John Dziak lose 52 pounds! Fitzness.com
John Dziak, 36, Commercial Insurance Agent / Disney Iphone App Developer, Albuquerque, NM
What was your highest weight? 230
How much have you lost? 52 Pounds
Present weight? 178
How long did it take you to lose it? 1 ½ Years
What inspired your weight loss efforts? My wife was preparing a photo book to give to our family and it included images from Disney World. One was of me and my son and I couldn’t believe how big I got.
Tell us about your exercise routine and accomplishments. I typically run three days a week using the Jeff Galloway program. I will throw in other runs as well as time at the gym doing Crossfit and lifting weights.
How did you become a runner? After six months of dieting and losing about 15 pounds I thought that it wasn’t enough. I did some research online and found runDisney and being a big Disney fan … I thought it was a neat idea to be able to run through the parks. I also thought running would be cheap, as all you need to buy was a pair of shoes.
John Dziak with Mary Poppins and her penguins. You’ll only find Mary and her crew at runDisney races.
Fitzness.com
Were you nervous about your first race? I wasn’t nervous to do my first race as it was a 5k and I had done longer mileage in my Galloway group. It went well, I was happy to be done and couldn’t imagine going a longer distance.
Tell us about your races to this point. I have done at least 14 races according to Athlinks. I would say I am a casual runner trying to get faster.
Tell us about your eating habits: Before, I would eat anything that sounded good, but would not eat breakfast. One of the first things I did was to start eating Greek Yogurt when I woke up. Next, I started trying more salads and began loving them. Also, since I cook, we would try to make sure we were cooking healthy. I count my calories every day and that really helped me to see what I was doing wrong.
Favorite workout song. Joe Esposito’s “You’re the Best”
Favorite race. Anything runDisney
Favorite healthy food: Panera’s Apple Fuji Chicken Salad
Favorite unhealthy food: Philadelphia Cheese Steak, Fried Chicken, or Pizza.
What keeps you on track? Having races to look forward to.
What has been the most fun part of your weight loss? Doing runDisney races and meeting a lot of people like me. The beauty of running is that it accepts everyone no matter how big or small, how fast or slow. When you mix Disney into that, you get some amazing people.
What inspires you when you feel like quitting? Knowing my kids will have a healthy dad for many years.
Advice for others who want to lose, but haven’t got started? You need to want it and to make a plan. Until you want to change and you hit bottom, you can’t change. The problem with food is that it can be an addiction and it may be the hardest one as you can never quit eating. You have the hardest part, which is trying to moderate your eating. Once you want it bad enough, count calories and start getting weekly exercise.
Anything else you’d like to add? Eating right doesn’t mean always eating perfect. You can still eat foods you enjoy – just not so much of them.
Congratulations on your success John, your experiences and words of wisdom prove you’re likely to stay fit and healthy for the rest of your life. Thanks for sharing your fantastic success story. Fitz
