I joined the Navy at age 20 and weighed in at 185 lbs. Over the course of the next 8 years I gained 85 lbs bringing that weight up to a miserable 270lbs. I had a 48 inch waist and would get winded just walking up a flight of stairs. I did all the fad diets, had bets with my wife to try and motivate me to lose the weight but nothing worked. I didn't realize then how miserable and unhappy I really was. My life was spent watching TV while eating potato chips. There were the late night fast food runs where I would eat the equivalent of three meals. I drank soda like it was going out of style. I could go through a 12 pack in a day. I was killing my self slowly. It had to stop. So I finally told myself I am going to make a change in the way I live. I knew from previous battles that fad diets do not work. I had to change my entire lifestyle including how I ate and worked out. I educated myself in nutrition and exercise and put this to work for me. In 4 months I went from 270lbs to 202lbs. The reaction from others who know me couldn't believe the change. It was hard to recognize me. My wife would joke that she felt like she was cheating on me with the new me.

Working out and now getting into bodybuilding have brought so many good things into my life. I feel like I am able to live my life instead of sitting there watching it pass by. I am never really stress out because I put so much into my workouts. I love the fact that I can be an example to others in the battle of losing weight and living healthier. I also was suffering from high blood pressure. That is gone. My doctor told me I was also pre-diabetic. Not an issue anymore. Needless to say I pretty much live to workout. Now I want to be an example to others on what educating and making healthier choices can do.