I was sick! I had been sick for over two months. I was not getting better even with antibiotics and steroid injections. I was at the doctor for my third time and we were talking about blood work and he noticed that I had elevated liver enzymes. He recommended that I go get a liver sonogram. This is the point where I began to wonder if I had some sort of serious illness; however, I am a seriously positive person and did not worry too much. The doctor put me on another type of antibiotic, and I waited for my results. They came back with a problem that had nothing to do with me being sick. I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

  One of the first things I did when I found out I had NAFLD is look it up online. What I found gave me pause. I am six foot two and weighed 300 pounds. I was obese. I acknowledged that and decided to work at changing my life. What I did not do was add a diet. I love to eat and cook, but based on my reading, my eating habits were literally going to kill me.

  Let me tell you a little bit about my eating habits. First, I am a soda drinker. I mostly drank Mountain Dew or Sunkist. I would drink anywhere between six and twelve 20 oz bottles of soda a day which equaled 1620 – 3240 empty calories a day just from soda. On top of this I snacked on candy most of the day. I love gummy candy and sour candy. This was a lot of sugar to eat. I ate pasta at least three times a week. When I ate, I would get at least three helpings.  If I ate pizza, I ate a whole pizza. If I ate fried chicken, I ate a whole chicken. On more than one occasion, I ate over thirty slices of pizza at a pizza buffet, minus the crust. To put it simply, I ate too much.

  I needed to change so I decided to see how much I was eating, and it shocked me to find out that I was consuming 8,000 calories a day or more with a large portion of my calories being refined sugar. Overnight I stopped drinking soda which was quite difficult. I had been drinking soda on a regular basis for more than thirty years and I am only thirty-nine. I also stopped eating candy. I could change this part of my life.

  I next decided to make sure I ate an average of 1500 calories a day. How did I do this? I keep track of everything I put into my mouth (even samples when shopping) using a calorie counting app on my phone. I also weigh myself twice a day (when I wake up and before I go to sleep).

  So, what happened? In thirty days, I lost thirty pounds just by changing what I was eating. I was doubtful because I had lost thirty pounds several times before just to gain all of it and more back. I added light jogging three times a week to my routine. After sixty days, I lost sixty pounds! My clothes were no longer fitting me, and I kept having people at work ask me If I was losing weight or if I was sick. They also kept telling me that I needed to buy new clothes because my clothes were falling off my butt! Thankfully my wife kept all of my old smaller clothes that were one to two sizes smaller. I was 300 pounds, now I was 240 pounds. I figured that running three times a week was good, so I kept up with it but increased how long I ran. I also decided to read the book that my brother and sister-in-law gave me when they noticed I was trying to lose weight. The book is The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung. I actually listened to it during my daily commute. Not only was it a helpful book, it was also a fun book to listen to because of a witty doctor and a good narrator (Brian Nishii).

  The primary things I learned from the book were: do not snack between meals ever, avoid all processed sugar and flour whenever possible, add more fiber to my diet, and try intermittent fasting. There are a few other things I have done after reading this book, but these seemed to be key. In the next thirty-six days I lost another twenty-one pounds. As I write this on Christmas day, I weigh 219. I have lost 81 pounds in less than 100 days.

  Some other results of my journey are as follows. I can run faster. When I started, I was running three miles in about an hour, but now I can do it in 30 minutes. I have a lot more energy. I probably get better gas mileage on my motorcycle. I can wear t-shirts I got my freshman year of college twenty years ago. I also get lots of compliments from people who have seen my weight loss journey. There are two negatives, however. I have to buy new clothes because all my clothes are too big for me even the clothes that fit me 20 years ago. Also, everyone comes to me for advice on how to lose weight because I think they believe I am an expert. I tell them how I did it, recommend The Obesity Code, and to keep track of their weight and everything they eat daily. I guess results are the best indicator of knowledge.

  What do I plan to do next? I am going to lose 19 more pounds so I can go back into the Air National Guard. I need to weigh 210 to take the physical. I believe that this is entirely possible now. Four months ago, was a different story. I had given up going back into the military. I did sixteen years in the National Guard but had to get out because I weighed too much. Losing eighty pounds is a morale booster. It might not be possible or even recommended for everyone; however, being active and eating healthy are.