When Pfc. Vallen Grayson received his Eagle, Globe, and Anchor insignia, it marked the fulfillment of a long effort to shed nearly 90 pounds so he could earn the chance to be a Marine.
“It felt unreal,” Grayson told Task & Purpose on Tuesday. “It felt like all the work that I had put in was finally starting to pay off, and I finally had something to hold onto for all the work that I had put in.”
Grayson said he always wanted to be a Marine, and after one of his friends enlisted, he encouraged Grayson to join too. But he weighed 290 pounds at the time. Before he could stand on the famed yellow footprints that mark Marine recruits’ first steps when they get off the bus for boot camp, he would have to lose close to a third of his body weight.
Over two years, Grayson stuck to a strict diet and exercise regimen so he could lose enough weight to ship to boot camp. It worked. He got down to about 201 pounds — and then he lost another 25 pounds at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, he said.
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Grayson’s physical transformation involved regularly exercising, including running three times a week and lifting weights on weekends. Initially, he started running on a treadmill because he could not go very far before having to stop. He worked his way up to running laps outside at a school track.
He also gave up burgers and other comfort foods and kept to a diet that consisted mostly of salads, chicken, fish, and asparagus.
Maintaining that momentum wasn’t easy, he said.
“A lot of days, I would wake up, and I just wouldn’t want to get out of bed; or I would wake up and would be craving for just a burger or a chicken wrap or anything like — donuts, anything,” Grayson said.
Ultimately, he found that eating well proved to be even harder than keeping to a schedule or regular workouts.
“It’s easy to get through a workout, but it’s hard to go through your day without food cravings, especially at night,” he said.
Even though there were times when he wanted to quit, he didn’t give in.
“I told myself, ‘I know I can be better. I know I’m supposed to be better,’ and ‘Just get it done. Don’t stop until you get it done,’” Grayson said.
He also had support from his friends and family, especially his mother, who helped motivate him, offering words of encouragement, like “I know it’s hard, but at the end of the day, only you can do it.”
By the time he finally left for boot camp in September, Grayson was nervous, but he also felt that he had reached a major milestone.
For Grayson, recruit training was more difficult mentally than physically. Being away from his family was especially difficult, he said.
Once again, Grayson didn’t quit. He graduated from boot camp on Nov. 25 and is now training to become an aircraft mechanic. He is currently scheduled to graduate from the School of Infantry-West at Camp Pendleton, California, on Friday.
To others who dream of becoming a Marine but do not meet the Corps’ physical requirements, Grayson has this advice: “You’re never going to get anything unless you put in something. There’s always going to be a give and take. You always have to sacrifice something, whether that be your time, blood, sweat, and tears. You’re only going to get what you put in.”
