How I lost 116 pounds: 90 minutes of exercise, seven days a week, wasn't enough

Victor Richard

46, Dieppe, N.B.

Pounds dropped: 116

My turning point: In 2008, I was 42 years old and struggled to climb a flight of stairs. At 277 pounds, I started to have chest pains and backaches – and was also the same age as my uncle was when he died of heart disease. I just knew enough was enough if I wanted to avoid the same fate.

My method: Seven days a week, without exception, I spent 45 minutes on the elliptical machine at 5:30 a.m. and another 45 minutes after work. I did this religiously for more than a year. At the beginning, I was losing only six pounds a month and I was frustrated. My wife told me exercise was simply not enough. So I started to follow the Canada Food Guide to the letter, weighing and measuring everything I ate. I still do it today and I've kept the weight off for more than three years. In that time, I've gone from a XXL to an L, a size 42 pant to a 33, and went through four wedding bands as the weight came off.

My kryptonite: Dark chocolate – I eat a couple of pieces every day.

This interview was condensed and edited.

Tell us how you lost it: tgam.ca/weightloss