ASHTABULA, Ohio — For 25-year-old Matthew Logsdon, serving his country has been a lifelong goal.
"I had always told people growing up that I was going to be in the United States Army one day."
But not long ago, that dream was far from a reality.
"345 pounds was my heaviest recorded weight," Logsdon said. "I was on a downward spiral."
Out of shape and overweight, Logsdon not only felt his dream slipping away -- but he felt his life slipping away, too.
"I started feeling sorry for myself. I was sick and tired of being overweight, obese."
Logsdon said the last straw was when he couldn't tie his shoes without being out of breath.
"I just felt bad for myself."
So he made a life change. A big life change.
For six days a week, Logsdon would wake up at 3 a.m., grab his bag and head to Planet Fitness for a 4 a.m. workout. Yep, he did all of this before going to work at his day job for 8-12 hours.
It was constant hard work in hopes of reaching his goal of joining the military. Hard work that he repeated day in and day out for an entire year. Hard work that paid off big time.
In that year, with discipline in both the gym and the kitchen, Logsdon lost 145 pounds. He went from a size 52 pants size all the way to a size 33.
An incredible transformation that allowed him to enlist in the Ohio Army National Guard.
"It's something that I have wanted my entire life."
He's currently in basic training in South Carolina where he will graduate after four months. Once he is done, he plans to serve as a motor transport operator in the 1484th Transportation Company in North Canton. Once his military career is over, he plans on going back to school to study health and fitness in hopes of inspiring others to achieve their weight loss goals.
You can follow Matt's weight loss journey on his Instagram @hierarch_fitness