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 Patty Murphy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or e-mail Michelle C. Brooks, ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.
Former weight: 329 pounds
Current weight: 230 pounds
Pounds lost: 99 pounds
Height: 6 feet 4 inches
Age: 52 years
How long he's kept it off: He started in May 2011 and reached his goal of 235 pounds in March 2012. In April this year, he reached his current weight.
Personal life: "I'm a Ph.D., licensed professional counselor, with a private practice in Decatur, Ga. (www.completelypsyched.com)," says Wilson. "I live in Decatur, Ga. I am single with no kids."
Turning point: "The thing that got me focused on making changes to my lifestyle was getting angry with several health insurance providers when I applied for individual health insurance," he says. "I was eventually provided health insurance at twice the cost of the quotes they gave online when I initially submitted my applications for insurance. They stated that my weight-to-height ratio or body mass index (BMI) was too high," he says. "Like most overweight people, I wanted to lose some weight, but never could get it going and keep it going to the point I would lose a significant amount of weight. I would lose ten and gain it back." This time, anger motivated him to stay the course.
Diet plan: "I slowly changed my entire diet over a period of one month by eliminating almost all processed foods from my diet," he says. "I went from buying boxed and canned foods to buying all fresh foods from the farmer's market." He starts the day with oatmeal and fruit. He makes fresh smoothies and juice, and snacks on nuts and dried fruit. Dinner is lean protein, baked potato and vegetables.
Exercise routine: "I also committed myself to working out at Anytime Fitness every other day, come rain or shine. I focused on increasing my cardio health and maintaining muscle mass as I lost weight," he says. He power walks on the treadmill for 65 to 90 minutes, does weights and takes a spin class once a week.
Biggest challenge: "The biggest challenge to getting started was not allowing my frustration with slow weight-loss progress get in my way," he says. "It was also a challenge to not let my food eating habits sabotage my health-related efforts."
How life has changed: "I almost immediately felt an energy boost - my mind felt clearer. I also noticed my skin texture improved," he says. "My secret to my success centered solely on being totally honest with myself about my weight, how I looked, how I felt, what I ate, how my clothes fit, and how my heath numbers - blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol - looked. I had to own all my numbers. All my numbers were in the normal range before I started losing weight. Now they all are even better."
