Mike Bellso loses 127 pounds

By Michelle Brooks

For the AJC

Former weight: 325 pounds

Current weight: 198 pounds

Pounds lost: 127 pounds

Height: 6 feet

How long he’s kept it off: Four months. He started in September 2008 and met his goal this past January.

Personal life: “I'm a warehouse manager, living in Powder Springs with my wife, Colleen, and our boxer, Jake, and English bulldog, Bella.

Turning point: “I have been overweight the majority of my life and have tried every diet on the market,” Bellso said. “It took 25 years for me to realize that a diet doesn’t work; I needed to make a lifestyle change.  I knew I needed to go back to Weight Watchers -- yes, I am a frequent flyer -- and make a way of life change. When I started, I weighed 325 pounds, my knees were hurting. I had just started to not feel good anymore and I had become pretty inactive.”

Diet plan: Breakfast is black coffee, three slices of turkey bacon, three egg whites and an English muffin. Lunch is a roasted turkey sandwich. Afternoon snacks include popcorn and vegetables. Dinner is often a buffalo blue chicken burger with a salad. “The program does take work and it may be a bit easier because my wife and I have supported each other along the way,” he said. “We shop, cook, weigh and put together our brown bag lunches for work.”

Exercise routine: “I’ve joined a gym and go to work out four to five days a week,” he said.

Biggest challenge: “The biggest challenge was just to start, to put my mind to it and complete the first day,” he said. “Now that I have met my goal, a bigger challenge awaits me to maintain my weight loss. This will be more challenging than the actual loss.”

How life has changed: “My life has changed in many ways,” he said. “I feel 15 years younger and am more active. I have more confidence in myself and am more self-assured. Bored hungry is no longer an activity for me. I understand what hungry is and I eat until satisfied.”

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 success with us. Include your e-mail address, a daytime phone number and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG). Write: Success Stories, c/o Holly Steel, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or e-mail ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.