A 34-year-old business consultant from the outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio, Brad Fischer went through many hardships to eventually tip the scale at over 508 pounds.

With his dreams of becoming a professional football player taking a seat on the sideline, Brad, then a college sophomore, started emotionally eating his way to the bottom of potato chip bags when he became physically unable to pursue his dream.

“When I got injured playing football in college, I somehow knew that my life would never be the same. I badly injured my shoulder, and went through extensive surgery, only for the doctors to tell me that I would never be able to play football again,” says Brad.

Taking a trip back in time, Brad always had a passion for sports, and was perfect for football because of his physical stature.

Growing up, Brad was taller than most of the other kids in his school, and he always classified himself as “chubby.”

“I was always chubby as a kid, but I was never really fat. I think this had a lot to do with my height, because I towered over most of the other kids on the playground. I was always active, though—I played a ton of sports.”

The thrill of playing sports was an amazing feeling for Brad, but his love for the game always swung toward one particular sport.

When Brad entered high school, he channeled his inner offensive lineman, and took his passion and love for the sport of football to the turf after school at every practice, and on every game day.

“In high school, football was my big priority; I put my heart and soul into every game. I was tall, but I was stocky, which made me perfect for offensive tackle. I didn’t mind knocking people over, either. It was fun!”

Brad became one of his school’s top players, and college recruiters from all over the country took notice. As a senior in high school, Brad received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Kentucky where he got to play football as a Wildcat.

As a college football player, Brad’s determination transformed into even bigger dreams, with hopes of one day playing football as a professional athlete.

With his love for the game fulfilled through years of dedication, life decided to throw Brad a trick play during a big game his sophomore year.

After tackling a defensive lineman on the opposing team, Brad found himself looking up at the sky, through the bars in facemask. He felt a sharp and excruciating pain in his shoulder.

“When they say your world can come crashing down in an instant, my world crash-landed right on my shoulder in that moment. It hurt, both physically and emotionally.”

Brad’s game-defining moment came with a very steep price, and after extensive shoulder surgery, he was forced to go through months of extremely painful physical therapy.

With his dreams of playing professional football crushed, Brad sought comfort in food and sank into a bottomless pit of all things fried and dyed.

Despite his inability to play football, Brad still graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business.

Even though Brad was able to have a professional career after his football career ended, he sank into a deep depression, and constantly relied on food for comfort.

With midnight runs to fast food Drive-Thru's, and with a constant craving for empty calories, Brad became a 6’4”, 34 year-old business consultant, who weighed a staggering 508 pounds.

“The real world made it easy for me to gain weight. Especially, when it came to traveling on business and driving home from work. At airports, I would eat out of boredom. On my way home from work, I would just wheel my car through the nearest Taco Bell drive thru, because I felt too lazy to cook. For a while, I was having my ‘fourth meal’ from Taco Bell almost every single night.”

Brad continued down the path of late-night fast food runs and unhealthy eating habits for many years, until his best friend became his most important voice of reason.

Crissy has been Brad's best friend for over 20 years.

Brad and Crissy share a special friendship, especially when it comes to Crissy’s twin 5-year-old daughters, Alexis and Logan.

As one of the most responsible and kind-hearted men she has ever known, Chrissy needed a strong father figure for her girls, and thought Brad would be the perfect man for the job.

Brad accepted the title of "live-in dad" and moved in with Crissy, Alexis and Logan. The four of them have been living together as a close-knit family for six years.

When Brad moved in with Crissy and her two daughters, Brad’s health became a concern for her, especially when it came to Alexis and Logan.

“Crissy saw how much weight I put on within a short period of time, and she pushed me to do something about it. She made me realize that I needed to be healthy, so I could be there for our girls.”

With Crissy’s help, Brad began cutting back on his visits to the drive-thru, and started researching different diets and healthy lifestyle programs.

Brad pushed himself every day to do better, and after doing his own research, he came up with his very own diet and exercise plan that helped him lose over 50 pounds.

After achieving such great success on his own, Brad decided he wanted to lose even more weight.

After hearing about a national diet challenge, Brad decided to enter this competition with the goal of losing more weight. Brad was one of ten people selected nationwide to take part in this weight loss challenge, which had featured segments on both the Dr. Phil and The Doctors, television shows.

With such an exciting opportunity ahead of him, Brad seized the moment and became part of a truly life-changing experience.

For three months, Brad, along with the nine other competitors, received physician-designed, chef-prepared meals, delivered right to their door by bistroMD.

When Brad started the competition, he weighed 454 pounds. After being on the bistroMD meal plan for just two weeks, Brad noticed a change in his weight, and he had more energy at the end of the day.

Brad didn’t win the weight loss competition, but he lost a lot in the process.

After three months of eating healthy and delicious meals from bistroMD, Brad lost an astonishing 74 pounds in 51 days, bringing his weight from 454 pounds, down to 367 pounds!

“The meals from bistroMD surprised me. I couldn’t believe how satisfying the portions were, and I couldn’t believe how delicious the meals were. The bistroMD meal plan made the whole process much easier, plus I didn’t have to worry about grocery shopping or cooking every night.”

And what do the women in Brad’s life think about his remarkable transformation?

“Crissy and the girls are happy for me. Alexis and Logan have even picked up on some of my healthy eating habits. In fact, they talk to their teacher all the time about the importance of eating healthy. They have definitely been my biggest inspiration.”

Eating three months of physician-designed, chef-prepared meals was fun for Brad, and he even walked away from the experience with a few new favorite entrees.

“My top favorite meals would definitely be all of the different crepes, the beef tips in red wine sauce, and the vegetable chili. The chili was so good; I would have no problem eating that for every meal.”

With a new lease on life, Brad is continuing what he learned from his weight loss experience. He continues to work with his personal trainer, Randy, and he is cooking meals for himself and his family that are nutritionally balanced.

“It’s so funny because my girls are so young, and they have really taken an interest in eating healthy. While most kids are eating Cheetos and chips, Alexis and Logan are asking me about vegetables and fruit. It really makes me proud.”

As far as his continuous motivation to stay healthy, Brad gets that from the best place.

“My family; they never let me quit.”