Weight-loss success story: John Attaway of Sandy Springs loses 105 pounds

Height: 5 feet 11 inches

Age: 58

How long he's kept it off: "I started in 2005 and was losing about 20 pounds per year basically on mall walking and milkshakes," says Attaway. "Losing weight at 300 pounds is easy -- at 200 pounds, it gets a lot harder." In 2007,  he started Weight Watchers and now follows his own program.

Personal life: "I am single, live in Sandy Springs and am a certified public accountant," he says.

Turning point: "I went to a Braves game with my banker buddy, Tripper, and I told him I was thinking about going on Nutrisystem, and he told me he had just started going to Weight Watchers. So I tried a meeting and thus began phase two: the salad days."

Diet plan: "I am now on the seven-day no variety plan," he says. Breakfast is two eggs, turkey sausage, grits, an English muffin and orange juice. Lunch is a lean protein pita sandwich with chips and carrot juice. Dinner is fish or chicken with vegetables.

Exercise routine: "I work out four or five days a week at the Gym at Peachtree Presbyterian and about once a week at the Cowart Family/Ashford Dunwoody YMCA. I try to lift weights twice a week and do spin or cardio a couple of times and yoga twice a week. I just started doing hot yoga and I love it."

Biggest challenge: "Junk food jags," he says. "For the first 75 pounds, I was fairly fastidious about minimizing the cheating, but after a lustrum of dieting, it gets really hard not to cheat. My ultimate plan is to buy a treadmill desk to help me lose the final 20 pounds."

How life has changed: "Not that much. I was a wonderful person when I was fat; I'm probably 10 percent more wonderful now,  just because I have more room for empathy," he says. "On a positive note, my butt now fits in an airline seat, but I have enough excess skin to supply a hospital burn unit for a year. Fat or thin, your problems are pretty much the same -- the only difference is that your clothes fit better."

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.