Apple CEO Tim Cook took a moment to congratulate a man who wrote to him and tweeted an inspiring story of using Apple Watch and Fitness+ to lose more than 100 pounds over several months.
Nate Gorby told his story in his tweet, below, saying Apple’s tools changed his life. Cook’s direct reply was just one of many responses.
Tim Cook congratulates grateful Fitness+ fan
In his tweet — which has 240,000 views — Gorby said Apple Watch and the Fitness+ service “changed so much for me and made me a healthier, happier person over the past several months. Here is my story.”
And his story of losing more than 100 pounds, surpassing his doctors’ expectations, is an inspiring one. It tells a tale any fitness trainer or life coach would love to hear about forming good habits and changing lifestyle to get ongoing results.
“For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with my weight,” Gorby, who lives in Michigan, wrote. “I was able to diet, and my weight would have the yo-yo effect as a result. Through Fitness+ I was able to discover my passion for cycling, treadmill walking, HITT and even practicing Mindfulness.”
The Fitness+ app routinely adds new workouts and trainers to keep things fresh. Earlier this year it added kickboxing, two new fitness Collections and three new trainers, for example.
And Gorby found like-minded trainers to help him. They taught him that “showing up is the biggest hurdle most days.”
“So for about year or so, I craved exercising and did it as often as I could,” he wrote. “I developed a habit that was changing my entire mindset toward my overall health.”
Dedicated to closing his rings
I’m floored by the amount of people that have seen this tweet. Thank you all so much!
Also, I did email it to Tim and he responded this morning! pic.twitter.com/BE5AJHdV8q
— Nate Gorby (@nategorby) June 15, 2023
As most Apple Watch owners know, the Fitness+ app uses rings to indicate status around accomplishing activity goals. The Move ring counts calories from movement, the Exercise ring tallies minutes of exercise and the Stand goals helps ensure you stand up and move around throughout the day.
“After a while of working out like this, I was dedicated to closing my rings,” Gorby wrote. “However, my dieting had taken a turn for the worse.”
Adding weight-loss surgery to the mix
So he decided to have weight-loss surgery “to help balance by newfound exercise routine.” And according to his tale, it worked beautifully.
“Fast forward 6 months and I am a completely new person week after week!” he exclaimed.
“I’ve got my Apple Watch and the Fitness+ team to thank for this,” Gorby said. “I know that a lot of what I’ve accomplished has been my own will, but it’s all due to what Fitness+ and the Apple Watch first instilled in me. I am forever grateful for what you’ve created. You’ve changed my life.”
He mentioned he wrote directly to Cook and that Apple’s CEO responded.
“Nate, congratulations on your fitness journey, best, Tim,” Cook wrote in reply.
When you drop 100 pounds and the CEO of the world’s most valuable company gives you a digital high-five, it’s certainly worth a tweet.
