Recently, Jon Orton was interviewed by Men’s Health magazine, about how he had managed to shed 250 pounds, or 113 kilograms, by practicing jiu jitsu.
“Jiu-Jitsu is going to be different every single time,” Orton says. “There’s going to be a new set of challenges. Something just clicked: Initially, I started Jiu-Jitsu as a way to help me lose weight and somewhere along the way, it switched. I wanted to keep losing weight so I could be better at Jiu-Jitsu.”
Four years ago, Orton weighed 478 pounds. He told Men’s Health that he was severely depressed, and felt like he did not physically fit into the world.
However, Orton was fortunate — a friend introduced him to a black belt in BJJ, who was about to open a gym. After receiving some guidance, Orton stopped consuming soda and junk food.
His BJJ acquaintance persuaded him to take up jiu jitsu training, so he opted to enrol for lessons even before the gym opened to the public. Orton started training two times per week, but then progressed to train two times per day. After four years, his results are incredible — he now weighs an impressive lean 225 pounds (102 kilograms)!
