Transformation Nation Success Story: Karl Nielsen

Karl Nielsen is now the active dad, husband, teacher and coach he always wanted to be. The 37-year-old teacher from Rochester, New York has lost 88 pounds since September 2011 and has closed an unhealthy chapter in his life.

“Accepting the humiliation of being obese is harder than accepting its physical consequences,” Nielsen said. But his physical ailments, which included hypertension, migraines, sleep apnea and depression were too much to bear. “The possibility of dying and leaving my family filled me with fear,” Nielsen recalls.

Nielsen joined Weight Watchers and felt like his prayers were answered when he found out about Dr. Oz’s Transformation Nation: Million Dollar Challenge.  The program has since helped more than a million people lose an estimated 3 million pounds. Nielsen watched The Dr. Oz Show for ‘golden nuggets’ of knowledge and utilized Sharecare’s weight loss tools like the Fuel for Fitness recipe center.

Nielsen started by setting small, achievable goals. He blocked out an hour and a half each day for exercise aiming to lose 5 percent of his body weight. Then he adjusted to 10 percent. By the end of the Transformation Nation challenge, Nielsen had lost 28.75 percent of his body weight. Beyond the numbers, his physical ailments are gone.

According to Nielsen, the title of this new chapter of his life is: ‘Listening, Believing and Achieving.’”

Visit the Transformation Nation finalists’ page for more inspirational stories. And watch The Dr. Oz Show on May 23 to see who won the Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You!

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File under: Success Stories