• Jeremiah Peterson was 40 years old and 100 pounds overweight when he realized he needed to make a change.
• The dad went on to lose 92 pounds by adopting the ketogenic diet and working out in the great outdoors
• His inspiring Instagram account, @jeremiahpetersonmontana, has amassed 36,000 followers

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As a kid in the 1980s, Jeremiah Peterson made the commitment to get fit — not just for his looks, but to fight off the bullies, too. It was knowledge that would serve him well later in life, when he found himself as a 40-year-old man who was 100 pounds overweight and in need of yet another lifestyle transformation.

“I was born and raised in Missoula, Montana — you know, the River Runs Through It place,” Peterson told MensHealth.com. “Growing up in the ‘80s, I was one of those kids always outside building forts, fishing, playing war, playing sports with all the neighbor kids.”

Peterson was also being bullied at school, so he wanted to get fit to protect himself and “anyone else that couldn’t protect themselves.”

“In junior high, I made the decision to not get knocked around anymore,” he said. “I practically lived at the local Y lifting and shooting hoops. I chose then, at the age of 15, to get stronger and gain confidence within myself.”

Because of this love of sports, Peterson went on to also gain a degree in coaching from Trinity Bible College in North Dakota. After graduating, he opened a small personal training studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. There, he met his wife, who was a yoga instructor.

The two married and had their first child together, a son, before deciding to move back to Montana. Instead of continuing his personal training business, the couple decided to open an antiques store, which “became our only focus,” Peterson said.

He soon fell into the day-to-day trappings of owning a family business, letting his love for fitness fade into the background. He stopped going to the gym — and every night after the shop closed, he’d sit around drink a few beers.

“My desire to hike and fish, the very habits that I had created so many years ago, slowly disappeared into the process of building a life and a business,” he said.

via Dad Credits Amazing Weight Loss Transformation To Keto Diet, Hiking