A past champion of the prestigious Mr. USA bodybuilding contest has shared a candid account of a moment when he ripped through his clothes after indulging in burgers.
Nick Trigili hit a low point at a New Year’s Eve celebration in 2017 when the significant weight he had gained caused his 5XL jeans and shirt to split—a powerful reminder of how much his life had shifted.
Only three years earlier, at 25, Nick had achieved his dream by winning the title of Mr. USA, a goal he set his sights on from the age of 15 when he first became passionate about bodybuilding while working at a gym.
However, fulfilling this lifelong ambition led to a dramatic loss of motivation, leading to a complete breakdown of his previously strict lifestyle.
“When I won, everything came to an end for me,” the 39-year-old recounted. “That is the show I always wanted to win, and I achieved it by 25.
“It was a let-down when I won; I was like ‘what do I do now?’.
“Right after the show, that was my darkest moment – I felt lost.”
He abandoned his disciplined diet of chicken and rice, replacing it with fast food, burgers, and pizza, which led him to reach a weight of 260 pounds.
“When I left bodybuilding, I thought f*** this; I am eating whatever I want – fast food, restaurants, burgers, and pizza,” he admitted.
“I would never eat at home; my fridge was empty – I went completely the other way.”
However, everything culminated at that 2017 New Year’s Eve party. The moment he struggled to fit into his clothes and tore them offered him a chance for deep self-reflection.
“I was up all night crying, I was upset, miserable, wondering how I got myself here,” Nick explained.
Determined to change his life, Nick resolved to regain his health and on January 1st, 2018, scheduled medical evaluations to check for any internal damage caused by his unhealthy eating habits.
He continued: “Blood work is something I have always done since I was a teenager. I went back doing what I was doing, by getting a comprehensive blood work that tests your organs, hormones, everything. I also got a CT, heart and liver scan – everything I could do.”
Now a knowledgeable nutritionist with a healthy weight of 225 pounds, Nick shares his journey to debunk a common fitness myth.
“People always make the mistake of overdoing it, and think you need to be in the gym every single day,” he explained.
“I recommend people do a day on and a day off. This will yield the best results for people as they are giving their body a break. You don’t work seven days a week 24/7, so why would you put your body through the stress of working out seven days a week?”