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Man, wife lose 275 pounds together

Contributed photo Kevin Reed holding the pants he used to wear. Amanda is holding a shirt that Kevin used to wear.

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By Shirley Belcher, Contributing Writer Updated 2:43 PM Friday, November 26, 2010

Kevin Reed is thankful to God that he is no longer weighs 479 pounds. Since the end of March 2010, Reed has lost 200 pounds with the advice and instructions of Dr. Robert Kominiarek.

Reed, 6 feet, 9 inches, weighed 479 pounds March 22 with his blood pressure dangerously high at 200/116.

“I walked out of that office in tears knowing my weight, knowing my blood pressure, but most of all knowing I let myself get this way” Reed said.

Reed ate his last ‘junk’ meal when he left the doctor, “I ate a bag of buffalo wings, two steak hoagies and a two liter of Mountain Dew. My wife had a steak hoagie and my kids ate chicken nuggets, I knew it was going to be my last junk meal, so I went out with a bang,” he said.

Reed’s wife, Amanda decided to lose weight, too. She weighed 255 in March and lost 74 pounds.

“I couldn’t do it without her doing it, too,” Reed said.

His favorite food used to be hamburgers and he would eat five or six at a time. Her favorite food was pizza.

The day after going to the doctor, Reed started walking and learning what healthy living meant.

“I set goals. I set my first goal as losing 1 pound. Once I lost 1 pound, I achieved my goal and then I set my next goal at losing 10 pounds and before you know it, I was losing weight quickly,” he said.

“Today, I weigh in at 278 pounds — 201 pounds lost all natural, no supplements, no surgery, just personal motivation.

“I give all my thanks to God,” Kevin said. “I have realized that the main thing people are missing when it comes to losing weight is motivation and inspiration.”

At 18 to 19 years of age, Kevin weighed about 350.

“It really started bugging me when I could hear people snickering and laughing at me,” he said. “I feel so much healthier and feel better about myself. I am also excited to know that we have so much more to be thankful for and we owe it all to the Lord.”

Reed said his wife and children, Amelia 8, Abigail 5, Kody 3, are so proud of him.

“The most difficult for me was changing my beverage, giving up soda and taking in the proper amount of water a day I needed was extremely hard at first, but now it seems so natural,” he said.

“”My biggest reward is knowing that my children are learning about healthy living, both mentally and physically. Many people in the world today see the convenience of fast food to feed their children rather than letting them explore healthy food.”

As Amanda Reed lost weight, she gave her clothes away.

“I started out in a size 28 and when I went to the store I tried on a size 18 pair of pants to see how much I had lost. They fit so I bought them,” she said.

She was about 215 when they got married and he was about 300.

“Now we are both less than when we first met,” she added.

Amanda Reed changed her eating patterns.

“I love turkey burgers,” she said. Instead of pizza they have flat outs, like tortillas. Then they put them in the oven after putting some pizza sauce and various vegetables on them.

“I use mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese,” she said. “That makes a pizza.”

Reed replaces hamburgers with turkey burgers.

Today, the Reed family will help serve Thanksgiving to their church, First Baptist Church of Camden.

On Saturday, they will have a Thanksgiving dinner at home which will be turkey, green beans, asparagus, salad, and fried non-greasy potatoes cooked on their George Foreman grill.

“Many people feel it’s hard or it cost money to live healthy and I’m here to tell you: Yes, it is hard, but no, it doesn’t cost extra money to lose weight and live healthy, I have not changed my grocery bill, but I have learned how to eat and feed my family of five, healthy, and still keep it in budget. And when trying to lose weight, don’t worry about the end results, just enjoy the journey.”

For more about Reed’s journey, visit: www.kevins weightlossjourney.com. E-mail Reed at kevincub fanreed@yahoo.com or call (937) 452-6280.

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