Diet & Fitness: Weight Loss: Weight-Loss Success Stories:

 Marcus P.

 I had always been a large person and constantly ate or drink sodas. And when I say "eat," I ate at every meal until I could eat no more. Late-night eating, binge eating, social eating, drinking sodas instead of water. And all that with no exercise.

 I bent down to tie my shoes and was out of breath. And that got me thinking about my father's family history of heart problems and how some had heart attacks and died around 50. I was 31 at the time and my wife and I were trying to get pregnant. I knew if I didn't change my ways I would not see my kids graduate high school.

 I began a low-calorie, low-sodium diet and weightlifting at first. We cut out all fried foods and red meat and watched our portions. We began eating Subway for most going-out meals and ordering grilled chicken off the menu at other restaurants. I would go to the Web sites for all the restaurants around us and see what we could and could not eat there. This also affected all my friends' lives as well because there were several places we would not go anymore, but they were very supportive of our lifestyle change. After I lost 70 pounds I began jogging also. It was amazing: All my life my knees had hurt and I had ankle problems and those problems went away.

 The main key to my success throughout the entire ongoing process has been my wife Paula. She needed to make a change also and doing this together has made it so easy. Also, she wanted to lose 50 pounds and I wanted to lose 100. Within one month of reaching our goal she got pregnant. Now we have a baby boy due in August to stay healthy for. Other keys to my continued success is making healthy decisions regarding what I eat. The things I craved before I changed my lifestyle no longer appeal to me. I have continued to lift weight and jog and even play in a soccer league now. I have increased my calories by eating healthy food to keep my weight up.

 A baby due in August keeps me very motivated. I want to be there to see him grow up and have his own family. Also, I keep "before" and "after" pictures up at home and in the office to help me keep making good decisions.

 Luckily, the setbacks are few and far between. If I eat something I know I shouldn't have or eat too much the next couple of days will be very exercise heavy and I will be extra picky about what I eat.

 The favorite "new me" moment was at my nephew's birthday party in February. We also have a big football game of the adults vs. the kids (they are 14-15). In years past I did very little and would be out of breath. This year I was all over the field, out-running some of the kids and scoring several touchdowns. We may have lost all three games to them this year, but they all proclaimed me the MVP of the day.