Closed Restaurants Help Nick Warrick Lose 100 Pounds in 2020
February 8, 2021 by Emily Beers
Courtesy of Nick Warrick
Pre-COVID-19 life for Nick Warrick meant inconsistent fitness, frequently eating out and drinking with friends — often "obliterating 4,000 calories a day" — and travelling for work every other weekend.
Each time he was in a new city, Warrick made an effort to try the delicious foods native to wherever he happened to be. That lifestyle left the 27-year-old member of Oxford CrossFit in Mississippi to weigh 302 pounds at 6-feet tall.
The pandemic: When COVID hit and the world shut down last March, Warrick stopped eating out, stopped traveling for work to various college campuses as a leadership consultant, and stopped going out for drinks with friends, as it was no longer an option as restaurants were closed. This provided him the perfect opportunity to reshape his lifestyle, he explained.
"Having restaurants closed and not being able to go anywhere helped. Suddenly I wasn't going out with friends drinking all the time, and it helped me learn to control what I ate," he said.
After 11 months of consistently working out and avoiding eating out, Warrick now weighs 202 pounds, exactly 100 pounds less than a year ago.
"I can run five kilometers a day now. Last year, I couldn't even make it half a mile without walking. I'm really proud of that…And before, in the middle of the day, I was always exhausted and would have to take a one or two hour nap, and now I have energy to keep going all day and do whatever I want to do," he said.
One big thing: Though restaurants have reopened and Warrick is back traveling for work, the first COVID lockdown helped him create lasting habits that he has no intention of letting slide.
"I have developed those habits now, so even when I'm on the road I don't find myself craving some of the stuff I did before. I'm more focused on eating to fuel my body for the day, rather than binging on whatever I happen to feel like eating, " said Warrick, who is planning on doing the CrossFit Games Open next month.
He also ensures he always has access to a gym when he's on the road, and keeps his habit of running one to three miles each morning. And when he can fit in a workout, he takes any opportunity to walk. "Now when I'm on the road, I'll walk instead of taking an Uber," he said.
Warrick's message: Chip away consistently and stay the course — even when you hit a plateau — because it's worth it.
"I had always been into working out, but I needed to make it more consistent…I had always wanted to get down to this weight for years, and it came down to slowly plugging away at it. Just keep going even when it slows down," he said. "I lost the first 80 pounds in six or seven months, and then it took me another four to get the last 20. The gains slowed down, but I just had to keep plugging away."
He added: "I know people are having a really hard time with (COVID), but I was able to see past that and find something positive in all the negativity," he said. Doing just this gave Warrick "the best year I have ever had."
Coronavirus COVID-19 weight loss
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