Page 36 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2016

PHYSICAL & FISCAL FITNESS devoted
TRANSFORMATIONS
Before
story by Ed Lepoma photos by
James Edward Bates and courtesy of Christopher Diaz
Eighteen-year-old Christopher Diaz, a senior at St. Patrick’s Catholic High School, is an avid golfer, and started playing when he was in the eighth grade. However, by the time he
was in the tenth grade, he had put on some extra pounds. He noticed a level of fatigue he had never felt before on the
golf course.
“I was always tired, huffing and puffing when I was
walking the course,” he remembered. “My legs hurt and I had trouble walking.
At the beginning of last June, Diaz was carrying around 273 pounds on his 5-foot-11-inch frame.
He knew it was time to do something to shed
those extra pounds and to take a good look at the foods he was eating, and what they were
doing to his overall health.
Diaz got together with Don Sykes, a personal
trainer, who outlined a strict diet for him. He knew it would be difficult, at first, to give up some
of the fast foods he liked, but he stuck with the program.
The trainer also instructed Diaz to devote at least five
minutes to cardio workouts, using a treadmill and lifting weights three times a week.
“The diet I was on eliminated all carbohydrates, meaning I couldn’t eat bread, pasta, potatoes or anything with flour,” Diaz said, “but I did eat carbohydrates such as
brown rice, and sweet potatoes once every other week.” Diaz has lost 86 pounds since last June, and now weighs
187 pounds. He no longer feels the fatigue or has trouble walking. He admitted it is always tempting to go back to his
old lifestyle and eating habits, but he is proud of what he has accomplished.
“While I have started eating some carbs every now and then, I still restrict myself, so I don’t regain the bad habit of overeating,” Diaz said. “I also monitor my weight daily, so
if I do gain a little weight back, I can start the diet back up for a few days to lose those two or three pounds I might
have gained.”
36 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • January 2016
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