I am the oldest, tallest and until recently the heaviest of four children. Growing up I had a very large appetite.

I was nicknamed "garbage disposal" because whatever my siblings didn't finish many times I would finish for them.

I graduated high school 6'1" and 200lbs.

Fast forward to September 2006. I am now 42 years old and my ravenous appetite and lack of exercise did a good job of getting my weight up to just over 300lbs.

My mom had to have triple bypass surgery due to health issues, including high blood pressure,being overweight, and a stroke when she was in her late 20's. All of that said, if I could have taken a guess, I would have said she was in better health than I was.

I have had my share of health problems as well. I was recently diagnosed sleep apnea, had uncontrolled high blood pressure about 130/110 that I was on medication for, a resting pulse rate of about 110, and I also had acid reflux that would close off my throat in the middle of the night.

Walking into the heart ward to visit my mother recovering from her surgery was difficult, to say the least. I was 300lbs and it felt like everyone was looking at me wondering how soon I would be in one of the beds there. I started to realize I needed to change my eating habits, and soon.

In late October 2006, my wife and I were watching Discovery Health and a special came on about YOU: On a Diet (YOAD). My wife was familiar with Dr. Oz from Oprah and we both watched the special which featured several families in New York City changing their diets and walking everyday and seeing positive changes to their waist, weight and overall health. Deciding it was something we wanted to do, not to only lose the weight but also become healthy, we started the diet a week or so later.

We cleaned EVERYTHING out of all of our cabinets, refrigerator and freezer. All of the unhealthy stuff went in the trash. We then spent the next 2 or 3 hours at the grocery store replacing everything with YOAD approved items.

We also started walking 30 minutes per day. Today I am up to walking about 60 minutes per day (5 miles).

I also exercise several times per week at the gym.

From there it has been downhill. I have lost over 120bs and 20 inches off my waist since November, but about 135lbs over the last 18 months total. Wahoo! And most of my medical problems related to my weight have now vanished including: high blood pressure, acid reflux and sleep apnea.

I have much more energy and I feel better than I can ever remember!

And that’s my story!