Health Club Pays Off! Man Loses 100 Pounds in One Year

There are plenty of diets out there you could try in order to lose weight, from the sensible (such as the Best Life Dietand the Eat Clean Diet, for example) to the extreme (think Cabbage Soup Diet and the Grapefruit Diet). But if you're one of the millions of people who signed up for a new gym membership in the hopes of getting into great shape in 2010, then Michael Brumlow will be an inspiration to you.

One year ago, this 27-year-old software engineer from Houston, Texas weighed an astonishing 275 pounds until he finally decided to take control of his weight and joined 24 Hour Fitness (a health club with more than 400 clubs throughout the U.S.). Today, he's one of their biggest success stories, losing 100 pounds in just one year -- through exercise and diet alone. How did he go from obese to amazing? We got Brumlow to reveal exactly what it took to drop 100 pounds, build solid muscle and shave his body fat to just 11 percent in 2009, so you can perhaps accomplish the same goals in 2010.

Age: 27

Former Weight: 275

Current Weight: 176

That's Fit: What was the biggest factor that contributed to your weight gain?
BRUMLOW: It was many things, but I would have to say the lack of exercise in my weekly routine and eating fast foods. It was not just that is was fast food, but how often I was eating too. I would have one big meal a day, and sip on sodas all day long. I didn't realize just how bad and unhealthy that was, since in order to keep your body'smetabolism going, you have to eat often. Otherwise, it shuts down.

TF: What was the final straw that made you decide to shed the weight?
BRUMLOW: Buying size 48-50 pants and not being able to go up the stairs to work without getting out of breath.

TF: What were the most effective changes you made in your diet?
Michael Brumlow: Drinking water/tea and having five to six small meals a day. Switching to five to six meals a day kept my metabolism from shutting down and prevented it from going into "fat storing" mode.

TF: How important was exercise in your weight loss?
MB: Very! Without exercise, I may have lost some weight, but I would have become what some call a "skinny fat" person (which is someone who may be small in size, but also has a HIGH body fat percentage). Exercising helped accelerate the fat burning process, which allowed me to eat much more than you might think. Because of all the extra calorie burn from exercise, I was able to have larger meals, which in turn, made me feel fuller and prevented me from having that "hungry" feeling that would usually tempt me to eat off schedule or snack on junk food.

TF: What types of activities did you use to drop the pounds?
MB: Weight training, running, cycling, kayaking and most importantly, most of the group classes at 24 Hour Fitness. I only really ever got into three of the group classes: Athletic training, shadow boxing and the cycling class. All played a very important part in my weight loss, since some helped build core muscles while others were pure cardio.

Getting both weight training and cardio were key. There are two parts to exercise, cardio, and weight training, but many people who are trying to lose weight often forget about the weight training part. Those are usually the same people that are often not very happy with their results. That's because as you take fat away from cardio, you need to replace it with muscle. This may make the numbers on your scale drop less often, but in turn, that extra muscle provides a huge boost to your all-day fat burning by raising your metabolism.

TF: What's been the biggest challenge about losing weight?
MB: Most of the larger challenges are mental, ranging from worrying about "what people will think of this fat guy at the gym" to "what if I don't look any different or hate the way I look after I lose weight." After I got over those mental challenges, it was more of the physical challenges that were harder, such as going to the gym and running a mile (even though my legs hurt) or being motivated enough to get up early on a Saturday to go to a group class.

TF: What's been the greatest lesson you've learned along the way?
MB: Because I have gotten into weight lifting a bit more than I thought I would I have, I've learned many things about weight loss. Now that I have lost the weight, I have control of how much I weigh. If I want to drop a few pounds, I know it's as easy as going for a run. But the most important thing is that it doesn't matter how much you weigh, but what your body fat percentage is, and, if you're happy with the way you look.

TF: Do you have a favorite low-calorie (but restaurant-rich) meal that our readers might like to try?
MB: Well first off, healthy food does taste better! I almost gag now at the thought of eating any sort of fast food. But I will tell you the foods I did discover that are very healthy and great to eat while trying to lose weight.

1. Sushi. I'm talking about the raw kind (not the rolls). Fish such as fresh salmon, super white tuna and red snapper. If raw meat isn't your thing, then having the smoked versions are okay, too. (Just watch the soy sauce because of the extra sodium.)

2. Salads. At restaurants, it can be trickier, since you don't always have access to the nutrition info in their salads. But most salads with meat on top are safe, so long as you use the dressing sparingly.

3. Any sandwich shop with wheat bread and turkey is fine, but again, watch out on the sauces and what they may typically add on your sandwich.

TF: Any last piece of advice for dieters trying to lose weight?
MB: It's important to remember that if you do goof up and eat something bad, don't sweat it. Also, don't make it an excuse to give up. Just make up for your mistake by running an extra mile (or less, or more depending on what level you are at). And if you can't run a mile, then walk it instead!