Scott Carlson, 31, of Hoschton, lost 28 pounds

Current weight: 217 pounds

Total Pounds lost: 28

Height: 6 feet 4 inches

Age: 31

How long he's kept it off: "Since the summer of 2010 and I've added almost 20 pounds of muscle since that time," says Carlson. He reached his current weight in June 2013.

Personal life: "I am employed by the American Junior Golf Association as vice-president of finance. I am also very lucky to be married to [my wife,] Whitney Carlson. We've been married for just over six years." Whitney was featured in Success Stories on April 2, 2014.

Turning point: "I lost my father to colon cancer at the age of 16 and I've always had it in the back of my mind that I was going to live a healthier lifestyle so that I didn't end up going down the same road he did," he says. "Once I started settling in to my career and getting comfortable with my life, I noticed I was no longer the invincible twenty-something that I once thought I was. I saw a couple pictures of myself from a trip to Chicago and decided something had to be done — it was time to change … I began researching clean eating … I'm very autodidactic as I enjoy teaching myself about the things I'm passionate about, so I built my own programs based on my findings."

Diet plan: "I try to have six to eight meals per day, depending on my workload … consisting of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, dietary fats and tons of veggies. I make a juice every other day that helps me get a heavier balance of vegetables in my diet." Meals include salsa chicken and chicken meatloaf with quinoa.

Exercise routine: "I lift weights five to six times per week and try to incorporate 30 minutes of cardio three to four days during the week. I try to hike at least eight miles on the weekends when the weather is nice."

Biggest challenge: "My biggest challenge was sticking with it. It's easy to get myopic and dwell on the fact that results are taking longer than you expected, but you have to set short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals for yourself … if you miss a short-term goal … get back on track and reach your long-term goal."

How life has changed: "It's almost unexplainable the impact my transformation has had on my life," he says. "I am confident in everything that I do, I have more energy at 31 than I did at 16. I now have the opportunity to inspire thousands of lives with our blog, www.heandsheeatclean.com, in hopes that no 16-year-old has to go through what I did with my father … The moral of the story is: Give it a shot. Get out of your comfort zone — you'll never know where your life will lead you until you get comfortable with being uncomfortable!"