Storm Lake Times Pilot

Meat man trims the fat

Torres sheds 115 pounds


Nick Torres getting in a workout at EnerGym 24/7 in Storm Lake.

Does this guy look familiar? He wraps up your meat with a smile at Fareway. He also lost 115 pounds over the last year and a half. 

“Since I remember, I was always a chubby kid,” says Storm Laker Nick Torres, 20. 

The most he remembers weighing was 330 pounds.

He was born in California, spent much of his early childhood in Mexico, then his family (he’s one of seven) moved to Storm Lake when he was 10, his mom lured by a job at Tyson.

Nick graduated from Storm Lake High School in 2020. In August 2021, he went back to work at Fareway, where he had worked during high school, this time in the meat department. About the same time he decided to lose weight. 

“What people say is true. Once you see progress, you just go,” he said.

He designed his own workout plan based on tips from friends and YouTube videos. He started out on the treadmill and it took him 14 minutes to run a mile. Now he runs a mile in seven minutes. 

The photos above show Nick Torres before and after losing 115 pounds.

Last summer he ran 2½ miles a day. He is looking forward to doing that again in spring.

Nick works out at EnerGym 24/7 six days a week. He’s settled on a three-day rotation for weight training: One day he works on his chest, shoulders and triceps. Day two he concentrates on his back and biceps. Day three is abs and leg workouts.

He wants to keep his current weight and build more muscle. It’s a challenge he’s not letting up on. He’s at 17% body fat, compared to his high, when he first went to the gym at 44%. 

Reforming his diet has been important too. Beyond the meat in his diet, he consumes protein in the form of creatine, whey and also Gatorade bars. 

Meanwhile, at work, he’s in the manager program, which could mean relocating at any time. “I’m young, I’m up for it,” he says.

The benefits of weight loss were not only physical, but mental, Nick adds. “It opened up my mindset. I used to feel like I can’t do anything. At the beginning, you don’t even believe in yourself. That’s all changed now.”

Leave a Reply