Chris Hero on his weight gain:
"In developmental you're weighed every Monday. You're told it's not so much about a "number" than it is a certain look. At my fittest in WWE I weighed in at 197 (I was typically in the 220 range and had just finished a juice fast). This was a month before I was terminated which makes it ABSURD that some cling on to the rumor that I was let go because I was LAZY and SKIPPING WORKOUTS. Yes, there was a time in early 2013 where I was sat for a number of months to motivate me to get into better shape. I did. Those who are unaware can watch my last few NXT matches: Harper x2, Breeze, Rusev.
It was actually hard to gain any weight there because of how much we worked out, how much we trained & how often we had shows. Ask some of the guys about the training schedule at the PC in Summer 2013.
I've definitely put on weight. My weight was on a slow incline for the first 9-10 months I was back. I threw my back out last summer (brutal back spasms.. muscular, nothing spinal or disc related). This took a long while to rehabilitate from. I only took one booking off and maintained a full schedule of 10ish shows a month. Should I have taken a few extra bookings off? Debatable.
I was tipping the scales at 260 at one point. I'm now fluctuating from 235-245 w/ a small goal of losing another 20ish. I actually had some blood work done 2 weeks back. I was aware of a mild thyroid issue from late 2011 but my TSH came back this time at 9.23. My Dr. wrote "Wow" on my charts, heh. I'm starting prescriptions this week & eager to see how this improves my overall condition.
What you look like is calories in v. calories out right? Sometimes the chemistry decides to throw some salt in your gas tank.
Re: the fat shaming.. With wrestling I also quote Jimmy Jacobs: "If it's good, it's good." Same goes for humor w/ me. If it's funny, it's funny. I don't mind being the butt of jokes. I'm often laughing at myself. I'm clearly okay being in the public eye. I don't feel the need for exterior validation. It's nice to have but, at the end of the day, I have to be happy with myself.
It's difficult to train & eat right on the road but it CAN be done. It's about establishing habits and patterns. If you want it enough (regardless of what 'it' is) you'll find a way to make it happen."