Ben Walton loved living in Los Altos, but life wasn’t always easy. In September 2009, Walton was 22 years old and working at Blockbuster Video in Palo Alto. He weighed 450 pounds.
“I decided to take control of my weight and my life,” remembered Walton, who said he was affected by morbid obesity. But taking control soon led to overcontrol. Nine months later, the 6’2” Walton weighed only 187 pounds.
“I had become so focused on the numbers plummeting on my scale that I disregarded healthy nutrition habits to see how much lower I could go,” said Walton. His obesity quickly turned into anorexia.
Walton chose weightlifting to help get his life on track. “I’d tried dieting before and failed,” he said. But with lifting, “I started seeing the progress keep happening. There was no stopping me – I was determined.”
Walton only wishes that he had begun watching his food earlier.
“I didn’t know the basics of the importance of balancing fats/carbs/protein growing up,” he said. “I just ate whatever tasted the best – which often was the worst for you.” Walton now weighs just over 250 pounds and has been featured on the popular YouTube channel ObesetoBeast.
Seven years and 200 pounds later, the Blockbuster has long since closed. Walton recently moved to Los Angeles to be closer to his father. But Walton remembers Los Altos fondly, saying that at Blockbuster he “would be getting compliments from the residents about how they’ve noticed I’m looking better.”
