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.
SUCCESS STORY / Matthew Beard, 33: From 325 pounds to 170 pounds
Former weight: 325 pounds
Current weight: 170 pounds
Pounds lost: 155
Height: 6 feet 1 inch
Age: 33
How long he's kept it off: He started in October last year and reached his current weight this month.
Personal life: "I am a father of two awesome kids. Everything I do is for them, including this weight loss, I do want to be around for a long time with them," says Beard. "I work for Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. I am the systems admin in the IT department. I am an avid motovlogger." (http://iamramek.in). He and his family live in Flowery Branch, Ga.
Turning point: "Quite simply I was tired of being overweight," he says. "I was eating something at work and just threw it in the trash and decided to start dieting that very second. It has taken a lot of dedication to stick to the diet, but it has been well worth it. I'm much happier with the way I look now," he says.
Diet plan: "I use a smartphone application to keep a very strict count of my calories … Even if I take a single bite of mac and cheese to test the temperature for the kids, I record it," he says. Breakfast is often three eggs or a protein bar or cheese grits. Lunch is a turkey sub or grilled chicken tenders. Dinner is lots of vegetables.
Exercise routine: "Every Wednesday and Sunday I will jog ten miles. It took a while to get up to that point, but I really enjoy running. That's pretty much the only exercise I do," he says.
Biggest challenge: "The biggest challenge is the first two months. You are miserable and you feel like it's not working," he says, but when his clothes loosened, he was hooked. "Once I hit certain goals, 30 pounds lost, 60 pounds lost etc., I would take a weekend to eat whatever I wanted … I knew that a Dairy Queen blizzard was in my future if I made it."
How life has changed: "I am in the best shape of my life," he says. "I can jog farther than I ever could in my entire life … One of the most amazing things is the people that come to me for dieting advice and start dieting because they see how much I have lost. Several of my coworkers have started diets at work now. In fact, one of my coworkers is already down 25 pounds — I walk with him every day at work and try to keep him motivated. People in my neighborhood see me jogging a lot, and they have actually started jogging because they can't believe the results: They stop me and ask 'are you the same person that was jogging six months ago?' They don't even believe I'm the same person when I show them the pictures. It's pretty amazing to hear from someone that I inspired or motivated them to make a change in their life. It's surreal."
