Former weight: 255 pounds
Current weight: 188 pounds
Pounds lost: 67 pounds
Height: 5 feet 10 inches
Age: 37 years
How long he's kept it off: "My first weigh-in at Weight Watchers was on February 17, 2010. ... I am still doing the program and weighing in on a weekly basis," de Leaumont said.
Personal life: "I live in the East Lake area of Atlanta ... with my amazingly supportive and beautiful wife, Lizzi. [We] have two cats, Coltrane and Drusilla. I'm a folksinger and songwriter and editor of a hard rock/metal based music blog."
Turning point: "I decided to start dieting after a doctor's visit to get a physical showed me that I had high cholesterol, high blood pressure and, at my heaviest, was nearly 260 pounds," he said. "My wife had lost a lot of weight doing the Atkins diet and when that didn't work for me, she told me I should give Weight Watchers a try."
Diet plan: "Weight Watchers totally worked for me as it was the only thing where I didn't feel like it was a diet. It was a change of life," he said. "... I have light English muffins and turkey bacon. My dinners are new favorites like baked chicken, grilled shrimp and brown rice."
Exercise routine: "I try my hardest to exercise five days a week, mixing it up by going for walks, doing Tae Bo or doing some sort of fun activity with my wife, such as tennis, riding bikes or playing Frisbee."
Biggest challenge: "The biggest challenge was just taking that first step to getting started. Once I got started, started to see results and started to see my eating habits changing, it just became my new life," he said.
How life has changed: "I no longer feel like I'm a slave to food and I finally feel more in control than I ever did," he said. "Weight loss shouldn't be a temporary thing. Don't just do it to fit into a dress, a tux or a bathing suit. Do it because it will make your life better and longer. My favorite thing to say is I did all of this and never had to eat a single piece of broccoli. I hate broccoli!"
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 email 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.
