Orem dispatcher loses 147 pounds on A&E reality show

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SPANISH FORK — If Ray Stewart wanted to become a father, he knew he needed to make a change.

The member of the Orem Public Safety Dispatch Center's team and his wife had been trying to become parents for years, but didn't have any luck despite spending thousands of dollars on artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization. When the couple decided adoption was the route they were supposed to take, Stewart turned the new TV show "Fit to Fat to Fit" to get in the right shape.

"I had to face the harsh reality that as good of a person that I am, at 389 pounds, first impressions matter a whole lot with adoption profiles and someone is going to move right past me if I don't look like I even get off the couch," he said. "That's not the guy you want raising your baby when you're hoping to place a child for adoption. I had to accept that and so for me, if I wanted to become a father I had to lose the weight."

Stewart's journey was documented in the very first episode of A&E's "Fit to Fat to Fit," which had its series premiere Tuesday night. The docuseries is based on a book of the same name by Drew Manning, a professional trainer who gained 75 pounds on purpose and then lost the weight in an effort to better relate to his clients.

Manning acts as the host of the docuseries, which follows 10 different trainers as they similarly gain weight in a period of four months only to lose it while working with the people they are paired with on the show. Stewart said he wasn't told that his trainer, JJ Peterson of Lehi, would be gaining weight until the first day of filming in February 2015.

"I knew something of the emotional battle that JJ would be fighting," he said. "I think the show wanted me to be a little more excited about him gaining weight, but really it just broke my heart because I knew it was going to suck and it was going to hurt."

Peterson consumed more than 6,000 calories per day for four months to put on 61 pounds. Stewart noted that while it took him years to put on his weight, Peterson was eating worse than any day he had ever eaten in his entire life to pack on the pounds for the show.

Stewart thought he was going to start training on the first day of filming, so he was shocked to learn the show wanted him to do nothing for the first four months. However, Stewart said he couldn't sit idle since he was finally in the right place to work hard and turn his health around. Instead, he mapped out a 5k route in his Spanish Fork neighborhood and made a goal to walk it every week because he wasn't in good enough shape to run.

"My mom was so mad when I told her I was supposed to wait, because she knew I was speaking differently," Stewart said. "I was ready in my head. Finally, I was going to change my life."

His perseverance paid off. Stewart started getting faster and by the time the four months were up and he was reunited with Peterson to begin training, he'd lost 46 pounds on his own. After another four months of training together, Stewart said Peterson was back to "his Greek god status" while he had lost an additional 101 pounds. Altogether, Stewart lost 147 pounds on the show.

Stewart said he's still humbled and shocked by the fact that he was selected to be on "Fit to Fat to Fit." He had actually auditioned for "The Biggest Loser" before and even made callbacks, but ultimately didn't end up on the show. He learned about "Fit to Fat to Fit" when his sister tagged him in a Facebook post with a link to the application.

Tune into A&E tomorrow at 8pm to see Orem PD dispatcher "Ray" on his weight loss journey. http://www.aetv.com/shows/fit-to-fat-to-fit

Posted by Orem Police Department on Monday, January 18, 2016

"I know with every one of these shows there are thousands of people who were hoping to be in my spot and I feel like it's my responsibility to maintain, at this point, everything I did," he said. "I got the chance so many others wanted. How dare I squander that by going back? I know a lot of people do gain weight back after the cameras turn off and they're not special anymore."

Now, Stewart and his wife — who also lost 60 pounds while her husband was on the show — are ready to bring a child into their home. Since the couple can't afford to use an adoption agency they are hoping to arrange a private adoption through social media, adoption.com or personal connections.

Stewart said they've completed all of their home studies so they are approved by the state to be able to adopt. They also have an adoption lawyer lined up and money saved to cover the fees.

"We'd be happy if we were getting five babies UPS-ed to us tomorrow," he joked.

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Natalie Crofts

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