Humpday Health: Weight loss transformation

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Losing weight can be tough, but you may find inspiration in Doug Wheeler.

“I started about seven years ago and I’ve lost 60 pounds and I’m not trying to lose any more,” Wheeler said.

For Wheeler it was a birthday that made him take the first step on his weight loss journey.

“It all was spurred by me turning 43 and saying it’s probably time to start getting serious about my health so I can live a little bit longer than 50 years old,” said Wheeler.

He said with a history of heart disease in his family, losing the weight was an important goal. One he said he achieved almost entirely through dieting.

“Eating as clean as I possibly could. Lowering my carb intake. It took me about eight or nine months to lose probably 75-80% of the weight,” Wheeler said.

He said he avoided breads and focused on lean proteins like chicken and fish. He also ate plenty of fruits and veggies.

“Initially it was like anything else when you first start it, yeah it’s a little hard because it’s an adjustment and you don’t want to make a change. So after three or four weeks of doing it it just became so regimented and routine that it wasn’t hard at all,” Wheeler said.

It was then that Wheeler started implementing a workout plan to lose the final bit of the weight.

“I started running. Some other family members were running and doing some local 5k’s and racing and so that kinda got me going in the direction of running.”

And from there triathlons and swimming became part of the plan as well. Wheeler said the key to motivation is setting realistic goals.

“Because if you look at the small picture instead of the big picture and make baby steps it’s a whole lot easier to say ‘i’m going to lose 10 pounds in two months’ versus ‘I’m going to lose 30 pounds in a month,'” Wheeler said.