Hartselle native overcomes childhood obesity to become bodybuilder

Story by Lauren Estes Photos by

Nutrition stores might be intimidating to newcomers to the health and fitness world, but Hartselle native Will Eaton said he wants everyone to feel welcomed and included as they walk in the door of his business, Eaton Wise Nutrition.
Eaton said he wants people to leave feeling like they gained information about health and nutrition.

“We push overall health and nutrition, being active and proactive and not in a sedentary lifestyle. We want people to get moving and prioritize their health,” Eaton said. “The main goal is to improve clients’ overall health, general nutrition and (knowledge) about getting your daily nutritional and dietary needs – and everyone is different when it comes to that.”

Eaton has a person reason for his commitment to working out, eating right and opening a nutrition store. He dealt with childhood obesity and has fought tooth and nail to lead his family away from the battle he faced as a young person.

“I was a picked-on obese child as a kid. I had a 38-inch waist in a child,” Eaton said. “I was living that lifestyle, and my parents played a vital role in my life then. I try to encourage my children now to be healthy and live healthy.” Parents, Eaton explained, make a huge impact on “how children grow and mature, and that covers health and wellness, too. Sometimes parents can be uneducated when it comes to diet and nutrition. I make sure my kids have sufficient amount of nutrients in their food, and I supplement them with OLLY vitamins, and it’s something my boys really like. They see me and my wide healthy eating, and my kids want to eat (healthy food) after they see us eat it.”

Eaton said his store assists customers by helping them start a program that will work for them – and that starts with a client consultation.
“In the consultation, we get a lot of information from them – the hours they sleep and work, their personal dietary needs they have from their doctor, if they’ve had recent blood work done, if they are allergic to foods and what kind of diet regimen they have,” Eaton said. “We will work with their personal calories and overall macros. That’s how we get our baseline started.”
One common misconception is the time factor involved in integrating a healthy lifestyle. Many people want instant, overnight results, but Eaton said success comes from long-term commitment and making the journey a lifestyle.

“Be patient. There’s no magic pill, and it’s about being consistent,” Eaton said. “It’s going to take time. Everybody has evolved to fast-paced lifestyles – fast food, quick workouts, short-term commitments. If you don’t take time to be healthy and prep your meals, then you’re forced to make quick decisions about what you’re going to put in your body. That becomes stressful in itself, and the body represents that lifestyle. If you want to make huge changes, you have to be the change.”
The time commitment, however, should not be overwhelming. “You have 24 hours in a day; how much time do you spend talking about doing things instead of actually doing them to make you healthy?” Eaton pointed out. “It’s only 1/24th of your day to actually move toward your goals.”

Eaton also said people have to be open-minded to trying new foods that aren’t for taste or comfort but for a source of energy. Nutritional value of food, vitamins and minerals in someone’s diet and being aware of the activity of your digestive system all go hand in hand, Eaton said.

“A lot of the problems are due to additives in foods that they don’t need – that’s one of the biggest things that people struggle with is having unhealthy fillers in their food that they don’t even know they are eating,” Eaton said. Instead, he recommends “things like sprouted brown rice, whole-grain oat bread – anything that is a simple organic carb. If you’re going to eat proteins, choose clean, grass-fed beef, organic grained chicken or the healthiest chicken you can find. Stay away from processed food; most of the time those foods are full of sodium. Also, stay away from simple sugars. If you’re going to use a sugar substitute, try stevia.
“Pre-cooked or pre-made foods that are not organic are probably not good for you,” he added. “Pretty much anything from the frozen food section or a box – most of the time it’s not very good. The same goes for canned foods.”
When it comes to micronutrients and general minerals, Eaton said there are several baseline vitamins he recommends.
“The general multivitamin is the baseline for everyone’s health; omegas and good fats are very good to be added in your diet, especially for women,” Eaton said. “Also, when pertaining to overall health and jumping to cardiovascular health, I recommend seven days of some type of heart-healthy exercise. It doesn’t have to be intense; it can be simply walking down the road.” Eaton said he’s always enjoyed exercising, but a switch flipped to bring on the passion for fitness.

“Everyone remembers me as a fat kid, even though I played all-star baseball and then played for Coach Booth before I got a job,” Eaton said. “It wasn’t until I was ready to lose the weight that the switch flipped. Something I had to change was staying away from fast food completely. You can’t indulge in food to try and fix your problems. Food can completely be an addiction. In the past, alcohol was also a part of my life before I found how detrimental it was on my health. “Exercise releases endorphins, and you can get the same feelings as you get with food or going to the bar on Saturday night,” he added.
“There’s something everybody is passionate about, and we’re all here to encourage each other and push each other to do our very best,” Eaton said. “At the end of the day, you have to look yourself in the mirror. If you’re not happy with the person you’re looking at, you have the ability to change it. God only gave us one body to take care of, and he called it a temple.”

Eaton Wise Nutrition is located at 907 U.S. Highway 31 in Hartselle. For more information, find Eaton Wise Nutrition on Facebook.