Adriano's Awesome Adventure

Then, in the spring of 2004 I was in an accident, which resulted in my having to undergo two operations, miss several months of work and endure a full year in physical therapy. Needless to say, I wasn't very active during this time and my weight easily skyrocketed to 245 pounds. I was home, feeling terrible, and found comfort in eating.

My doctor was very concerned with my weight and the subsequent high blood pressure that I was developing. My mother is a diabetic and the doctor warned me that I would soon following in her footsteps if I didn't lose some weight. He also mentioned that my extra weight was a contributing factor to the constant pain I was feeling in my back and shoulder and that it was potentially hindering my progress with the physical therapy. My weight was beginning to not only affect my self esteem, but also my health.

Hi, I'm Adriano, a 32-year-old native Brazilian living in Florida, and this is my weight-loss story.

I had tried numerous diets in the past but always felt discouraged about how hard it was to lose the weight and just how easily it came right back. So the thought of another diet was very discouraging, but I knew I had to seriously take charge of my weight problem or I would be facing some serious health issues.

One night my wife saw a makeover show on TV and its participants lost weight on this food program called NutriSystem. She looked it up on their website and told me how convenient the program appeared, especially since they sent the food right to your door. Of course, I was hesitant at first because dieting to me meant being deprived of what I like for the sacrifice of looking good. But I decided to give it a chance and I went into the website to read about the program. The first thing I saw was pasta on the menu. I thought, "Is this for real?" I saw fettuccini alfredo, ravioli, minestrone…I thought, "There's no way this is good. It probably takes like a cardboard box, if anything."

Then I kept reading and found more perks. For instance, I was spending about $4 on breakfast in the morning another $6 on fast food "junk" for lunch and even topped it off with more fast food "junk" for dinner. I began to see that I would actually be saving money using NutriSystem and could have the food delivered straight to my door. So the idea of starting this program came more from the standpoint of convenience and money savings than anything. However, because I was still skeptical about the quality of the food, I decided to give it only a month.

I started NutriSystem on January 10th, 2005. When it arrived, I decided that I would give it 110%, because deep down I really wanted to make this work. The first thing I was amazed by was how great the food tasted—definitely no cardboard box taste here! It was really good! I was even more amazed that I didn't feel hungry during the day. Remember, I'm a guy who LOVES to eat. The worst diet for me is one that starves me. (Those are the ones that make me dream about food.) Not NutriSystem; I really liked their food.

The breakfast starts off great with eggs, cereal or a breakfast bar. Lunch is plentiful, as is dinner. And the snacks! Chocolate! Do I need to say more? Also, I suddenly began to eat fruit (which I hardly ever ate), salads, and vegetables. I was eating all this healthy food and I wasn't feeling hungry. No more greasy French fries, burgers, or fast food. I also substituted my daily soft drink fix with water, water, and more water.

I have to say that I started feeling better within the first few weeks on the program. But, to my amazement, I started shedding my weight almost from the first day. Now, a little over 6 months into the program, I've lost a total of 55 pounds*—amazing! My original goal was to lose 60 pounds. It's impossible for me to believe that I—a guy who couldn't stay on any diet for more than 1 week—only have 5 more pounds to go.

I honestly have to say that it's not hard at all to follow the program. Everyone gets the occasional craving; trust me, I do, too. In the beginning it was hard getting used to not ordering a fully loaded baked potato as a side dish with a full rack of ribs when I went out to dinner with my friends. But, I actually soon began to enjoy other healthy foods and realized that I didn't need all of that fattening stuff to make me happy.

My friends and coworkers began taking notice during my second month on the program. Some were skeptical and even told me that it was impossible to lose 60 pounds without a personal trainer or dietician. Go figure, it only took my own will power to prove them wrong! Now some of my friends have even started with NutriSystem, and my coworkers call me the "NutriSystem Kid" at work. Some coworkers who I hadn't seen in a while even asked who the new guy was at work—they didn't recognize me! (I'm not kidding.) It made me feel great. That's the added boost I get to keep me motivated.

NutriSystem has changed my life for the better. For example, my wife is completely ecstatic and proud of my weight loss success because she sees how happy I am about myself and how it's helped my health. She even boasts that since I've lost the weight I've even stopped snoring! I also passed a great milestone the other day: I got rid of a huge box of clothes that belonged to a guy named "Gordo." (Heck, I couldn't even keep those old pants up with a belt.) So my wife took me shopping and I got a new wardrobe for a new guy: ME. That's how I feel: like a new person. It felt great buying clothes that looked good on me. If you look at my picture, my smile says it all.

And then there's Brazil. I had told my parents (who live there) that I was on a nutritional program to lose weight, but they knew how I always approached dieting: I'm the "I'll start on Monday