PDA

View Full Version : Man drops 140 pounds in 11 months to join Marines



LCPLE3
11-17-08, 08:17 PM
LEWISTON, Maine - Army and Navy recruiters took one look at 330-pound Ulysses Milana and told him to forget about joining. "'You've got to lose weight,'" Milana remembers them saying.


But Marine recruiters were willing to work with him as he began his weight-loss journey in December 2007. Now, 11 months later, Milana is 140 pounds lighter as he leaves Monday for Parris Island, S.C., to begin boot camp.

It wasn't easy, Milana said, but he managed to slim down through exercise, healthier eating habits and forgoing an occasional beer after work. The 23-year-old said he even refused a beer at his going-away party Saturday night.

Milana said he always wanted to follow in his family's footsteps by serving his country. His wife, Latoya, also comes from a military family.
Much of his weight-loss motivation came from Latoya, a nurse, who helped him reduce his calorie intake when he began his effort in earnest last December.

"It was really difficult for him at first. He always said, 'I'm gonna lose weight.' But I never took him seriously," Latoya told the Sun Journal newspaper. "Then, when he started to do it, I told him he needed to cut his portion sizes way down."

Marine recruiters also worked with him, helping to develop a workout regimen. "You can sit there and preach and preach, but if you're not willing to help, then it doesn't lead you to success," Staff Sgt. George Monteith said. "If I say, 'Go lose weight and I'll see you in a year,' then what kind of help have I offered to make that happen?"

A former culinary student, Milana said it was a challenge to give up favorites like pizza and hot wings, but cracking open a cold beer after work was perhaps the toughest guilty pleasure to abandon. "It was really hard. You see all your friends drinking beer, and you're like, 'Oh, man, I want one,'" he said. But his determination kept him on track.


:flag:

NoRemorse
11-18-08, 02:22 PM
My recruiter and fellow poolees kept me going even when I couldn't get down to the RSS in Harlem to work out. He'd get a call from me panting and wheezing after a long run or some road work.

I dropped 40 pounds in the first four months and then another 50 in two months, dropping all the way down to 190 from 280. I bulked up to about 220 and was in fighting trim.

I looked back at my fat body self and said never again will I let myself make an excuse. I have my recruiter, those poolees and countless other Marines to thank for showing me the way.

egbutler1
11-18-08, 02:37 PM
Nice thats a motivating story. I was a fat ass before I joined too, but not that big. I only had to lose like 30 lbs. Fu@king Semper FI!

samthomas
11-10-09, 02:03 PM
A year later, I wonder how he did.