an athlete. That mental shift accelerated his results.

Why This Inspires

Eddie's journey took nine years because he understood that lasting change happens gradually. He didn't follow extreme diets or punishing workout schedules. Instead, he found an activity that brought him joy and surrounded himself with supportive friends.

His story proves that the right exercise isn't always the one that burns the most calories. Sometimes it's the one that makes you want to come back tomorrow. Eddie now takes yoga classes five to six times weekly, sometimes fitting in three sessions in a single day.

Today, Eddie weighs 195 pounds and designs wellness programs while running his food truck business. He's living proof that finding the right fit matters more than finding the hardest workout.