This is a guest blog post from my new “Weight Loss Success Story” series.

Jerry Watson is a freelance writer and retired contractor who has written one novel and has another one in the works and has written extensively for a number of websites on the internet. He blogs at http://JerryLWatson.Wordpress.com and owns http://best-whetstones.com

I had always been what was called in the days of my youth, a “stout” young man. Because I grew up working hard and playing almost no sports, I was mostly muscle for a good many years. Then, over a period of time, I became sicker and sicker until, ultimately I couldn’t work and the doctors, at first diagnosing asthma, finally got around to diagnosing GERD or gastro esophageal reflux disease which was affecting my breathing. I had surgery for it in December of 2002 and found that my lifestyle and eating habits were drastically altered. I became increasingly sedentary and had to rely on mostly a liquid diet for awhile; I gained weight and by the spring of 2010 had reached an ungainly 237 pounds. My wife and I decided to try something more drastic than all the different diets we had experimented with: juicers, proteins, pills, etc. Knowing that my wife had lost weight on Weight Watchers many years prior, we talked it over and decided to give them another shot. We enrolled in the local Weight Watchers meeting and began attending. I have to admit I was more than a little apprehensive because almost all the attendees were women. Then I began seeing a few men show up and started to feel more like participating. The leader, a lifelong member of Weight Watchers herself, was positive and upbeat and actively invited us all to take part in the group. At first, I expected we would have to talk about our weight—and I didn’t want to—but the leader led us each week in discussions about our lifestyle, our exercise methods, our favorite foods and recipes and our food temptations. Discussion would have been unfulfilling in and of itself but the leader drew solutions out of each one of us and if no one had one, she could be counted on to supply one from the Weight Watchers archives including scientific testing results and weight-loss myth busting.

After the first week, I began to lose a respectable 1.5 to 2 pounds per week, which was right in line with the weight loss guidelines. I held true to the menus and set a vigorous exercise program for myself that included brisk walking at least 3 times per week. In the process, I discovered some interesting things about myself: for instance, I would stick to a preplanned menu without trouble but without that I would eat whatever I could find in the refrigerator or cupboards in whatever quantities I wanted. Bad news. I hated to work on a menu by myself but enjoyed sitting down to work out a week’s menus with my wife. I love to exercise, especially walking and hiking, but am not a fan of treadmills, exercycles and other electronic machinery. I also enjoyed lifting weights but my doctor expressly discouraged weight lifting and running. So, in 2011, I have settled into a routine of inquiring after the point values of each food I eat and pay attention to the portions I eat as well as walking at least 3 times a week and visiting the gym for an hour, bare minimum, of working out when the weather is bad. And the good news: I have lost almost 40 pounds and gone down four pant sizes and am managing to maintain my new weight. Dieting alone didn’t ever work for me; exercise alone didn’t work for me either. But a reasonable combination of them both has worked a miracle and now I know the surest route to healthy weight loss and weight maintenance. Oh, yes, and the loss of weight has helped me to manage my GERD symptoms to the extent that I can live a near-normal lifestyle once again.

I’d like to thank Jerry for sharing his story. If you’d like to share your weight loss success story, please contact me!