Recruit drops 150 pounds to join the Army

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. — What may be the Army's biggest loser started basic training this week at Fort Benning, Ga.

But before Brian Bourne, 22, of Blountville, Tenn., became a new recruit, he had to lose 150 of his 350 pounds.

"It just really hit me one day: I can't do this anymore, I have to lose weight," Bourne said. "It was holding me back. I figured that if I keep going the way I'm going, I'm probably going to die."

Bourne already had shed 80 or 90 pounds early last year when he walked into the Army recruiting office in Johnson City, Tenn., but his efforts weren't enough to join.

"He came in, and he was a big dude. He was way outside of our qualifications," said Staff Sgt. William Corp, Bourne's recruiter. "I said, 'Sorry man, right now I can't help you. You can't meet our weight qualifications.' "

Bourne said Corp kept a professional, "super serious" tone as he broke down what needed to happen and offered diet and exercise advice. But while Corp encouraged Bourne, internally he remained skeptical.

"Honestly, it was one of those 'I'll believe it when I see it' things," Corp said. "Over the past year, I have had people come in (with weight issues) nowhere near as extreme, like they needed to lose 15 to 20 pounds, and I'd never see them again."

In a 2012 report, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation researchers found that among young adults across the USA, 1 in 4 is too overweight to join the military.

Bourne said he always had been bigger than average, but in high school his weight ballooned. With little to do in his town, restaurants — fast-food joints in particular — became hangouts.

He didn't monitor his calorie intake. He quit baseball, a sport he had played until high school, because he wasn't fit enough.

During his weight-loss efforts, Bourne worked out six days a week with an emphasis on cardio training that included P90x, a 90-day home fitness system that uses resistance, cardio, martial arts and yoga and includes a nutrition plan. He worked out before eating breakfast because he had read research indicating that the timing helps burn fat.

And he altered his diet drastically. He loaded up on lean proteins like turkey and chicken and plenty of vegetables like broccoli, some of Corp's recommendations, along with nuts and seeds. Corp said he also told him, "Water is your best friend."

While he lost 10 to 15 pounds in the first two weeks of his intense effort, sometimes his weight would plateau for a couple of weeks.

"You get frustrated because you're doing all the right things and don't see any progress," Bourne said. "But your body is still getting better. I knew in the back of my mind."

Bourne kept in contact with Corp about once a month, and the recruiter began to believe that Bourne might make his goal.

"He just seemed really driven for this, like this was the most important thing in the world to him," Corp said.

Other people began to notice. Some even changed up their own routines.

Bourne said a friend who had run track in high school had gotten a bit out of shape. But as Bourne became more fit, his efforts helped drive his friend to start running again.

Before shipping off to Fort Benning, Bourne admitted to being anxious.

"I'm definitely nervous about Fort Benning," Bourne said. "But it's an excited nervous. I do see myself being in the Army for a long period of time. This is what I want to do. I want to make a long-term career out of the Army."

The standards

While the Army has height and weight standards in its Regulation 600-9 for active-duty, National Guard and Reserve soldiers, it also measures body fat.

Men

• Ages 17 to 20: 20%

• Ages 21 to 27: 22%

• Ages 28 to 39: 24%

• Age 40 and older: 26%

Women

• Ages 17 to 20: 30%

• Ages 21 to 27: 32%

• Ages 28 to 39: 34%

• Age 40 and older: 36%

Source: Army Regulation 600-9