Jon Stanton is an author and humorist who writes about many topics but focuses most of his attention on inspiring people who struggle with obesity. Jon entered the world at a relatively normal weight, but things went decidedly uphill (or should it be downhill?) from there.
By age 8, Jon was wearing adult-sized clothes. By age 12, he had made it to the big and tall section. At age 15 he began taking blood pressure medication. He passed 300 pounds sometime around high school graduation, and by his mid-20s, he had reached 400 pounds.
A visit to his doctor in 2007 changed his life. Having reached 430 pounds, with Type 2 diabetes looming on the horizon, nearly uncontrollable blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and constant pain and fatigue, Jon’s doctor looked him in the eye and said, “You’re going to be dead by the time you’re 50, and the last 10 years of your life will be miserable.”
Jon went home that day and decided to do something about it. Over the course of two years, he lost a remarkable 230 pounds. Jon appeared on the Today Show and 700 club in 2010, received the Governor’s Fitness Award from Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm later that year, and was named an Ambassador for the American Diabetes Association of Michigan. Jon appeared at dozens of events to share his story of hope and inspiration. He wrote articles about his experience for numerous publications across the U.S.
Jon maintained his weight loss for about 5 years, but then facing several stressful events and an inability to finance removal of the excess skin and fat cells that still plagued his body, Jon, like so many others, began to falter. By 2017, he had regained about 120 of the 230 pounds he had lost, and his body began to once again break down under the strain.
Facing another health crisis in late 2018, Jon decided it was time to once again regroup and tackle his life nemesis once again. He’s now making steady progress again, focusing on being holistically healthy, which requires daily doses of grace and forgiveness, as well as common sense exercise and eating habits.
Long ago, Jon began writing a book about his experiences. As his weight loss success faltered, he allowed the book to go dormant. Now, he has resurrected it as part of his healing journey back to health. In late 2019, Jon released “FAT: A Life Unfiltered” to the world. Since then, it’s been endorsed by New York Times bestselling author, Tosca Lee. Click here to find out more about his book and to order a copy.
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Hope for the Heavy 