Ex-Army Ranger goes from obese in wheelchair to fitness competitor: Learn his secret

Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes

The transformation was so astounding that his fellow gym goers accused him of taking steroids and his wife of getting plastic surgery.

His personal trainer even laughed when RJ told him the simple secret to weight loss and optimal health that he learned at Health Utah. That's when he and his wife, Tina, dropped their personal trainer.

RJ Slade served this country as an elite Army Ranger. His life changed dramatically, however, after a combat injury in Iraq in 2005. He went from the extreme physical fitness required to be a Ranger to requiring epidural steroid spinal injections. By 2013 he was in a wheelchair and going through medical retirement from the Army.

A host of health problems followed including muscle atrophy, weight gain, fatigue and poor digestion. These ailments combined to compromise his healing.

With the determination typical of a Ranger, he poured all he had into recovery. He worked out intensely and tried to watch everything he ate, meticulously counting macros. Despite all his efforts, his health was not improving and no matter what he did he couldn't lose his excess weight.

That's when he and Tina visited Dr. Whit Roberts at Health Utah. They were pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of the program.There was no cutting calories, no counting calories, no counting macros, no cutting out whole categories of food. There was no gorging on meat or fat. There were no fads.

At Health Utah they learned that there are only three steps to losing weight effectively:

1. Identify and address underlying health issues compromising weight loss efforts.

"Literally millions of people struggle to lose weight or lose it just to regain it because their bodies are out of balance and unhealthy", Roberts says. Health Utah uses a combination of a thorough review of your health, specialized testing, and proprietary health analytics to identify potential roadblocks to weight loss. Health Utah then systematically addresses these issues.

2. Identify foods that are particularly and uniquely healing for your body and those that are harmful.

Even the best weight loss programs miss this very important component. Thirty years of experience have proven to Roberts how critical this is. One example of this was his patient, Ashley. Although she ate clean and worked out every day for an hour at the gym, she couldn't lose an ounce. She also struggled with anxiety, depression and migraines.

Through their proprietary methods, the practitioners at Health Utah identified corn as inflammatory to her body and instructed her to eliminate it from her diet. The result was that the weight started dropping, the migraines, anxiety and depression all resolved.

"This might sound like an isolated example but virtually everyone develops sensitivities to foods during periods of stress in their lives," Roberts says. "It's just difficult to recognize it because these kinds of sensitivities don't always cause stomach pain but cause things like fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, chronic pain and stubborn weight. The other surprising thing is that normally health foods like broccoli or bananas can be the culprits. The point is, these must often be identified and either resolved or eliminated from the diet before effective weight loss can occur."

3. Address brain patterns and chemical rewards that perpetuate obesity.

The brain is hardwired to drive you to eat the most energy producing and easiest to digest foods. The food industry has capitalized on nature to create addictive foods that give you quick easy energy but sadly make you sick over time, Roberts explains. You are rewarded every time you give in to these foods with feel good chemicals lighting up your brain's reward centers. With your brain working against you, willpower is never enough. Health Utah provides skills, tools and therapies to help you retrain the brain.

Health Utah's program was life changing for RJ and Tina. They both lost a lot of weight. Tina went from a size 10 to a size 2. RJ dropped down to 5.3% body fat. RJ is now finishing up a certification in sports and nutrition, he is consulting at Good Earth and is competing in fitness competitions.

Special offer for KSL.com readers

Theirs is not a unique story. Thousands of Utahns have lost weight and regained their health using the Health Utah method. It starts with a proprietary survey, same-day in-clinic testing and an in-depth review of your history in consultation with Roberts.

Call (801) 609-3478 or visit Health Utah today to schedule your appointment.

Health Utah is offering their most popular weight loss package for $59. They also allow you to bring a friend or loved one at no additional cost. The scan alone is normally $300 for one person. Take advantage of this offer made only to KSL readers and contact Health Utah today.

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