Transforming Life: How One Man Shed Over 120 Pounds and Reclaimed His Health

This is the story of Dylan Wilbanks, a man who, at the age of 40, weighed 302 pounds and faced the brink of irreversible health complications. Dylan realized he couldn’t accept a life burdened by obesity and diabetes. He chose a different path.

I was unhappy. Pants labeled size 44 barely zipped around my waist — equivalent to a US 44 or XXXXL, with a waist measuring 44 to 46 inches. Soon, even size 44 was too tight — I frequently replaced buttons that couldn’t withstand the strain. Shirts became a challenge. XXL t-shirts would ride up, and button-down shirts pulled tightly when I sat down. My sleep was restless. Lying on the couch or bed, I felt like a beached whale.

My weight struggles stemmed from several factors. I wasn’t an active child. I couldn’t run a mile without stopping — literally. I never once ran a full mile without walking breaks.

In elementary school, I discovered swimming. I went five times a week and earned awards twice. This was especially exciting for my father, a former athlete who had taken up smoking instead.

But then college came, and I stopped swimming. When I graduated high school, I weighed 179 pounds. By the end of college, that number had risen to 225 pounds. My weight fluctuated but continued to climb as I entered the workforce.

Work was stressful. As a natural perfectionist in a pragmatic design field, I often turned to food to cope.

Fear about my weight crept in. In 2000, panic attacks caused me to lose 40 pounds, ending with an ambulance ride. Over time, losing weight and pursuing a healthy lifestyle became a way to manage anxiety — until I lost my job after the dot-com crash.

In 2003, anticipating my daughter's birth, I lost 35 pounds again. But the challenges of fatherhood caused the weight to return. In 2007 and 2010, I lost 29 and 24 pounds respectively — but it was only returning to my starting point.

By 2012, I had regained the 24 pounds lost in 2010 plus an additional 15 pounds.

Final tally: 302 pounds and prediabetic.

Weight Loss Strategy

All diets operate on one principle: if you consume fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.

Weight Watchers is based on converting calories into points with a set daily limit, combined with group meetings for accountability. Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig have similar models but require purchasing their specific foods. The Atkins diet focuses on a high-protein, low-carb approach to trigger ketosis. The Paleo diet mimics ancient eating habits.

The key remains: eat less than you expend, and you’ll shed pounds.

Understanding this, I chose Weight Watchers because it offered three appealing features:

1. Simple calorie-to-points conversion, making it easier to track food intake.
2. Accountability through group support, which motivated me.
3. No forbidden foods, allowing flexibility in eating.

That’s how my journey began. After losing the first 11 pounds, I kept moving forward.

Facing the Challenge

After a few months, I realized cutting calories wasn’t enough.

I needed to exercise. It was the start of the year, and every gym in town welcomed me. I invested in a membership and hit the treadmill. It was tough at first. Getting muscles, once barely able to carry a child, to move a 280-pound man was overwhelming. But one day, I ran a mile in 12 minutes — and survived. I ran a mile!

I trained all summer. Mile times dropped to 11, then 10 minutes. I added weight training, returned to swimming, and started lunchtime walks.

Eventually, I signed up for a 5K race. My goal was simply to finish without collapsing. Optimistic predictions had me finishing in 35 minutes.

I completed it in 30 minutes. On the last mile, my muscles were exhausted, but I ran 3.1 miles in the time it took me to walk one mile six years prior. My speed was above average for my age group.

Changing Perceptions

“You look great.”

“Thank you.”

“I mean, you’re way more attractive now.”

That stung a little. Was I unattractive before? Did I need to lose 75 pounds to be considered appealing?

At an event, a woman who knew me at 302 pounds openly flirted with me. I’m an introvert who usually ignores flattery, but this was different. Why did losing 75 pounds suddenly make me worthy of attention?

Weight acts as a societal marker. Overweight individuals often face rejection regardless of their inner qualities. We tell ourselves obesity is a choice and adopt unrealistic ideals from magazine covers, dismissing those who don’t fit.

My perspective shifted. If you’re happy being overweight and it doesn’t harm your health, embrace it. You don’t have to be thin or heavy — the key is self-awareness, changing what’s necessary, and accepting the rest.

I wasn’t happy or healthy at my heaviest. I needed to lose fat.

Obsession and Balance

I began showing signs of obsessive-compulsive tendencies—not full-blown compulsions, but the obsessions were real. Diet tracking became an obsession. Losing 1.7 pounds a week—could I maintain that? Would I keep losing every week?

Friday nights found me on the treadmill. My body struggled with increasing demands. My doctor warned me about heading toward anorexia.

Still, this obsession propelled me forward. I lost weight safely—under 2 pounds per week. The gym built muscles I never thought I had. Without this fixation, I might have quit months earlier.

But obsession is a double-edged sword. I worried it was controlling me.

Transformations

Clothing expenses were staggering. I changed sizes monthly—from XXL shirts to medium. My waist dropped from 44 to 33 inches.

Alcohol cravings diminished. Two pints used to be normal; now after two, I needed a taxi. Blood pressure shifted from prehypertension to low. Standing risked fainting. Excess skin was an issue but less daunting than fat. It didn’t stop me from seeing my legs, which I’d nearly forgotten existed.

My diet didn’t change drastically but shifted in content. I remained omnivorous but reduced meat and dairy, favoring vegetables (still despising tofu). Fried food was occasional and moderate.

A New Beginning

On April 12, 2014, I weighed 176 pounds — 124 pounds lighter than 72 weeks prior. Sixteen months of dedication brought me back to my high school weight.

The day before, I resigned from my job, and these events were connected.

During my diet, work became another obsession. Poor organization turned it into a death march. Ineffective leadership extinguished my desire to stay.

Amid the chaos, I clung to what I could control—my diet.

Unexpectedly, though physically healthier than ever, work stress led to signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Still, I have my health. Blood sugar is normal. No prediabetes symptoms. Cholesterol lowered. Blood pressure and pulse match those of a 41-year-old athlete, not an obese person.

This is just the beginning. Studies show between one-third and two-thirds of dieters regain more weight than they lost. The odds of maintaining my current weight are slim. Now, vigilance is key. It’s hard without a daily routine, but I keep trying.

Losing 124 pounds taught me I can achieve anything by fully committing and pushing from one small goal to the next. I’ve never felt better or happier, but it hasn’t solved all my problems. I still wrestle with emotions and workplace trauma. I don’t think I’m handsome. Half the time, I feel foolish, and surprisingly, I still feel overweight.

But I haven’t tackled those issues yet. My sole focus was restoring physical health. Next up is deciding which challenge to face.

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