“I Stopped Making Excuses!” says Tony J.—You Can, Too!

Tony J., a 38-year-old school service administrator in Orlando, FL, always had fun staying active and playing basketball with friends in his 20s. But then life got busy. “I got married and we had kids, and I had so much going on that I stopped working out,” he says. “During the day I’d swing by fast food for lunch constantly, and even though my wife cooked healthy meals for dinner, I’d eat way too much of them.”

Tony didn’t realize how bad it was getting until he weighed himself last spring and the scale said 399.6 pounds. “The very next day, my family and I were having a staycation here in Orlando,” he says. “I had gone to the theme parks here before and ridden the rides hundreds of times, but this visit I was too large to get on the rides with my kids. When the attendants said I couldn’t get on the rides, I played it off and smiled, but I was devastated inside.”

A few weeks later, Tony got a Fitbit Charge HR after he kept seeing a friend post screenshots of her Fitbit dashboard on Facebook. Tony strapped the Fitbit Charge HR onto his wrist and started walking on a treadmill and going to the gym again. “I didn’t think I had the time to go to the gym, but that wasn’t true,” he says. “Now I go four times a week. It’s all about making a commitment to yourself and your family.”

Tony also knew he’d have to change his diet if he wanted to see results. “No more drive-thru for me!” he says. “On Sunday I cook a big batch of something healthy like sautéed broccoli and chicken, and I eat a lot of salads.” For an extra boost of motivation, Tony followed his friend’s lead and posted his Fitbit statistics on Facebook. “The day I walked 45,000 steps, I got so many great comments when I posted it,” he says.

These days Tony is well on his way to reaching his goals. “What I love most about it is that it holds me accountable on a daily basis,” he says. “When I glance at it and see that I’m short on, say, floors, I know I have to take a few extra flights of stairs before the day is over. The last thing I want to do is go to bed without having reached my daily targets.” He’s also down almost 80 pounds. “In November my family and I are planning to go back to the parks for my son’s birthday,” he says. “It feels so good to know that I’m going to be able to go on all the rides that I couldn’t get on before.”

Tony’s advice for others:

Use TV-watching time as a chance to exercise

“I had a treadmill collecting dust upstairs, so I moved it in front of my TV and started walking on it while watching my favorite shows,” he says. “It got to where I could watch a two-hour show and walk the whole time.”

Make it easy to drink water everywhere you are

“I never used to track water, but now I try to hit my water goal every single day,” he says. “I keep a reusable water bottle at home, at work, and in my car to make it easy to always be sipping on it.”

Get smart about portion size

“I used to fill a huge plate with food, but I switched it out for a smaller bowl,” he says. “I still finish it all, but I’m starting out with a much smaller portion.”

What’s helping you reach your health and fitness goals? Offer your tips and advice in the comments below, and share your success story with us!