From a PLUS size 16 to a size 4!

In 2002 I entered my first year of college at York University in Toronto, Ontario. Best years of your life, or so they say, yet I was in the worst shape ever. Weighing in at approximately 207 pounds, I was considered obese and found myself shopping at plus size stores. The frustration of going to a regular clothing store and asking for their biggest size only to find it too small was finally getting to me.

In May of 2003 I went to Orlando, Florida for a family vacation. Prior to this, I avoided taking pictures. If people absolutely insisted, I'd run in for a quick group shot, usually hiding behind someone else hoping to conceal myself from the camera. On this vacation however, I realized that if I keep this up I won't have any photographic memories from my 20's. Plus, you don't meet Mr. Mickey Mouse himself without taking a picture!

Upon my return, I developed the pictures and sat down to have a look with the rest of my family. This was my wake-up call. Somehow prior to seeing these pictures I was still in denial of just how overweight I really was. My weight was holding me back in several aspects of my life and I needed to change that.

At the time, I knew very little about diet or exercise. I didn't know how many calories I should be eating, what foods were considered good or bad, I didn't even know that sugar was carbs, needless to say, I was completely clueless! I started researching a little, seeing what kind of diets were out there and what I had to do.

This was around the time that Atkins came out. I read a little bit about it, not in too much detail, and decided that low-carb was the way to go. I cut out bread, pasta, and any type of baked goods for a period of 3 months and got down to 185 pounds. At around this time I hit a bit of a plateau. I was still eating low-carb but the scale would not budge. Being happy with my progress so far, I decided to take a break and just try to maintain for a bit.

After about a year, I realized that although weighing 185 pounds is much better then 207, there's definitely room for improvement. With the 2005 New Year fast approaching, I decided to try another diet. I settled on the South Beach Diet and made it my new year's resolution. Around the same time I got a gym membership and started doing cardio 2-3 days a week. By May of 2005 I was down to 150 pounds and ready to take another break.

This is when people really started to notice. Losing 20 pounds when you're over 200 was almost undetected by most, but going from a size 14 to a size 8 was a different story. I maintained this weight for about a year, and then summer of 2006 rolled around, which turned out to be my biggest setback. I was finishing my last year of college, working a full-time job, plus a part time job on weekends. I was unbelievably stressed and my diet and exercise plan went right out the window. I became a slave to the fast food drive-thru's and the XL double cream, double sugar coffees. By the end of the summer I was physically exhausted, crashing and 20 pounds heavier. I was not happy about my relapse, but I was not going to sit there and cry over spilled milk.

The realization that I could be back where I started just like that is what made me recognize that doing these fad diets was not the way to go, I had to make a permanent lifestyle change. This is when things really picked up steam. Instead of focusing on fad diets and what the latest diet craze was, I researched how the body really works. I learned about the different functions of fats, carbs and protein, and how the body processed them.
I set a goal weight of 130 pounds and started measuring my food, tracking calories and implemented the 30-40-30 (fats-carbs-protein) ratio into my diet. I started regularly attending the gym, 5 days a week (doing mainly cardio) & reached my goal weight by August 2007. I couldn't believe that I had done it. It took me 4 years, but I finally did it.

But now what? The last 4 years of my life I had been trying to lose that next pound and now there were no more pounds to lose. I was somewhat lost. I maintained for a few months but when February 2008 came around I was bored and still searching for something else to do, and that's when I discovered weigh training. Within a few weeks of regularly training I was hooked. Over a year later, here I am, even more educated about nutrition and training and in the best shape of my life!

NOTE: I actually vlogged about losing the last 25 pounds on YouTube! I made a video every week updating my progress. Unfortunately I ended up deleting my account along with all the videos that I had posted. Since then I’ve received several messages from people asking me to come back onto YouTube and continue vlogging, so I made a new account and reposted some of my old videos. If you want to check them out search for “aggy83isback” on YouTube or follow one of the links below:

I made this video when I started vlogging on YouTube to let others know what I've been through so far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb4QKBzg1W4&feature=channel_page

I made this video the day I hit my goal weight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd8AP-LlOnY&feature=channel_page

I still make occasional videos regarding weight loss, nutrition, training, and all that fun stuff. Check it out!