I was flipping through some old pictures of me and my friends in high school, and I was shocked. I thought to myself, “Did I really used to be in such good physical condition?” I found myself constantly re-telling stories of my “glory days” when I was in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) in high school. I ran 5k’s quite often, and even placed 4th in a sit-up competition at a JROTC drill meet by completing 180 sit-ups in only three minutes. In 10th grade I was the commander of the Physical Training (PT) team, and found myself constantly goading the less fit members to “keep up!” However, as I looked at my college graduation picture, the medals and trophies that littered my bookshelf seemed as if they belonged to another person. There was no way that you would catch the college graduate in that picture running a 5k, or running at all for that matter, except occasionally to the refrigerator.

Before, I was never the epitome of health and fitness. Even in high school, I had to constantly work hard at staying fit. Most of the free time I had used exercising disappeared after I took a part-time job at a local fast food restaurant during my senior year. Free food while I was working didn’t help either and by high school graduation, I had gained at least 30 pounds. I continued the weight gain throughout college as stress increased and free time all but vanished. I was a good student, so most of my time after school was spent either studying, or in extracurricular activities. I frequently found myself running for a late night fast food snack while I stayed up studying. On any given trip to Burger King, you would likely find me ordering a double or triple whopper (with cheese and bacon, of course!), fries, a milkshake, and perhaps a slice of pie to top it off. At the cafeteria, seconds and third’s were a given, and dessert was not uncommon either. This type of eating wasn’t just limited to one splurged meal a day; I ate like that for every meal. I ate as if every meal would be my last, and it wasn’t uncommon for me to down 4,000-5,000 calories in one day. I quickly slapped on the “freshman 15”, but unlike most, I continued to gain weight. Next, I gained the “sophomore 10”, then the “junior 10”, and finally the “Senior 20”. Without even realizing what had happened, I had gained somewhere in the neighborhood of 70-90 pounds between my sophomore year in high school and college graduation.

My turning point was a series of events and realizations that occurred over the course of my last semester in college. One thing that really grabbed my attention was stepping on the scale. I thought to myself, “Is this thing broken?!?! I’ve gotta try that again.” Despair sank in as I looked at the number on the scale: 230 pounds. I knew that the absolute most I should weigh for my build was approximately 170 pounds. That day prompted me to join a gym, try to start eating right, and exercise. Although I would love to say that stepping on the scale in February 2010 was my turning point, but my diet and exercise program lasted about two weeks. I also managed to raise my blood pressure to a whopping 145/90 at age 21. What finally got my attention was a trip to a paintball course with a friend. At the end of the day, I looked like I’d been standing in the green of a golf driving range, with black and blue bruises all over my body. I had not managed to get a single person out the entire five hours that we played that day. That eventually led me to lose over 40 pounds and complete my first sprint triathlon only five months later, in October 2010.

When I began my journey in June, I could barely run a half-mile and weighed 230 pounds. By November, I could run 6 miles, bike over 25 miles, swim over 25 laps, and weighed 185 pounds. Although I reached my goal of completing a triathlon in 2010, this journey is far from over for me.

LIVESTRONG.COM was the single most important tool that I used to achieve my success. By counting my calories and customizing my nutrition plan, I was able to eat more sensibly without starving, track my weight and exercise, and gain the knowledge necessary to make better lifestyle choices. Through the videos and articles on LIVESTRONG.COM, I taught myself the proper technique for swimming, how to cater my nutrition plan to achieve both my exercise goals and weight loss goals, and learned practical information that helped me prepare for my triathlon. The forums and dares were also instrumental because it keeps you accountable, and advice and encouragement is critical along the path to success.

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