In Sunday's Record-Eagle, I shared my story of weight loss, running and transforming my life from a 450-pound ticking time bomb to the healthier guy that I am today. [Editor's Note: Read Mike's Sunday story here]
The response I received from the column was overwhelming and I appreciate all of the kind words people sent my way.
There was one question, though, that I have been asked a number of times over the last few days.
How?
Even Record-Eagle staff writer Art Bukowski, who was a friend and colleague through the entire weight-loss process, wanted to know how I actually lost 200 pounds. Bukowski watched me transform myself in 2007, but didn't feel like he knew the whole story of how I made it happen.
I wish there was a simple answer or a quick solution.
For me, I always wanted an instant fix to my weight problem, but in the back of my mind it felt it was an impossible feat to achieve. In reality, the truth was somewhere in the middle. Losing weight won't happen overnight, but with the right work ethic and mindset, it wasn't nearly as difficult as I imagined it to be. I had to take it one day at a time.
The best answer I can give to how I lost 200 pounds is diet and exercise. Real shocker there.
I'll start with the exercise part.
When I decided I wanted to get healthy, I did so in part with a desire to start running. That was the carrot in front of the horse for me.
But, you can't snap your fingers and decide you're going to be a runner. It takes work.
When I began running, it was brutal. My body fought me with every step, because at 450 pounds it was work to sit on the couch and eat potato chips, let alone exercise.
One of the first things I learned was there's a big difference between racing and running. I wanted to take off like Usain Bolt and keep it up for a couple of miles. While impressive for those elite athletes who can do that, I realized that's not possible for most of us.
Running at a comfortable pace during the winter of 2007, I slowly started building. First it was a quarter of a mile on the treadmill a couple of times a week. Then it was a little more. By the spring, I was ready to head outside and start running loops in my parent's back yard.
My favorite time to run was after dinner. It kept me honest at the table — I couldn't move if I gorged myself — and helped me sleep later that night.
While the exercise certainly helped the weight-loss process, it wouldn't have been possible for me to do what I did without changing my eating habits.
I became fanatical with calories. It became a game to see how much I could eat while staying within the recommended daily intake for my age and height. I remember spending hours in a grocery store checking labels and scouting out my best options.
A can of green beans had about 50 calories in it. So that became a go-to snack. It was shocking how few calories were in a package of imitation crab legs, so that became a regular source of protein. When I couldn't eat at home, I figured out what were my best options at fast food restaurants. And surprisingly, there are good options out there.
What I was eating may have seemed odd to some. Bukowski still complains that the salads I used to eat would stink up our previous newsroom. But it worked. And what it really did was teach me to eat healthy. I never went hungry and it always felt like an accomplishment if I made it through the day nailing my magic number of calories.
Sometimes I would feel like having something bad. That was fine, but I'd surround it with good choices for the rest of the day.
And perhaps that was the key. I took it day by day. Instead of feeling helpless in the battle to lose 200 pounds, I focused on making it through one day with healthy choices. One day became two days. Then a week. Then a month.
Day by day, I got where I wanted to be. It was work, no question about it. But the work became worth it as I could start seeing results.
No quick fix, no impossible feat.
Did Hef Reconcile With Ex-Fiancee?
Edwards Not Guilty on 1 Count Mistrial on Others
Kim K. Gets Wet and Wild
'True Blood,' Naked Bods and Anna's Baby!
Bush brings sense of humor back to White House
Kathie Lee Gifford's Big Mistake
Ex-Rutgers Student Dharun Ravi Starts Jail Time
Katy Perry Goes Makeup-Free
Inside Emily Blunt's Stunning Shoot
Teacher falls prey to students' antics
Texas Student Hit by Bus: Caught on Tape
Houston waiter gets $5,000 tip
Rihanna's Racy Mesh Bikini
On tape: truck crashes into bar
Anne Hathaway Stars in Les Miserables Trailer
Juicy New 'True Blood'!
Zombie Apacolypse Spreading?
Mary-Kate Olsen Dating Older Man?
Everyone survives freak accident in China
Why Brooke Shields Did Own 'Hot Flashes' Stunts
