In January 2023, 31-year-old David Danna's story was shared in the Jewish Chronicle. It's a uniquely American story of determination, perseverance, unexpected love, and newfound faith that is the perfect year-end capper for Feel-Good Friday.
America makes you fat. By the time Dave Danna was 30 years old, he was so obese that he no longer knew how much he weighed.
His digital scales topped out at 399.5 lbs, and Danna estimates that he topped out somewhere beyond 420 lbs (190 kg). [...]Danna rejected fashionable and dangerous excuses about “body positivity”. He cut the carbs from his diet, stopped eating takeout, and joined his local Planet Fitness. “I’m not going to normalise obesity,” he tweeted, “I’m going to defeat it.”
"I'm not going to normalise obesity, I'm going to defeat it." Imagine what we could accomplish if we had that attitude toward the things that burden us.
“I really had no idea what I was doing when I started last year,” he says. “There was a lot of fear and stigma, just walking in.” He goes early every morning, Monday to Friday. “I usually do 35 to 50 minutes, evenly split between working out and cardio. I don’t go crazy.”
To hold himself to his programme, Danna started tweeting photos of himself in the gym, or outside on dark mornings when, the lights on Planet Fitness’s frontage being partially broken, he prepares for a session in “Plet Fitness”.
To close out 2023, Danna posted a long but highly inspirational thread on the social media platform X.
18 months ago I started over:
— Dave Danna (@DaveEDanna) December 27, 2023
•No more fast food or junk food
•No more drinking
•No more binge eating
I was 400lbs+, single, in credit card debt, pre diabetic, high blood pressure, grad school on hold & more 😅
I focused on:
•Physical Health
•Mental Health
•Financial… pic.twitter.com/26eY9b2XfI
18 months ago I started over:
•No more fast food or junk food
•No more drinking
•No more binge eating I was 400lbs+, single, in credit card debt, pre diabetic, high blood pressure, grad school on hold & more
I focused on:
•Physical Health
•Mental Health
•Financial Health
•Spiritual Health
Long way to go, but so far:
I joined a gym for the first time ever.
— Dave Danna (@DaveEDanna) December 27, 2023
I started a low carb diet.
I'm down 135lbs with 65-75lbs to go. pic.twitter.com/GautejYDBf
Danna has made momentous progress, not only in his physical size and metabolic health but in his mental and financial health as well. Not only did he complete his Master's Degree, but that January the article was published, Danna was also promoted at his job!
I got promoted at work - turns out having better physical & mental health helps your productivity & attitude at work! pic.twitter.com/JsS8mUrXBb
— Dave Danna (@DaveEDanna) December 27, 2023
Goal-setting, meeting those goals, and forward movement have a domino effect. As 2023 progressed, one by one, Danna kept seeing those dominoes fall.
I thought the gym would be mainly for burning calories, turns out it's far more important to me for my mental health, building routine, and starting the day off with a positive productive accomplishment (I go before work!) pic.twitter.com/dzt9hP4DD8
— Dave Danna (@DaveEDanna) December 27, 2023
I thought the gym would be mainly for burning calories, turns out it's far more important to me for my mental health, building routine, and starting the day off with a positive productive accomplishment (I go before work!)
Danna even received encouragement from "The Terminator," actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Your reps look fantastic, and I’m proud of you. Try dropping the weight and really making yourself feel that stretch and flex with slow reps, and you will be able to hold onto that feeling as you increase the weight again. You want that feeling on every movement in the gym.
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) March 14, 2023
Danna also found love. In the midst of his journey in 2022, he decided to take a risk and start dating. His beautiful girlfriend joined him on his grand adventure toward health, wellness, and a better life. She also lost weight and achieved her goals. They tied the knot in November!
I got engaged after a year of dating, then married after another 6 months! (Last month!) pic.twitter.com/tJizZx4pM8
— Dave Danna (@DaveEDanna) December 27, 2023
In another X thread, he talked about saving thousands by ceasing his DoorDash fast-food habit and how he was finding pleasure in preparing meals for himself and others.
I've saved $7k+ that I used to spend on Doordash ordering fast food multiple times a week and my normal grocery bill has stayed about the same even though I'm buying healthy food now and lots of meat. I'm buying less food, and cooking more, which has helped me save money.
Danna also had over $40,000 of credit card debt. Thanks to his putting that former DoorDash and fast food money toward his debt, it is down to $26.00.
I finished paying off my credit card debt, and finished grad school. I've got a long way to go financially (big student loans!) But no complaints from me!
In a beautiful full circle, Danna returned to his Jewish faith. He said he had not been to synagogue in 10-plus years but decided to start attending regularly. He posed for this picture attired in his Yarmulke and Tallit.
I went back to synagogue for the first time in 10+ years - with plans to go more often in 2024! pic.twitter.com/rXFh5WiHQg
— Dave Danna (@DaveEDanna) December 27, 2023
The Tallit had been given to Danna by his late grandfather for his Bar Mitzvah. When a commenter complimented him on it, he told him the story and said, "It's been in a box for far too long."
Danna documented his journey for himself and in a desire to encourage others that if he could do it, anyone can.
This is what it's all about.
— Dave Danna (@DaveEDanna) December 28, 2023
So many drowning in debt, living unhealthy physical & mental lifestyles.
It's almost a new year - make a plan & be honest with yourself, sleep on it, read it again to make sure it moves you toward your goals.
Then begin, no overthinking!
You can… https://t.co/0YU5BdLrDV pic.twitter.com/QOQXHBO2l9
This is what it's all about. So many drowning in debt, living unhealthy physical & mental lifestyles. It's almost a new year - make a plan & be honest with yourself, sleep on it, read it again to make sure it moves you toward your goals. Then begin, no overthinking! You can do it. I can do it. We can do it.
Joy, enthusiasm, and achievement are contagious. Danna sparked a movement and laid out some tips on how to begin again for 2024.
Make a plan. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Without a vision the people cast off restraint." Danna had a vision that his life could be different, and he took the small steps that led to big changes. Even bigger than he imagined.
Make that plan about your whole life. Danna was holistic and realistic in his approach. He didn't assume all he needed was just to lose 200 pounds in six months. He also didn't only focus on his body; he worked on changing his mindset, his habits, and his outlook on life.
Take risks. The fact that Danna didn't wait until everything was "perfect" but sought out and found love in the place where he was is huge. Danna then incorporated his new lady into his journey and helped to transform her life!
Wherever you might find yourself at the end of 2023, it is never too late to move, improve, and transform your life and situation. At the end of 2022, my husband and I were sick, discouraged, and at the end of our financial tether. Like Danna, together we made a plan, we focused on the whole of our lives and took realistic steps, and then we took a big leap of faith by moving across the country to start a new chapter of our lives. While not as dramatic a transformation as Mr. David Danna's, the end of our 2023 looks infinitely better than 2022 did, and we are looking forward to even greater things for 2024.
“It’s never too late to become who you want to be. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Happy New Year!
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