Fitness Instagrammer Bradley Fulp is officially down 240 pounds after healing his relationship with food and his body. 

Bradley’s roller coaster of losing and gaining weight started when he was 16. In early high school, he was involved in sports, which kept him busy and active. When Fulp’s mother passed away when he was just 16, he turned to food for comfort.

“I think I went from around 215 to 225 pounds to 310 pounds in a year,” he said. “I struggled with binge eating in any and every stressful situation.” 

At 19, Fulp went on his first weight loss journey, losing 110 pounds in six months on an extreme diet. Fulp continued to gain and lose weight. After his son was born, Fulp weighed 430 pounds. 

“Just playing with [the kids] was a chore. I was struggling to get up. I had a couple of health scares and a couple of embarrassing moments where I’m like, my kids are not going to see me as a superhero. That’s really what my ultimate goal is — to be a super dad. I want to be a dad that is worth following and someone they look up to, and I felt I was not in a position to be someone to look up to. So I kind of just had this moment where I was like, something has to change.”

Demystifying the Diet

Before he lost the weight and kept it off, Fulp tried many diets, all of which worked temporarily. But then he would gain the weight back. 

“When I started to realize [diets] are simple math — calories in, calories out — and you just have to be in a caloric deficit… I started realizing how easy it is to change my behaviors and patterns to track what I’m doing and actually stay on top of my weight, calories, and activity.” 

Now, Fulp shares fitness and diet tips, including his popular protein ice cream recipes to help others kickstart their journeys. 

Using Metrics to See Progress

Fulp began using ZOZOFIT to see the big changes in his body, comparing the app to other tracking apps by saying, “I don’t think any of them can show true change the way that the ZOZOFIT reading provides.” 

He set up an automatic reminder to make sure he gets his scans in and looks forward to continuing using the ZOZOFIT app.

“I absolutely love that it gives me measurements. I’m planning on having skin surgery at the end of the year, so I’m excited… I’ll be able to see a pretty drastic change from the scan, even better than I’ll be able to see it with my own eyes.” 

Sustainable Weight Loss Requires a Healthy Mind 

When Fulp began his current weight loss journey, he teamed up with a counselor to heal his relationship with food. Through this mental health care, he began to understand his reliance on food as a coping mechanism, what the triggers are, and how he can avoid those triggers. 

“[The counseling] allowed me to be in a place where I don’t feel like I need to turn to food to escape.” 

Fulp has tried many diets over the years, but coming to terms his mindset on diets also moved the needle on his weight loss. 

“[I had to] learn that it’s not about the diet. It’s not about getting to a goal weight, but instead it’s about a new process and the way I see and track food, and realizing I’m going to make mistakes.” 

Fulp also cites having a reason bigger than himself as motivation to continue in his new lifestyle. While social media has certainly added a layer of accountability, his family keeps him going. 

Progress, Not Perfection

One of the biggest changes Fulp has made to his weight loss method to keep it sustainable is tracking his progress — and understanding that not every day will be perfect. 

“In the past, when I would overeat, when I would binge, I would feel a lot of shame and I would be afraid to step on the scale the next day.” 

Now, though, he realizes that each day is new. Progress doesn’t have to stop because of one mistake. 

“You’re not either on your fitness journey or off your fitness journey,” he said. “You can always come back from these mistakes. Tomorrow is a new day. People feel like when you make a mistake, it’s over, and that’s just the biggest lie. [What] has helped me the most is realizing that’s not true.”