"I have been heavy all my life. As a kid growing up I was always the big heavy kid in the group, not the big cool kid that was fun to hang around with. My freshman year in high school I was over 240 lbs. At 18 I went into the Army, (which) was good for me, (but) I had become quite the beer drinker. (Even though) I was in pretty good shape by now... because of the physical training required by the military... I was still considered overweight by military standards. The older I got the more weight I picked up, despite running and exercises four days a week with my unit. By age 34 I was up to 260 lbs. and in 1995 I was diagnosed for the second time with a deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or blood clot in my right leg.

By January of 1997 I was up to 285 lbs. and by this time I was in Atlanta and cooking for myself and eating out daily. By this time I (began to) think I should lose some weight or cut back, since I (couldn't) fit any of the clothes that I had to buy a few months ago.

MARK LOST 100 LBS.!!!

I think I first went to QWLC in June 1997; my weight now up to 302 lbs. and I also had high blood pressure. I started the program with some misgivings and the weight quickly came off. I was soon 82 lbs. lighter and back to the weight that I was when I first went into the Army. Tammy was in charge of the office and she and the other girls always kept me motivated and got on me when I slipped up.

Everything was going fine and I stopped by the office to weigh in less and less, until I stopped coming altogether. I thought I could do it by myself, but soon found out that it was hopeless and slowly gained some weight. I came back to QWLC in February 2002 at the weight of 315 lbs. and still growing with a pant size of a 45 waist. My blood pressure was very high and I could tell that the circulation in my legs was getting worse than before. Quickly the weight came off and I moved into stabilization, which I did not complete the first time around. Maintenance was going great and I stabilized at 215 lbs. I have lost a total of 100 lbs. in eight months, and now, at over a year since I came back to the program I have been able to keep the weight under control. The program is really designed to work for anyone... and QWLC and the staff have done a tremendous job.

Special thanks to the staff for their high spirits and the ability to keep me motivated. I will continue to weigh in monthly and to maintain my weight goal. I am in this for the long haul so I can live a healthier happy life."