{"id":44882,"date":"2019-08-21T15:56:18","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T15:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/08\/21\/teen-sheds-113-pounds-to-become-first-member-of-his-family-to-join-us-military-enlist-in-the-army\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:33:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:33:13","slug":"teen-sheds-113-pounds-to-become-first-member-of-his-family-to-join-us-military-enlist-in-the-army","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/08\/21\/teen-sheds-113-pounds-to-become-first-member-of-his-family-to-join-us-military-enlist-in-the-army\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen sheds 113 pounds to become first member of his family to join US military, enlist in the Army"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Less than a year ago, Luis Enrique Pinto Jr. was 317 pounds and couldn\u2019t pass the Army\u2019s weight requirements. But after shedding 113 pounds in seven months, Pinto is headed to basic training next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He breezed through the Army\u2019s Occupational Physical Assessment Test<\/a> given to new Army recruits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery event was like it was made for him; it was easy,\u201d Pinto\u2019s recruiter Staff Sgt. Philip Long said in an Army news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pinto, 18, was attracted to the Army for several reasons, including the sense of contributing to something larger than himself \u2014 similar to what he experienced when he was a high school football offensive lineman. He also was determined to become the first in his family to join the U.S. military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got one life. I don\u2019t want to wake up and do the same thing every single day,\u201d Pinto said in the release. \u201cThere\u2019s a whole world out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pinto lost a total of 113 pounds in 7 months. (US Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pinto, who grew up in Peru and Las Vegas, made major life changes in order to join the service. He modified his carb-heavy diet, and also started high-intensity interval training alternating between jogs and sprints. At first, running was a major challenge because his weight was increasing his time, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Pinto received support from his mom, who encouraged him to stick with his gym routine almost daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One thing she told me is to just show up,” he said. “Just show up and don’t worry about the workout that’s to come. You show up at the gym and once you’re there, you’re already there so might as well just get it over with.”<\/p>\n\n\n\t