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.