ABC Action News features Victor from CrossFit Jaguar

Paula Jager
Saturday, May 7, 2011 - 08:57
ABC Action News features Victor from CrossFit Jaguar, 5/7/2011

TAMPA - Every Saturday, Ellen McNamara features an amateur athlete from the Bay area.

This weekend, she introduces you to a man who used to be obese, but now is a lean machine.

"I would say, I was probably real misearable," Victor Amuso said. "No energy for my kids, no energy for my wife, and when I was done working, I'd sit on the couch and go to sleep."

At 296 lbs, Victor Amuso was obese. His back hurt, his legs hurt, and he would eat just to eat.

"You need to eat to live, not live to eat, and I was definitely one of those live to eaters," Amuso said.

After a trip with his family, he hit rock bottom.

"We just decided let's do something together," Amuso said. "So we found a place that was close to our house and we basically started coming in."

Then his gym offered a challenge. Amuso signed up. Besides working out, he changed the way he ate.

"When you start tracking what you're eating you realize this is adding up," Amuso said. "Something I thought was good, I was really eating 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day."

In about three and a half months, he went from 296.5 lbs to 239 lbs. A total of 57.5 pounds lost.

"I look today, (at a picture of himself) and it represents exactly how I feel," Amuso said. "I look better, it's not exactly where I want to be, it's a process, a lifestyle, and I realize that once I hit my goal weight it's not where it ends."

Cross Fit has empowered Amuso, and the lean machine hopes to compete on a national stage soon. He also says anyone who truly wants to make a change, can!

"You come in, you make it a part of your life, and it won't take long," Amuso said.

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If you know an amateur athlete that you want to see featured during Emac's Amateur Athlete on Saturday morning, contact ellen at ellen@abcactionnews.com or go to her journalist Facebook page and click "like."