American loses half his body weight to fulfil dream of starting a family

His dream of becoming a dad has motivated Isaiah Caldwell from Missouri in the US to lose over 95kg within two years.  

The 28-year-old weighed just under 200kg when he and his wife, Amanda (29), started trying for a baby.

“Having a baby became an obsession of ours. We were really excited about it,” Isaiah told SWNS.

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After a year of trying to fall pregnant, the couple, who have been married for eight years, visited a doctor who suggested that their fertility issues may be due to Isaiah’s obesity.

“I knew if there was anything I could do to give us a chance, I would do it,” he says.

Isaiah is hoping to inspire others with his story. (PHOTO: Instagram/@isaiahcaldwell)

With the guidance of medical experts, the tech salesman started following the carnivore diet, which entails eating only meat and other animal products such as eggs.

“I felt unbelievable even a week in — psychologically I felt so much better, my brain fog was totally gone. I felt a million times better,” he says.

After eating just steak and smoked brisket for a month, Isaiah lost over 9kg. Inspired, he decided to continue with the extreme diet for another month and saw similar results.

But after 10 months on the extreme diet, having lost over 45kg, he decided he couldn't continue living on meat alone and started introducing some fruit and veg.

“People think there’s some magic to it. But the reality is you’re just eliminating overeating as it’s really hard to binge-eat meat. It’s very restrictive and probably not for everyone,” he says.

Isaiah and his wife before he shed 95kg on his extreme diet. (PHOTO: Instagram/@isaiahcaldwell)

Isaiah wasn’t alone in this journey. Amanda ate some of the meals with him and joined him for workouts. 

He says weightlifting became a hobby for him and credits it for helping him get his weight down to 95kg.

“If anyone is thinking maybe they can’t do it, they should know that I felt exactly like that too,” he says. “It felt impossible and hopeless, but everyone is capable of it.”

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Amanda took to Facebook to sing her husband's praises.

“He deserves all the recognition for the incredible amount of dedication this took. Not to mention he has helped lots of others on their weight-loss journey through educational videos and phone calls,” she says.

“I’m so proud to be his wife, and I can’t wait to watch him be a dad, regardless of how that happens.”

Amanda and Isaiah with their dog, Rip. (PHOTO: Facebook/Isaiah Caldwell)

The couple is due to have another check-in with their doctor in the coming months to see if Isaiah’s efforts have had an impact on his fertility.

“'We're really optimistic. I'm going to get testing done, but I've increased the odds from zero to at least something,” he says.

“I'm in the best shape of my life, and we are excited to find a way to be parents no matter what.”