08/20/06

At the end of 2004, I weighed 412.8 lbs. I was truly scared that I was going to die of a heart attack. I have always been a big guy, weighing between 350 lbs. - 375 lbs. through high school.

I had always wanted to lose weight but never really took weight loss serious. I started taking Stacker 2 with Ephedrine and dropped about 80 lbs. within only a few months. They soon banned Ephedrine and I ballooned up to my highest weight of 412.8 lbs.

On 1/1/2005, I made a New Year's Resolution to lose 100 lbs. in 2005. The secret to me actually keeping my resolution was simple- I was tired of living as a fat guy.

I started watching what I ate and how much of it I ate. I got off the couch and started riding my exercise bike. I started at just 5 minutes a day and then moved up to 10 and then to 15 and then I moved up to walking and playing basketball and tennis. Now I try to ride 90 minutes and around 25 miles a day.

I reached my 100 lbs. lost goal at the end of November 2005.

Between the end of November 2005 and the beginning of January 2006, I gained 18 lbs. back, thanks to all the Christmas dinners, pies, cakes and candy. I started 2006 weighting 320 lbs.

I am writing this on March 24th, 2006 and I weighed 299 lbs. this morning. I have dropped a total of 113.8 lbs.

This webpage is going to go through my journey and explain what I did to drop my first 100 lbs. My ultimate goal is to reach 212.8 lbs, which would be a total loss of 200 lbs.

Please understand that I am NOT a doctor, I have no education in nutrition, exercise or any health related subjects. I am simply using this as a way to tell you what I have been through and what I have learned for myself.

The secret to losing weight is not to follow what others did, but to follow your own journey and see where it leads you. You have to get to know your body and decide what works for you. You could follow my exact plan for a year and not lose anything. This is one of the main reasons people don’t stick to diets. If something worked for someone else, but doesn’t work for him or her, they give up.

I choose to use the term “lifestyle change” instead of diet. Diet is a temporary term and when you end your diet, you usually go back to your old ways, which leads to weight gain.

 I learned during Christmas 2005 that gaining weight is a lot easier than losing it.

 I hope to cover many of the topics that I think are key elements in becoming a healthier you. 

 Best of luck with your journey and remember – NEVER GIVE UP!