Year-long weight loss goal pays off for dieters

• Aguilar weighed 280 pounds and was 5 feet 11 inches tall, and his doctor wanted to put him on hypertension medicine.
• His energy level was flat and he said of himself: "I was the fat kid (among) my friends.
• The motivation: Aguilar wanted to save himself from a family history of health issues and from shopping at a specialty store for large men.
• About the same time his doctor told him he should control his high blood pressure with drugs, Aguilar's waist size crept from a 44-inch to a 46-inch, and he no longer could find clothes he wanted in that size.
• He promised himself he would dedicate a year's time to losing weight.
• The change: Aguilar, who at the time was an internal mail carrier for the state, started by walking to the YMCA in downtown Phoenix to work out during his lunch break.
• He soon incorporated strength training four days a week after researching routines on the Internet.
• That meant eating three meals a day with two snacks, instead of his usual two very large meals.
• He watched portion sizes and ate healthful snacks, such as fruit or a cereal bar, but felt free to eat what he wanted, even fast food.
• He lost 90 pounds in the year he allotted himself.
• The gain: Aguilar has managed to keep most of the weight off and build muscle over the past three years.
• He runs three miles four or five days a week.
• He completed training and became a personal trainer at the YMCA where he started working out.
• During that time, eating better and exercising became a lifestyle change.
• When you really don't feel like going to the gym just put one foot in front of the other.