At 27 years old, Vagner Jr, a 1.79 m tall São Paulo native, completely transformed his life: he lost 40 kg in just 12 months without resorting to medication or surgery. According to him, the secret lies in determination and having the right people around.
“Ever since I was a child, I was always overweight. At 12, I was diagnosed with spondylolisthesis, a spinal malformation that usually only appears in middle age. Right away, doctors recommended surgery. I went to at least seven specialists, and they all said the same thing: ‘Either you lose weight, or you’ll have to go under the knife.’ Since then, I’ve been fighting against the scale, trying everything to avoid surgery.”
By the time he was 26, with his back pain growing more intense, even medication stopped working. And beyond the physical pain, Vagner also dealt with prejudice:
“People used to call me ‘mammoth’, ‘fatty’. When you’re fat, it feels like you lose your name — you become just your body.”
Reaching 120 kg, he decided it was time to consider bariatric surgery. He went to a doctor confident that this was the solution. But then came the surprise: his BMI was 34, and the minimum required for surgery was 35. In an attempt to reach that number, he started eating fast food every day to gain weight.
“It was June 2016. Even eating all the wrong things, my weight wouldn’t go up. That’s when I stopped to reflect: was bariatric surgery really the best path? Today, I see that the doctor refusing the surgery was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Cleared to do light weight training and functional workouts, Vagner threw himself into changing his life. In just three months, he lost 20 kg.
“Seeing my clothes getting loose and feeling more energy changed everything. I gained confidence and started ignoring those who doubted me. That gave me even more motivation to keep going.”
However, the journey wasn’t linear.
“After a while, your body starts to resist. You do everything right and still don’t lose any weight. During those times, social media was my safe haven. The support messages and the stories I read kept me strong. Real people, facing battles like mine, showed me I wasn’t alone.”
Today, with an intense workout routine — twice a day — and a disciplined diet, Vagner has become an example of perseverance.
“I traded surgery for a healthy lifestyle. I discovered that change is possible when you truly believe in yourself.”l mudar quando a gente realmente acredita em si mesmo.”