Page 39 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2016

PHYSICAL & FISCAL FITNESS hard core
TRANSFORMATIONS
Before After
story by Lynn Lofton photos by
James Edward Bates and courtesy of Brantley Ellison
Gulfport resident Brantley Ellison has truly had a weight transformation, and it happened in only two years. He got serious
about living a healthier lifestyle in January 2013.
“I weighed 267 pounds and suffered from major lower back pain, hiding the severity of the pain from my family,” he
recalls. “After several doctor appointments, talks of surgery, MRIs and pain medication, I decided to take the advice of my mother, Linda, and make one more doctor appointment with Nancy Buckheister in Ocean Springs.”
Dr. Buckheister’s solution was simple — lose weight and strengthen his core to relieve some of the pain. “She
explained that I was sadly overweight and my muscles were deteriorating. Little did I know that statement would change
my life,” he said.
Ellison, who is a graduate of William Carey University and
worked in construction equipment sales for 10 years, looked for ways to become healthier. He decided to take a weight loss
challenge from Cycology Fitness. “I told my wife Kelly that this was my opportunity to give it 110 percent and she agreed,” he says. “I joined the challenge and lost 42 pounds in 12 weeks.
It was very difficult and the majority of it was mental.” His goal was to decrease his weight to under 200 pounds, and he went from 270 pounds to 195 pounds in one year. A
lot of diet and exercise were involved. He used the Internet
to research and piece together a program that would work for him. “What works for one person may not work for others,” he said.
Ellison had the complete support of his wife. He feels she and their children, Taylor and Brantley, also made sacrifices. “The
children would want to eat fast food and my wife wanted to go out on the town, but they helped me reach my goal,” he said.
He continued to learn and became interested in helping
other people with their weight loss struggles. In April 2013, he became a fitness instructor at Cycology Fitness. “I found it very rewarding working with people and watching them reach their goals,” he said.
In March 2014, he became certified as a personal trainer and B.E.Fit (Brantley Ellison Fitness) was born. It is now located at One80 Fitness in D’Iberville.
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