Of all the stories of triumph on our list, this one might be the most impressive - and heartbreaking. The man you see on the left has suffered losses that most of us would struggle to imagine. As a soldier, he was deployed to Iraq just as his wife miscarried their baby after six months. She was unable to cope with the trauma alone, and divorced him. While in Iraq, he was wounded in battle, and lost his right leg. Divorced, disabled, and grieving, he was confined to a wheelchair and eating himself to death. He was only 29.
He somehow found the courage and determination to start visiting a local gym, and turned his life around. He dropped 150 pounds, and felt like he'd regained control of his destiny. His advice to anyone who feels too shy to go to the gym because of their appearance is that they should look fear dead in the eyes, and push on. He did, and he's the best example of overcoming the odds that anyone could have hoped to have.