Justin Lee Transformation

Justin Lee Transformation

Justin Lee has always been a fighter, and most recently he is winning his battle against his unhealthy lifestyle.

At 4 months old, Justin was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma Cancer.  Drs gave Justin’s parents a 5% chance of survival diagnosis for their son.  That was 32 years ago.  Justin fought the cancer.

Growing up being treated for having had cancer at such a young age, Justin couldn’t play a lot of the sports that his brothers participated in.  He was not allowed to play any contact sports.  Justin fought the temptation to stay inside and play video games.  Instead he picked up spearfishing, volleyball, baseball and surfing.  He became such a strong swimmer, as a matter of fact, that he was granted a scholarship to swim for the University of Washington Seattle.

After graduation, Justin returned to Hawaii and to the ocean and the mountains where he grew up.  He fell back in love with spearfishing and hunting.  He says it was during this time that, “I started to slip down the slippery slope of yummy sugars and carbs.  Slowly but surely I started to pack on the pounds and I had to start buying bigger and bigger clothes.”

Justin still felt in shape, just a little bigger, and wanted to give back and fight in a different way, so he joined the fire department.  He says this is where the weight gain really hit him.  “On every table or freezer at the firehouse was a pile of sugar in every possible form.  Ice cream, cookies, cakes and every meal was served over white rice and gravy,” says Lee.  “For the first time ever, I felt like I was losing the battle.”

Shortly after, Justin was introduced to the world of competitive spearfishing.  Given his experience and background, Justin was successful fairly quickly.  He has since competed in 2 US Spearfishing National Championships and earned a spot on the All American Team.  He has competed internationally with Team Hawaii as well.   But, even with his spearfishing success, he had just had a physical and was at the heaviest weight he had ever been at 249 lbs.  He says, “this is when I knew something had to change.”  He was ready to fight to change his lifestyle.

In January of this year (2016)  he made the decision that this would be the start of a healthier Justin.  He says, “I didn’t want my weight to hold me back anymore.  I wanted to be light on my feet again, and see what a healthier me could do in and out of the ocean.”

Since January, Justin has lost 44 lbs.

When we asked him how he did it, he told us just how simple it was.

“I started by cutting the amounts of sugar.  no more candy.  I took out all of the white rice.  I also cut way back on pork and beef.  I started eating more chicken breast, fish and wild game.  I started every morning with 12 oz of almond milk, 2 scoops of More Muscle and some chia seeds.  This has become a ritual to start my morning.  I do the shake and then do a short run or surf before work.  For me it’s a lot easier to turn down garbage food after you start your morning off right.”

His changes have affected his co-workers at the fire station too.  He says that since he has made these changes that the other guys have been motivated to make healthier meals, and have less junk food laying around.

He says the weight loss has made him better in every area of his life.  He is a a more effective firefighter.  He is a stronger diver and because his lighter frame is more efficient at utilizing oxygen.  Justin finishes our chat by saying,  “The biggest difference though, is the smile I have on my face when I brush my teeth in the morning – my slimmer face that is.  When I see that, I can’t wait to get outside and see where I can push myself each day.”