One Las Vegas teen has undergone a dramatic weight change in order to enlist in the army and become the first person in his family to serve his country, Fox News reported.
Last year, Luis Enrique Pinto Jr. vowed to shed some serious pounds so he could meet the physical requirements to join, and has now successfully reached his goal.
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Luis, 18, was working as an electrician when he realized his dream of becoming the first person in his family to serve in the military.
“You’ve got one life,” he said . “I don’t want to wake up and do the same thing every single day. There’s a whole world out there.”
But before he could properly enlist, he needed to get in shape.
Just seven months ago, the 6-foot-1-inch Luis weighed 317 pounds and was determined by the military to be overweight.
For someone of his height, the Army has a maximum weight limit of 205 pounds.
He admitted his diet largely consisted of carbohydrates, and knew a change had to be made if he ever wanted to see his army dream realized.
His recruiter, Staff Sgt. Philip Long, was skeptical of the teen’s chance of actually dropping the pounds after years of watching potential recruits struggle to shed the weight.
“They never put the effort into it,” he said. “They never actually care enough and they don’t go anywhere. And then you turn around and you got someone like Luis.”
Although he was unsure that the teen would be able to reach his goal, Long supported him and watched in amazement as Luis began losing the weight, as promised.
A healthy diet combined with high-intensity interval training saw the teen begin to shed his excess weight.
His mom kept him motivated to hit the gym, especially on days when working out felt too much like a chore and Luis wanted to skip his training.
“One thing she told me is to just show up,” he said. “Just show up and don’t worry about the workout that’s to come. You show up at the gym and once you’re there, you’re already there so might as well just get it over with.”
After seven months, Luis dropped an incredible 113 pounds, going from weighing 317 to 204 pounds.
The weight loss has had a dramatic effect on the teen’s life and has turned him into a significantly more confident person.
“When I was big, I was really insecure,” he said. “Now I’m walking with my head up high.”
His weight loss also means that Luis was finally able to successfully enlist in the army
Just this month, the teen enlisted at the rank of 14E, a Patriot Fire Control enhanced operator/maintainer. According to Long, Luis passed his occupational Physical Assessment Test (OPAT) with flying colors.
“Every event was like it was made for him,” Long said. “It was easy.”
Luis’ supportive recruiter thinks his achievement should serve as inspiration for others.
“That’s a human,” Long said of his 113-pound weight loss. “He lost the equivalent of a human in seven months.”
The teen has set his next weight loss milestone at 190 pounds: “There’s still way more to come. I still want to get better.”
Luis is exported to report to basic training in September.
