BEFORE THE TRANSFORMATION: A typical day before, I could imagine two or three pieces of bread, a large scoop of eggs and then pancakes and waffles and French toast sticks and that was just breakfast. And by the time we got to dinner – being from the South, you’ve got to have bread and butter, four or five pieces of fried chicken, maybe some vegetables if I were lucky, and then, of course, some sweet tea to go along with.

THE TURNING POINT: I actually lost my job in May of 2008 and I was sort of upset and depressed about that and I had a lot of time in my hands. Rather than spend a lot of that time being upset and angry about my circumstances, I decided to channel my energy and my thoughts somewhere else and obviously this was something I wanted to do for a long time.

THE PLAN: The changes that I made really started with a book “Eat This, Not That!” It was a very big book for me. I’m not a person who advocates dieting, and “Eat This, Not That!” really suggested replacing one food for another. So if you wanted frozen pizza, it didn’t say you couldn’t have it, but here is something that would have less fat, less calories, less salt. So ultimately it was a better option for you. So it never said I couldn’t have the foods that I like, but it said here are better options for you. I’m a huge label reader when I shop for foods, and I actually don’t spend much time in grocery stores. I’m a big proponent of going to Farmers Markets

MAKING IT WORK: I think I stayed the course through this journey of weight loss because when I started to see some sort of difference in the way that I looked and the was that I felt and the way the clothes felt on my body, once I saw even the difference of 10 to 20 pounds, I looked at myself and I thought, “I think I do have a capability to do that.” And I think I’ve always been somebody whatever I put my mind to I know that I can achieve it. I mean that starts from years ago when my mother would repeat that over and over to me. So I think that’s just something that’s always been a part of who I am.

WORDS OF WISDOM: The first step I think would be getting up off the couch. I think that’s probably the most difficult thing. I think when we think about losing weight, we think about starving ourselves, we think about having to run 10 to 20 miles. That is an option. That is a choice that some people make. But ultimately, that’s not always best for everyone. Everyone doesn’t like to run. Everyone doesn’t like to eat vegetables all the time. Are you going to have to incorporate that? Of course. But you can easily lose weight by simply getting up and going for a 10 to 15-minute walk and you’ll see the difference.

TOOLS OF MY SUCCESS: The book “Eat This, Not That.” Running.