I Lost Weight: Zachary Lost 165 Pounds And Plans To Complete An Ironman

Got a success story of your own? Send it to us at success.stories@huffingtonpost.com and you could be featured on the site!

Name: Zachary
Age: 31
Height: 6'3"
Before Weight: 350 pounds

How I Gained It: Growing up, my whole family was overweight. While I love my family and wouldn't trade them for anyone else's in the world, I didn't have an example of a healthy lifestyle to follow in my home. As long as I can remember I was heavy -- it became who I was and in many ways defined my very existence (my college nick name was "Big Fun"). I embraced my size and never once thought about it ever catching up with me. I would eat when I was bored, I would eat when I was upset or stressed; nothing ever seemed to comfort me like food did. When I look back now and think about all the times I would eat an entire large pizza by myself and finish that off with a 2-liter of Coke, I am amazed I am still alive.

Breaking Point: I had just recently graduated from college and married the love of my life. We bought our first house and were expecting our first child. I had been dealing with some stress at my new job, which was taking its toll on me physically. I was already in bad shape as it was. At the time, I was topping the scale at 350 pounds, up slightly from the 325 or so I had carried through college and most of my young-adult life. I was having terrible stomach issues and muscle spasms in my arms and legs. I visited numerous doctors, had dozens of tests done, and in the end I finally had a doctor tell me I should probably try exercise to help me reduce stress and start eating healthier. That's the moment for me that I snapped. I called my wife on the way home, and told her I had had enough. I was going on a diet and going to exercise, and that "I MEAN it this time." She supported me, but I don't think either of us knew just how far I would take it.

How I Lost It: I had to change my whole perspective on food. It did not take a dietitian to tell me that drinking sugary soda all day, as I had done my whole life, was a bad idea. The same goes with the food I ate. I ate more lean meats, like chicken breast and lean pork. I cut back on red meat, and slowed way down on things I knew were red flags for me. I cut out pizza, and I never eat fried food. For me, they are off limits. White bread was out, whole wheat was in! Oatmeal in the mornings, and coffee minus the creamer and sugar. I ate more fresh fruits and vegetables, and cut out potato chips. I followed these new diet rules and ran and walked on my own for the majority of the spring of 2010.

Then, I joined my local running club. That's where I met the people who would become my support group as I worked my way through different races and distances. I joined in the summer of 2010 and ran my first 5K that October. I completed my first half-marathon that December. I said afterward that this distance was the farthest I thought I would ever run, and that I would probably take some time off and then do another half the following year. Three weeks later, I started training for my first marathon.

It was unseasonably hot and extremely windy for my first full marathon, the Texas Big D Marathon in April 2011. I was nowhere near my goal pace, but I finished and thought at that point I had reached the pinnacle of my running career, a 4:51 marathon. But it wasn't over for me. In December 2011, I shot for a sub-four hour marathon, but 40 degrees and a monsoon helped slow me down to a 4:24 finish. I remember thinking I was done, but I couldn't escape! In April 2012, I signed up last minute to race again where it all started. No matter the temperature, no matter the wind, no matter what, I had to finish under four hours, and I did. Three hours and 57 minutes of pure joy!

Since then, I have completed two other marathons and a half Ironman. I am currently training for a 50-mile race in March, and I have a goal of completing my first full Ironman this year (if I have time to train!). Without my running club, and in particular my coach Hamlin Jones, I never would have gotten to where I am today. We are still a very small, tight-knit group.

What I took away from this whole experience, rather, what I continue to take away from it, is that it's possible for anyone. I never thought I would be able to shop for normal-sized clothes. I thought I was destined to be overweight because my whole family is that way. It's just not true. Anyone can do it, you just have to want to.

After Weight: I bounce around from 185 to 190 pounds

The Huffington Post publishes photographs as they are submitted to us by our readers.

Check out more of our inspiring weight loss stories below: