The Master of Weight Loss Finally Keeps It Off

From my earliest recollections, I had a weight problem. Although I do not remember much of my early life, I do recall my parents taking me to an obesity clinic in the early 1960s. That visit set in motion a lifetime of up-and-down weight loss.

I am often heard to brag that I have lost over 300 pounds in my lifetime. Although that figure is at best an estimate, I was the master of weight loss, losing in excess of 30 pounds at least five times in my early life and many lower weight-loss figures throughout my 47 years. As my middle 40s approached, it became increasingly difficult to lose the weight.

Being overweight, I always read about new diets and other people’s success stories. In absorbing those diets and weight-loss success stories, if the E-word (exercise) was included as part of the regimen, I pronounced that the diet was not for me. After all, I was the consummate couch potato.

But in February 1998, I nonetheless decided that I would try running. I ran two blocks and was huffing and puffing. In spite of this, I persevered, first running two blocks, then increasing my run to three blocks and so on. In spite of my exercise regimen, I did not lose weight.

In July 1998, I took my wife and daughter on a week’s vacation to the Southeast. When we returned, I looked at the photographs of myself and did not like what I saw, a substantially overweight middle-aged man. It was at that point that I decided to start counting fat and calories. Commencing on Aug. 2, 1998, I started my diet of breakfast cereal for breakfast and lunch, fruit for a late-morning and late-afternoon snack, and a reasonable dinner consisting of an entree, vegetables and a diet dessert.

Miraculously, the diet coupled with my continued exercise led to the weight melting away, and by Nov. 13, 1998, I had gone from 230 pounds to 175 pounds. Eventually, my weight dropped to 170 pounds, where it remains stable today, more than a year later.

I continue the diet, and I have increased my exercise, running three miles three days a week and walking three miles four days a week. This, in addition to sit-ups and a stair-stepping regimen, have given me confidence that I have finally beaten the weight-gain monster.

Needless to say, I have improved energy and look forward to exercising one hour a day. In the final analysis, I could not have accomplished this victory without the support of my wife, daughter and friends, and a revised attitude toward exercise and eating.

Vital Statistics

Name: Mark Henry Shafron

Occupation: Attorney

Age: 47

Old weight: 230 pounds

New weight: 170 pounds

Height: 6 feet

Time to get there: 4 1/2 months

How Did You Do It

Do you have a story about how you lost weight and kept the pounds off? Or a story about how you learned to mountain climb or in-line skate, trained for a half-marathon, or discovered a unique way of keeping fit? If so, send us your story in a 500-word essay describing how you did it, for occasional publication as space permits.

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Send to: How I Did It, Health, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Include daytime and evening phone numbers. Submissions cannot be returned. And, please, no phone calls. If your story is published, you will receive a Los Angeles Times Health section gym bag.