I look unrecognizable after losing 200 pounds to become a champion bodybuilder – I can now deadlift twice my own weight

A MAN has shared his unrecognizable looks after losing nearly 200 pounds to become a champion bodybuilder.

David Roden used to eat 10,000 calories a day, but the 31-year-old now limits his intake to 3,400 and can deadlift twice his weight.

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Roden grew up playing video games and overeating.

At age 18, he weighed 392 pounds and ate 15 Reese’s Peanut Butter cups a day.

The lifestyle left him prediabetic with high blood pressure.

Over the years, he told the Daily Mail, he became “the fat funny friend,” which put him in a dark mental place.

In high school, he twice attempted suicide because of body issues and said he “absolutely hated his body.”

“Nobody knew how depressed I really was,” Roden said.

“For the people around me, I was a weird fat kid. But for myself, I felt trapped in this obese body.

“I’ve only seen all the pain and fear when I’m over 400 pounds and I’m a failure.

“I focused on the few things that were bad, which made me lose perspective on how much of my life was great,” he said, referring to his loving family and 7,000-square-foot home.

He noted that because of his size, the bullying came from himself rather than from others.

“I’d say horrible things to myself, ‘Why can’t you change?’, ‘Why are you such a failure?’, ‘You’re a fat loser.'”

However, when he tried dating girls, he said he took the rejection personally.

“Any time I would muster up the courage to try [dating] again it would end badly and put me in a bad mental state again,” he said.

A POSITIVE CHANGE

Roden said he is now focused on personal responsibility and self-respect.

New people came into his life to encourage him to make these positive changes.

As for his weight loss, Roden focused on losing two pounds a week for 100 weeks.

He also prepped meals for four days to better control what he ate while allowing two cheat meals a week.

Sometimes hoping to speed up his weight loss by limiting himself to just 1200 calories a day.

Now he trains for an hour and a half, five to six days a week

“I can squat 300 pounds, deadlift 500 pounds, and bench press 300 pounds,” he explained.

“My focus is on volume and reps rather than strength or max loads.”

He’s also had weight loss and skin removal surgeries, he said.

“I love who I am,” he said.

“Not just my body, but my way of thinking, my character. How I treat myself and how I treat others.”

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues addressed in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.