Gonzaga high school basketball coach Steve Turner is entering his 14th year as the head coach of the Eagles. He's coming off one of the best seasons with Gonzaga as the team won the WCAC championship, DC State championship and Alhambra Invitational. But in the last eight months, he's made the biggest leaps in how he takes care of his body.
“You can see it," he said of the change. It puts a smile on my face. I used to be a three sport athlete in high school. I played baseball. I played basketball."
In November of 2016, Turner weighed 368 pounds and was in bad shape. A trip to the doctors though woke him up to make a lifestyle change.
“He talked to me about going and doing it through (gastric bypass) surgery. That kind of pissed me off and was a harder motivation to prove him wrong.”
A married man and father of two, the 46-year-old joined the weight loss program Body Tech shortly after. He used their ideal protein plan and started taking in a lot more veggies and shakes. The days of pizzas and Philly cheese steaks were over.
"Early on, I missed those Friday night pizzas and cheese steaks, but now I don't have cravings for them."
Throughout the championship basketball season until now, his commitment to eating more veggies has caused him to lose 110 pounds. He's at 258 now.
“The toughest thing right now is trying to get a new wardrobe," he says with a smile. "Going into our season I was wearing 4. I'm now 2x and starting to fit into some XL's he says."
"I look at the pictures side by side, and I do have to do a double take sometimes. How did I let myself get to that point? But even more importantly, I reflect on how proud I am of making this change."
Turner mentioned that all of his family and friends are proud of him and he appreciates the opportunity to inspire others.
The ultimate weight goal is 220 pounds, but the new-look Turner knows he’s making a big difference already for everybody around him.
“So many of my friends and family have changed their lifestyle because of this," he comments. My wife started doing it, and that was great. It motivated me daily."
One of the more interesting things about his weight loss is that the majority of it came from just a diet change. He has only been working out at Healthy Baller with his son in the last month to tone his body.
"Anybody that tells you going to the gym is the only way to lose weight, is lying to you," he said. "It's about what you put in your body that really matters. "
His message for others wanting to make a change?
“I’m here to help you. If you are someone out there, who doesn’t know me but sees this video: Call me here at Gonzaga, e-mail me at Gonzaga.”
He is serious about giving it out.
Turner's email is sturner@gonzaga.org.
