MONROE, N.C. — When pain shot from his stomach to his chests, Gideon Kilstrom took it as a sign to take action. As a result, the 16-year-old Monroe resident started working out at Planet Fitness in Monroe last summer through the High School Summer Pass program after experiencing those pains at a top weight of 292 pounds.
Less than a year later, Gideon is now down to around 126 pounds, and what started as his own personal health journey has expanded to helping others.
“It got to the point where I was just tired of it and then I was getting scared because I was hurting all the time,” Gideon said. “I flipped a switch and started working out and eating as healthy as I could. I was new to everything.”
Gideon’s first step was to follow a diet that would help him eat foods with fewer calories in order to lose the weight he had when he started. He started by cutting out unhealthy foods, including wheat and sugar, and ate more healthily.
As a result of Gideon’s workout and eating regimens, his entire family saw it as a opportunity to stay fit themselves and keep each other in check with their health journey. As a result, Gideon’s little brother, Silas, lost 50 pounds.
“Everybody in the family has lost weight now because he encouraged us,” Gideon’s mother, Hope said. “Even the small wins, like being able to run now, where before he’d be so out of breath — he can run now. It’s a blessing to see that he feels better.”
Gideon and his parents also make it a point to buy healthier foods in their grocery store runs and manage their food intake. Even if they are not always at Planet Fitness, they work out at home together.
“We get some sort of activity, whether it’s either coming here, or getting outside, and walking, running. We just all feel better,” Hope Kilstrom said.
Teens in Gideon’s church group are also turning to Gideon for advice on getting fit. In North Carolina, where more than one third of teens are considered overweight or obese, Gideon’s transformation and guidance is helping to make a difference.
Gideon even upgraded his membership so he could bring new friends and family to Planet Fitness with him.
Today, Gideon feels strong and healthy and he’s helping others find the same benefits.
“It’s not my body, but it’s God’s body,” Gideon said. “I should be taking care of it, but, you make sure you cherish the body God’s getting you.”