For most of his life, Chuck Carroll battled a severe food addiction that almost took his life. At just 5 feet 6 inches tall, Chuck weighed 420 pounds and was eating 10,000 calories per day.

Despite trying again and again to lose weight, his weight kept creeping up. Out of desperation, he decided to have weight loss surgery in 2009 at the age of 27. He was pretty sure it would just be one more failed attempt to lose weight, but when he woke up from the surgery, he never looked back.

Although his surgery was a critical component to kickstarting over 260 pounds of weight loss for Chuck, he only attributes 10% of his long-term weight loss success to it. The rest he credits to a plant-based diet and changing his lifestyle.

The confidence he gained from his weight loss enabled him to pursue his dream of becoming a reporter where he covered sports and news for CBS and later NBC News Radio. After deciding that he wanted to pursue a career in the world of health, Chuck partnered with Dr. Neal Barnard and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to launch The Exam Room Podcast, which has become one of the most popular vegan podcasts in the world.

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