Weight Loss Success Stories: Diet Plan  

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Meet Danny Lafferman

Home: Edgewater, FL
Age: 30
Height: 6'3"
Job: Computer Technician
Weight Before: 430 lb
Weight After: 200 lb

THE GAINLafferman bulked up as an offensive lineman in college. "I ate everything, and a lot of it," he says. "I went to a lot of buffets, and I drank a lot of beer." He played at about 300 pounds, but when a knee injury put him on crutches for 2 years, he gained 130 pounds.THE CHANGEVisiting a new allergist, Lafferman was shocked to see "severely obese male" in the doctor's notes. "My knee was bothering me, I was tired all the time, and I was just too young to be so unhealthy," he says. Lafferman went to his primary-care doctor and asked for a diet plan.THE STRATEGYLafferman began working out at a YMCA and limited his food intake to 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day. A typical breakfast now is a ham-and-egg-substitute sandwich. Lunch is a lean roast-beef sandwich, fruit, and yogurt with granola. Dinner might be grilled pork chops and salad, with fat-free ice cream for dessert.THE RESULTIn a month, Lafferman's clothes were getting baggy; after 2 months, he felt more energetic. He shed 230 pounds in 11 months. He now eats about 2,400 calories a day to maintain his weight.THE REWARD"My overall quality of life has improved so much that it's hard to put into words. I have much more energy and a lot less pain," he says. "When I started to see muscle tone, it was great. I was seeing the progress, and it felt good that other people were also seeing the change."THE WORKOUTTwo or 3 nights a week, he'll do an hour and a half of weight training and 30 minutes of cardio. On non-weight-training nights, he runs or walks 3.5 miles.DANNY'S TIPS

Be calculating. "At first, write out a menu for the following day. List serving sizes, calories, and fat. After a month of this, you'll know what you can eat."

Check yourself. "I went to the doctor once a month. Those visits made me accountable for my progress and short-term goals."

Just say, "No, thanks." "The hardest thing for me to give up was beer, but when I started dieting, I stopped drinking it completely until I got to my goal weight."

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