08/20/06

     DANNY LAFFERMAN – EDGEWATER, FLORIDA

Height – 6’ 3”
Starting Weight – 430 lbs.
Ending Weight – 200 lb.s

Lafferman bulked up as an offensive lineman in college. “I ate everything, and a lot of it,” he says. “I went to a lot of buffets, and I drank a lot of beer.” He played at about 300 pounds, but when a knee injury put him on crutches for 2 years, he gained 130 pounds.

THE TURNAROUND: Visiting a new allergist, Laferman was shocked to see “severly obese male” in the doctor’s notes. “My knee was bothering me, I was tired all the time, and I was just too young to be so unhealthy,” he says. Lafferman went to his primary-care doctor and asked for a diet plan.

THE STRATEGY: Lafferman began working out at a YMCA and limited his food intake to 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day. A typical breakfast now is a ham-and-egg-substitute sandwich, fruit, and yogurt with granola. Dinner might be grilled pork chops and salad, with fat-free ice cream for dessert.

THE RESULT: In a month, Lafferman’s clothes were getting baggy; after 2 months, he felt more energetic. He shed 230 pounds in 11 months. He now eats about 2,400 calories a day to maintain his weight. “My overall quality of life has improved so much that it’s hard to put into words. I have much more energy and a lot less pain,” he says.

DANNY’S WORKOUT: Two or three nights a week, he’ll do an hour and a half of weight training and 30 minutes of cardio. On non-weight-training nights, he runs or walks 3.5 miles.

HIS TIPS

Ø      Be calculating. “At first, write out a menu for the following day. List serving sizes, calories, and fat. After a month of this, you’ll know what you can eat.”

Ø      Check yourself. “I went to the doctor once a month. Those visits made me accountable for my progress and short term goals.