This man lost over 140 pounds by eliminating these foods

When Patrick Delaney’s father died of a heart attack in his early 60s, he took it as a warning sign that motivated him to take charge of his own health.

Delaney, then 30, weighed 340 pounds at the time of his father’s death. He had been struggling with his weight since he was a teenager, but he didn’t connect it to his diet, which included a lot of fast food and beer.

“I never ate breakfast, so I was only eating two meals a day, which I thought was healthier than eating a lot of times throughout the day,” Delaney told Men’s Health. “I knew nothing about nutrition, so I didn’t put two and two together. I didn’t realize how many calories I was consuming.”

Weight-loss experts will tell you that one of the most common myths about losing weight is that “skipping a meal” will help. In fact, however, this approach can often backfire and leave you feeling ravenous. That, in turn, can lead to eating too much and making poor choices when it comes time to finally eat.

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Dramatic Weight Loss

As you can see in the before-and-after photos below, Delaney has since dropped a lot of weight. So, how did he do it?

When he decided to get serious about his health, the first thing Delaney did was cut out soda, long considered to be a major culprit in the obesity epidemic.

Removing the sugary vice from his diet cut out about 600 calories a day, which led to quick weight-loss results, motivating Delaney to make other positive changes.

soda obesity photo
Getty Images | Mario Tama

Next up, he cut out fast food and restaurant meals, opting to cook at home instead. He started using the MyFitnessPal app to track exactly how much he was eating.

Overcoming Unhealthy Habits

Delaney told Men’s Health that he spent his high school and college years working at a Chick-fil-A, where he’d eat a fried chicken sandwich with a soda and fries most days of the week.

chick fil a fries photo
Flickr | j.reed

When he got off work, he’d regularly stop by a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut for more fast food.

Getty Images | Justin Sullivan

After this father’s death, in addition to overhauling his diet, Delaney — who’s now a computer engineer — started to make exercise a priority. His previous attempts to make working out a habit failed because he didn’t see any results. He didn’t realize that his eating habits were sabotaging the efforts he put in at the gym. As they say, you can’t outrun a bad diet. (Unless you’re this guy.)

He started out by walking just 30 minutes at a time on the treadmill. Today, he utilizes a combination of cardio and strength-training to stay in shape.

weight lifting photo
Getty Images | Koki Nagahama

Now, weighing in at just under 200 pounds, Delaney would eventually like to hit 180. He says his entire outlook has changed since he achieved his weight-loss goals.

“Now, I want to get out and move instead of sitting around all day,” Delaney said. “And I crave healthy foods, not junk. I had soda recently for the first time in two years, and it just didn’t taste good anymore — I didn’t want it.”

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Good for him! We wish him the best of luck on his continued journey toward optimal health.

RELATED: Check out this man’s incredible weight loss journey. He took one photo every day during his transformation:

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About the Author
Kate Streit
Kate Streit lives in Chicago. She enjoys stand-up comedy, mystery novels, memoirs, summer and pumpkin spice anything.

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