At 434 pounds, Ricky Browning was dangerously overweight. He struggled through the day with joint pain, breathing trouble and exhaustion due to his weight and low blood sugar. A year after beginning his weight loss journey, Ricky is now inspiring others with an astounding 191-pound weight loss.
“I can’t believe how big I was,” says Ricky, a Receiving Clerk at Reliv International Headquarters. “The only place I could weigh myself was here at Reliv on the truck scale.” Despite working at a nutrition company, Ricky didn’t make his health a priority. “I saw how beneficial Reliv was for others, but I didn’t stay consistent with the shakes myself.”
A Wake Up Call
Ricky’s wake up call finally came in December 2010 when a childhood friend said, “I really hope you lose the weight because I’d hate to lose you in the next 10 years.” That day, Ricky resolved to change
his life. “I showed GlucAffect® to my doctor and he told me I should start on it right away. After a few weeks of two scoops a day, my low blood sugar started balancing out. Then I started losing weight and my blood
pressure went down.”
Ricky’s infant son, Colt, is his biggest motivator. Ricky explains, “My dad was
only 44 when he died. My life expectancy was only 8-10 more years, which would put my son at the same age I was when my dad died. Losing the weight meant being around for my family. Now I look in my loved ones’ eyes and I don’t imagine the pain of a life without me.”
Joining the Team
Even though Ricky loved sports, he avoided athletic activity in the past. “I recently bought a basketball hoop and now I play every chance I get!” Ricky says. Team Reliv has been an integral part of Ricky’s weight loss journey. After losing some weight, Ricky was able to exercise with his wife, Cyndi. They’re planning to run in the Go! St. Louis 5K in April.
Ricky calls his son “little hero,” but Cyndi asserts it’s actually the other way around: “Every little boy needs his daddy to be a hero — and now I know Ricky will be here for Colt. He’s the best father!” “I’ve always felt in my heart that I was meant to help other people, but I didn’t know how. But now, I think telling my story is a way to do that,” Ricky says. He has moved at least one person already. “Ricky is such an inspiration,” Cyndi says. “He makes me want to be a better person every day.”
According to Ricky, Reliv is like a second family. “Without Reliv products and my colleagues’ moral support, I would have died from my health problems,” Ricky concludes. “Instead, I’ve become a better husband and father — and I’m going to be here for a long time.”
Ricky’s Diet Tips:
• Purge the junk. Ricky and Cyndi went through their entire kitchen,
throwing away foods filled with oil and sugar. Now their refrigerator is filled
with natural foods like fruits and veggies instead.
• Eat with your hands. Ricky doesn’t use a food scale or measuring cups.
Instead, he uses his fist to judge portion sizes.
• Veg out. Ricky eats more vegetables than ever before. Dinner typically
consists of a very large helping of vegetables, small portion of lean meat
and one serving of fruit.
• Swap sweets. Ricky loves Relivables® All-Natural Sweetener for a sweet
taste without the calories of sugar.
Be sure to congratulate Ricky in the comments below!