• Former weight: 333 pounds

• Current weight: 198 pounds

Family photo (ENLARGE)

BEFORE: Chinyere weighed 333 pounds.

Courtesy of Jeanette Chisolm (ENLARGE)

AFTER: Chinyere weighs 198 pounds.

Be an inspiration: If you've made positive changes in your diet and/or fitness routine and are happy with the results, please share your story with us. Briefly tell us your goal (weight loss, an athletic achievement, overcoming a health problem, etc.), how you achieved it and how long you've maintained it. Include a daytime phone number and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG). Write: Success Stories, c/o Susan Puckett, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Eighth Floor, 72 Marietta St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303; or e-mail successstories@ajc.com. More success stories Jeff Grant loses 60 pounds  Clovis D. Clark drops 87 pounds  Joyce Paris loses 80 pounds  Toni Coryell drops 91 pounds  Kelly Shiple loses 72 pounds  Amber O'Neal sheds 37 pounds  Mike Whitfield drops 105 pounds, becomes personal trainer  Jan Houston drops 90 pounds  Sheryle Leonard loses 78 pounds  Scott Morrow loses 139 pounds

• Pounds lost: 135

• Height: 6 feet

• How long he's kept it off: Started in September 2004 and met his goal in June 2006. Chinyere, 29, has kept it off for one year and eight months.

• Personal life: "I'm a full-time student getting my MBA from Emory's Goizueta Business School. I will graduate on May 12," says Chinyere. "I live in Decatur. My goal is to use my medical knowledge, business know-how and my life experiences to create a business to help others lose weight and keep it off."

• Turning point: "After graduating from medical school, I started my internship in internal medicine," he says. "I worked for two months [in] the stroke unit in a Brooklyn [N.Y.] hospital. I watched people suffering after having a stroke. Many of these strokes could have been prevented by losing weight and adapting a healthier lifestyle. I vowed then to lose weight and keep it off."

• Diet plan: "I created my own diet plan after researching all of the medical literature available and studying the habits of successful pound losers," he says. Breakfast is scrambled eggs with cheese. Mid-morning, he has a peanut butter granola bar. Lunch is a sandwich on whole-wheat with lean deli meat and fat-free cheese. In the afternoon, he has yogurt. And for dinner he has chicken, broccoli and brown rice followed by a snack of nuts.

• Exercise routine: Strength training two to three days a week and cardio two to three days a week

• Biggest challenge: "Staying away from fast food. I love McDonald's and Wendy's," he says. "It's hard to say no, but I'm much better at it now than I used to be."

• How life has changed: "I'm happier. I'm physically confident. I'm more courageous. I met and am dating the woman of my dreams. I'm comfortable in my own skin," he says. "Losing weight is a marathon, not a sprint. Large temporary lifestyle changes lead to fast temporary weight loss. Small permanent lifestyle changes lead to slow permanent weight loss."