Raymond Nazon, 47, of Atlanta lost 62 pounds

Pounds lost: 62 pounds

Height: 5 feet 11 inches

Age: 47 years

How long he's kept it off: "I started my diet journey on Dec. 22, 2015," Nazon said. "I've kept my weight off for two years now."

Personal life: "I am married to Vera for 13 years with two children, Leah, 11, and Conner, 9," he said. "We rescue animals. … I work for Georgia Power. … I am a telecom technician."

Turning point: "I had my annual blood draw on Sept. 15, 2015, and that was the first time they took a hemoglobin A1C," Nazon said. "The nurse let me know that I was considered pre-diabetic due to my score being a 6.0, and she gave me a stern lecture about how bad it is to be diabetic and what can happen, like going blind and foot amputation. … She let me know that this will get progressively worse, but that I can slow it down by losing weight with diet and exercise." He began working out at Orangetheory Fitness in December 2015. "I began to do some serious obesity researching, and I stumbled on the Diet Doctor website and read and watched as much as I could," Nazon said. "… I decided (later on) to go without the greens that I did not like. I read up first if this was possible and came on sites like Zerocarbzen.com. …" When Dr. Shawn Baker issued a study (in 2017) for the carnivore diet, Nazon jumped in after taking a break due to the keto flu: "The results were so spectacular that I have not stopped yet."

Diet plan: "I follow what they have on Meatrx.com," Nazon said. "I eat about 1.5 pounds of rib-eye for lunch with some cheese, such as gouda, cheddar, cream cheese, blue cheese, and for dinner the same."

Exercise routine: "I do Orangetheory Fitness, karate and jiujitsu. I exercise, typically, four days per week, sometimes more, sometimes less. (It) depends on vacation or children's events," Nazon said. "I typically combo my workouts. I do OTF, then go to karate and jiujitsu in the same day."

Biggest challenge: "My biggest challenge was the fear around eating meat. It is such a taboo subject, but for me this was a lifesaver, literally," he said. "… I don't get munchie attacks anymore, like at all."

How life has changed:

“My life has changed tremendously. I used to have many issues: I used to snore so badly that my wife moved out of our room. She now sleeps in our room again,” Nazon said. “… I feel the best I have ever felt in my life. I can now run a seven-minute mile; I have never in my life achieved this. I run 10Ks and 10-milers both at 10-minutes per mile. I can do 50 consecutive pushups. I can almost do a full split. I can hike 15 miles with no problems. I never in my life knew what I was missing out on, until now.”

Share Your Success: Each week, Success Stories focuses on an individual’s unique weight loss journey. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution does not endorse any specific weight loss program but includes names and links for the benefit of readers who want further information. Have you lost weight successfully with a healthy lifestyle change? If you would like to share your story with our readers, please include your email address, phone number, and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG), and contact us at: Success Stories, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or email Michelle C. Brooks, ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.