Getting to know Naif Bazzi

Sometimes enough is enough. That’s what Wayne State University nutrition and food science student, Naif Bazzi, told himself when he reached his peak weight of 300 pounds. He decided he needed to make a lifestyle change. If he didn’t do it for himself, who else would?

Inspired by his nutrition classes at Wayne State, Bazzi had all the information he needed to make that change, and he was determined to work even harder to reach his overall goal. Putting his newfound knowledge to work, Bazzi lost 80 pounds over a span of two and a half years. 

"I looked in the mirror and said, ‘wow, I never thought I would be this big.’ In a way I was disappointed in myself for reaching that weight,” Bazzi recalls. “I had no one else to blame and decided to do something about it." 

Bazzi admits it was not always easy to stay on track. “The hardest part is to motivate yourself to get started,” he says. After about a month in, you tell yourself ‘oh, I have the hang of this; I can do this.’” 

Some days required more discipline than others, but the results have changed his life. “You always hear about people having heart attacks or developing high blood pressure and cholesterol,” Bazzi says. “From everything I was learning in my core classes, I realized that all I wanted was to be healthy and fit.” 

What advice does he give to others looking to make a similar change? "All I can say is not to quit.” “The results may be really slow, but in the end it will be completely worth it.”