Teacher's 370-Pound Weight Loss Inspires Students

Photo courtesy Ryan Blocker

At 550 pounds, middle school and high school band director Ryan Blocker found it hard to do his job. Playing instruments was tough — Blocker says he’d be short of breath and get headaches when trying to play brass instruments and even get tired just playing the drums — and leading the marching band was often impossible. “We had one parade that was 2.1 miles, I had to have the other band director lead it for me,” he tells Yahoo Parenting. “I even dreaded the ones that were just a couple of blocks. I’d start in front of the band and finish at the back. I know my students were worried.”

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Two years later, through a diet program of pre-portioned meals and exercise, the 30-year-old has dropped a whopping 370 pounds, and says his students at New Madrid County Central High School in Missouri have been some of his biggest supporters. “I teach sixth through 12th grade, so some of these kids have known me for years, and have seen me through this whole journey,” he says. “They notice that I’m more active and have more energy to do my job and that I’m in a better mood because I’m not tired all the time,” he says. “Since I lost the weight students have said that they’d see me getting red-faced and sweaty during marching band and they worried that something could happen to me.”

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Blocker says his newfound health has changed the way he teaches. With more energy, he’s able to demonstrate how his students should play instruments rather than just explaining what they should do, plus he’s rediscovered his love of music — something that he’d lost when he wasn’t playing. He’s also engaging in more extracurriculars. “Band isn’t just 8 to 3, you work all the time, but I wasn’t getting stuff done because I wasn’t going anywhere but school and home,” he says.

Perhaps most importantly, Blocker says he now encourages a healthy lifestyle for his students. “Obesity is a problem and it’s starting younger and younger,” he says. “If the changes that I make can inspire kids to make better choices — even small ones — that’s great. For most teachers, candy is an easy reward for good behavior or a good outcome on a test. But there are other ways — like bonus points or special activities, and students like that.” On band trips, Blocker says he’s going to provide water instead of soda, and bring along fruit instead of chips. “I’ve found that kids will eat healthy stuff if it’s available to them.”

Some of Blocker’s impact might not be so immediate. “Even if it’s in the back of the students’ head when they are older — if they know they need to get healthy and remember that they saw me do it, that would be great,” Blocker says.

For now, the teacher’s increased activity level is rubbing off on the kids whether they like it or not. “Before, if it was hot and we were going to have marching band outside, I would be like ‘ugh, let’s not go out today,’” he says. “Not anymore.”