New Yorkers everywhere are getting healthier each day; the Daily News's profile Thursday of three locals who shed an amazing amount of weight in different ways is proof positive of that.
There's 31-year-old Mark-Eugene Garcia of Queens, an actor who lost 60 pounds when he got fed up of constantly being cast as the sidekick or comic relief. "I just didn't feel good and didn't feel comfortable in my own skin," he told the Daily News. "I would look at friends who looked skinny and were so carefree." So he reached out to a local Jenny Craig center for support, and after seven months of readjusting his eating and of working out (including a daily 5- to 6-mile run), Garcia slimmed down to an astonishing 160 pounds.
Then there's 45-year-old "Side 2 Side," an Upper West Side actress and comedian who decided fat jokes didn't have to be her only funny material, especially when she got sick of taking medication at 267 pounds. She formed a weight loss plan with her doctor, and despite a brief setback, managed to lose weight through a combination of diet and exercise (she started by biking and walking 8 miles a day; now she takes aerobics and Zumba classes). After being a size 26/28 for so long, she slimmed down to 14/16. And, she told the Daily News, while she's careful with her diet 80 percent of the time, she loosens up for the other 20: "I treat myself to chocolate and fried chicken."
Finally, there's 52-year-old Lori Udell of Cherry Hill, N.J., who weighed 248 pounds three years ago before embarking on the Smart for Life Cookie Diet, in which she ate just six oatmeal raisin cookies and a protein-rich dinner every day. She's maintained the weight through exercise and monitoring her food.
To read more about how these three lost the weight, visit nydailynews.com.
Are you or do you know a New Yorker who's lost a significant amount of weight? We'd love to hear your story! Email us here.
