Jonathan Ressler: How a 140-Pound Transformation Made Me a Top Executive Weight Loss Coach

For 59 years, I lived on the weight loss hamster wheel — jumping from one diet to the next, losing weight, gaining it back, and watching my life shrink as my body grew.

By my 59th birthday, I was 411 pounds, on eight medications just to keep my body functioning, and hearing the same warning from every doctor: “If you don’t lose the weight, you won’t make it.”

I didn’t care. The thought of another diet made me want to quit before I started. Diets had beaten me down for decades — every “solution” was just another setup for failure.

Then, on my birthday, my girlfriend Viki sent me a gorillagram. A silly, harmless gift — until I had to take a picture to thank her. When I saw that photo, I froze. It was the first time I truly saw myself: the weight, the exhaustion, the man whose world had shrunk so small that walking 100 feet left him winded, who rode the handicap cart in stores, who avoided stairs, social events, even time with his kids — because living felt like a burden.

In that moment, I knew: this wasn’t living.

I decided I’d finally do what everyone said: get weight loss surgery. I researched clinics, found one in Mexico, and even scheduled the surgery for 30 days out. But when they told me to start eating less to prepare for life post-op, something clicked.

I thought: If I can eat less now… why can’t I just do that? No surgery. No “plan.” No rules. Just me, finally taking control.

So I made a deal with myself: every time before I put food in my mouth, I’d stop and ask if it was worth it. No foods were off-limits. Nothing was “good” or “bad.” Food stopped controlling me — I took the power back.

The results? In 30 days, I lost over 20 pounds. No diets. No gym. No surgery. No deprivation.

For the first time in my life, weight loss didn’t feel like punishment. I wasn’t “dieting” — I was finally living like a healthy person, making choices instead of following rules. And because nothing was off-limits, I never binged, never felt guilty, and never quit.

Did I get impatient? Absolutely. I wanted the weight gone faster, and every time I tried to rush it with crash-calorie deficits, I hit a plateau. So I went back to my rule: food is fuel, and sometimes fuel feeds the soul. If I wanted a donut, I had one — mindfully, intentionally. That control changed everything.

Within weeks, I felt like a new person — physically lighter, emotionally stronger, finally confident that I could do this. By the time I’d lost 140 pounds, I wasn’t just smaller — I was free.

And I realized something: the diet industry had lied to me — and everyone like me — my entire life. Diets aren’t designed to work long term. They’re a temporary band-aid. But when you stop living like a dieter and start living like a healthy person — making your choices, not following someone else’s rules — the weight comes off and stays off.

Why I Coach Busy Executives

Now, as a weight loss coach and executive weight loss coach, I help busy, frustrated professionals — people who’ve failed at weight loss before, just like I did — finally get their lives back. No gyms. No diets. No shots. No gimmicks. Just simple, smart choices that work — because they fit your life, not fight it.

I never had that surgery. Instead, I built a new life — and now, I’ll help you build yours.