They all used to call him 맥스카지노�Big Chris.맥스카지노� But Chris Quick, now 33, hated Big Chris. Sure, it seemed like a fun nickname for someone with his frame. By the time Big Chris hit the sixth grade, he was 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. When the high school football coach in his Montana town took one look at him, he saw someone who could push around other massive young men in the trenches of the gridiron. The coach was stunned he맥스카지노�d have to wait three years to add Big Chris to the team. Eventually, Quick fulfilled his nickname, as a wide-shouldered, thick-necked, big-bellied lineman, even though he didn맥스카지노�t care much for football. When he started college at North Dakota State University, he hung up his cleats and fell victim to the affliction that affects so many freshmen: college weight gain. In his case, however, he packed on 50 extra pounds instead of the traditional 15. No matter; that was Big Chris. 맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s funny how your brain plays tricks on you,맥스카지노� Quick told Bicycling over the phone. 맥스카지노�I assumed since so many people knew me as the big guy, my weight wasn맥스카지노�t really a big deal. In my mind, I was just always going to be that guy. So I got used to it.맥스카지노� As Quick continued growing after college, he blew up. First to 300 pounds, then to 400. He took A/V sales jobs after graduation and worked concert security on the side. Any time a popular musician rolled through town, Big Chris was the beefy ringer called in to guard them. No other human barricade was better suited for the job. Once Quick reached his late 20s, he had settled into a life he knew was unhealthy. He맥스카지노�d chug three Mountain Dews in the morning, down a few Burger King Whoppers for lunch, and polish off an entire pizza for dinner. In between meals were endless bags of corn chips and bottles of pop. It turns out a 4,000-calorie daily diet takes its toll. For Quick, even the simplest physical tasks were a struggle: Walking up stairs left him winded, bending down to tie his shoes was a burden. Air travel proved tricky, too. 맥스카지노�When I맥스카지노�d fly somewhere for work, I맥스카지노�d have to request one of those seat belt extenders,맥스카지노� he said. 맥스카지노�That broke my heart.맥스카지노� To avoid embarrassment, he stayed at home and retreated inward. 맥스카지노�I was depressed,맥스카지노� he said. 맥스카지노�I found myself not doing anything, period. I didn맥스카지노�t want to go outside and deal with being that giant sweaty guy. It was much easier to withdraw and pig out.맥스카지노�Eventually, Quick stopped weighing himself altogether. It wasn맥스카지노�t so much out of fear of the number on the scale, but mostly because he couldn맥스카지노�t actually find one strong enough for his size. It was only at the doctor맥스카지노�s office when he was 31 that he finally heard the verdict: He had topped out at 475 pounds. The doctor put it more bluntly: 맥스카지노�Chris, you맥스카지노�re too f---ing fat.맥스카지노� Something had to give, his foul-mouthed physician reasoned, or Quick맥스카지노�s body would ultimately give out. Soon after hearing the doctor맥스카지노�s orders, he found himself on the couch in the summer of 2016, staring at the beautiful Bismarck, North Dakota, sun waiting outside his window. 맥스카지노�I just realized how much I was missing,맥스카지노� he said. 맥스카지노�I knew I needed to get outside. So I thought about riding a bike.맥스카지노� The only problem? He didn맥스카지노�t have one. He hadn맥스카지노�t even sat on one since he was a kid. So he ventured to his local sporting goods store, gave his pitch to the salesman; "I맥스카지노�m almost 500 pounds; got anything that will support me?" and walked out with a Trek Shift 3. 맥스카지노�The bike is meant to get people moving and 맥스카지노�shift맥스카지노� their lifestyle,맥스카지노� he said. 맥스카지노�That concept really spoke to me.맥스카지노� The first ride was short: a few miles, maybe 5, along his neighborhood bike path. It was so painful that he could barely sit down the next day. 맥스카지노�But I felt a kind of enjoyment that I hadn맥스카지노�t felt in such a long time,맥스카지노� he said. 맥스카지노�I wanted to go for another ride right away.맥스카지노� That was the day Big Chris began to outgrow his nickname. Quick quickly fell in love, immersing himself deeply in the world of bikes: how to ride them, fix them and even build them. He spent hours at a time falling down YouTube and Reddit rabbit holes, acquiring all the information he needed to gear up, gain endurance and replace the pesky parts that occasionally fell apart. 맥스카지노�Sure, I broke some spokes here and there because of my weight,맥스카지노� he said. 맥스카지노�But that맥스카지노�s a $30 fix. And I wasn맥스카지노�t going to let $30 keep me from living a better life.맥스카지노� As the miles increased, the pounds disappeared. Quick was fitting in 20-mile rides after work every weekday and rapidly dropping pants sizes in the process. Within a few months, he was down 50 pounds. Before long, 100. His reward: a decidedly faster Trek 8.4 DS, to satiate his need for speed. 맥스카지노�It made me feel like I was flying,맥스카지노� he said. Still, he had his eyes on an even bigger prize.When Quick found himself approaching 275 pounds earlier this year맥스카지노� he credits a strict adherence to the ketogenic diet for aiding in his weight loss 맥스카지노� he knew he맥스카지노�d soon make it under the rider weight limit for a carbon bike. After clearing the benchmark in June, he pulled the trigger. 맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s just beautiful,맥스카지노� Quick said of his new ride. In two years, Quick has lost more than 200 pounds. He no longer has to specially order 6XL-size shirts for work (he맥스카지노�s a 2XL now), or steer clear of carnival rides because he couldn맥스카지노�t fit in the seats, or huff and puff when he gets in and out of cars. 맥스카지노�Everything just feels easier,맥스카지노� he said. Call him Medium Chris.Quick said his ultimate goal is to crack 200 pounds and eventually compete in a triathlon. But for now, he맥스카지노�s happy helping others kick-start their own weight-loss transformations on two-wheelers. He often pokes around in bicycling forums and offers words of encouragement to riders hoping to shed their own spare tires, sharing the advice that inspired him when he was first starting out: 맥스카지노�Just get out there and ride.맥스카지노� If you can manage 2 miles today, he맥스카지노�ll tell them, try 3 next week. Then, go for 4 after that. 맥스카지노�Mostly, I want people to know that they shouldn맥스카지노�t let their size keep them from doing new things in life,맥스카지노� he said. 맥스카지노�For so long, that was me, until I got fed up and decided I wasn맥스카지노�t going to do that anymore. So I got on a bike. And then I just kept going.맥스카지노�