Matt Manning, a 45-year-old dad from Xenia, OH, is now $50,000 richer thanks to a new found commitment in diet and exercise!

At 5’9” and 213 lbs., Matt was experiencing heart pain and realized his health was in jeopardy after watching his father undergo a heart valve transplant. ” I knew I needed to change,” the engineer says.

He entered a competition through Bodybuilding.com and began exercising daily, portioning out his meals and keeping track of his progress throughout. He also practiced intermittent fasting, eating all of his daily calories between 8 am and 4 pm, and fasting for the remaining 16 hours.

matt manning

Four months later, Matt has successfully dropped 40 lbs., won the grand prize and, most importantly, is a role model to his kids. “Well, they say I look like a superhero now!” he says adding, “My daughter saw the before pictures and she’s like, ‘Man, you look miserable, I’d be miserable too if I looked like that.'”

The Ohio resident also credits wife Candice for supporting him through the major lifestyle change. “Thank you so much for everything you did,” he tells Candice. “I just told [the camera crew] you got up this morning to do more progress photos!”

His advice to other individuals looking to lose weight? “It has to come from within – you have to have that want, it has to be internally driven,” Matt tells WDTN.com. “But then you can do things to build support around you.”

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