A Real Roller-Coaster Ride

THE GAIN

Davis weighed 175 pounds in high school and college, but by age 25, he was up to 235 - mostly from the bad eating habits he developed while traveling for business. That's when he made a bet with his best friend that he could get down to 175 in 12 weeks. Davis won the bet, but the crash diet backfired. Eight years later, he found himself at 368 pounds, wearing size-54 pants and a size-64 jacket. His blood pressure shot up, and he couldn't sleep at night because he had trouble breathing.

THE TURNING POINT On a ride at an amusement park, Davis couldn't close the seat's restraining bar over him, so he had to get off the ride, humiliated. "At that point I was really determined. I didn't ever want to go through that again." So he bought an exercise bike. He started riding for 2 minutes at the lowest intensity and did it every day until he worked up to 30 minutes at the bike's highest intensity. He then joined a gym and began working with weights. And he ate nutritious foods.

THE RESULT

It took Davis 4 years to lose the full 168 pounds and get down to size-34 pants and a 42 jacket. He started competing in triathlons - even finishing a Half-Ironman (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, and 13.1-mile run).

THE REWARD

A pair of inline skates and a personalized license plate: "XBIGMAN."
 

MARK'S WORKOUT

• He exercises between 60 and 90 minutes daily. He does cardiovascular training - biking, running, or swimming for triathlons - every day. And he does weight training every other day.
• Wears a heart-rate monitor for efficient workouts and to gauge intensity level.

MARK'S LOSS LEADERS

• "Don't tell people you're trying to lose weight. Too often, instead of getting support, you'll wind up getting misinformation and bad advice."
• "If you're depressed and depression is making you gain weight, get it treated. What makes you fat isn't what you eat - it's what's eating you."
• "Look for people who inspire you. I'm inspired by my clients who are struggling with what I had to struggle with, and by people like the 82-Year-old who finished the Florida Ironman."