Steve Aguiar started enjoying a couple of drinks after work to help him get through the ‘miserable’ two-hour train commute home every evening.
What started as a schooner of beer and a shot of liquor quickly spiralled into a few more drinks, eventually contributing to his poor drinking habits.
On a typical morning, he’d stop at the McDonald’s Drive-Thru on his way to the nearest train station for work to grab an Egg McMuffin and a hash brown.
At his heaviest, the American supervisor, who worked for a city government office, weighed 118kg (260 lbs), wore an XXL shirt and had a waist size of 42.
He soon found himself in a vicious cycle of after-work drinks, followed by more booze at home, only to wake up the next day and do it all over again.
‘It became a daily drinking pattern, and it was both new and disturbing… I was unhealthy and unhappy,’ Steve, now 55, told FEMAIL.
He knew he needed to overcome his bad habits to get healthy after his wife tearfully pleaded with him to stop drinking.
‘My wife confronted me and voiced her concerns about my health and my drinking. When your wife is in tears because of her true love and concern for you, it’s a wake up call,’ he explained.
Steve Aguiar weighed 118kg after leading an unhealthy lifestyle of alcohol and fast food. He shed 25kg after eliminating alcohol in just six months
Determined to turn his life around, Steve eliminated alcohol from his diet for good, and began cycling and eating healthily.
His lifestyle change led him to shed 25kg in six months.
Before his incredible body transformation, Steve, from California, was leading a seemingly active life.
He enjoyed playing sports in school and tried to stay in shape throughout his 20s and 30s by running, competing in marathons and hitting the gym.
Over the years, his weight fluctuated as he tried different types of diets.
‘I’ve always tried to stay active. I would run and go to the gym, but my diet was poor,’ he said.
‘I’m sure you have heard the saying ‘You can’t outrun a bad diet’. Well, that was me.’
Every morning before work, he would treat himself to a McDonald’s breakfast.
At lunch, he would go out with colleagues and consume a high calorie meal at a restaurant.
‘My diet was not good,’ he said.
Steve enjoyed being a social drinker, but he would give up alcohol whenever he was training for his mammoth marathons.
However, his drinking began to spiral out of control when he started commuting a four-hour round trip by train to and from work.
‘I was falling into a pattern of having a couple drinks before the evening train home – usually a shot of liquor and a beer,’ Steve recalled.
‘It then crept into having a few more drinks at home later in the evening.’
He soon found himself in a vicious cycle of after-work drinks, followed by more booze at home, only to wake up the next day and do it all over again
He typically reserved his drinking for the weekends and would sometimes ‘go big’. But eventually, his once-a-week social drinking turned into a daily habit.
His turning point came in early 2020 when his wife voiced her concerns about his drinking problem.
‘And that’s when I started searching online about ‘quitting drinking’,’ he recalled.
He stumbled across videos of James Swanwick, the Australian-American founder of Alcohol Free Lifestyle, a science-based program to help individuals change their relationship with alcohol.
‘Something strongly resonated within me listening to James’ description of his method and approach,’ Steve said.
He signed up to the program’s 30-day No Alcohol Challenge in March 2020. A month later, he joined the Project 90 program.
‘I could not have made a better decision at a better time,’ Steve said.
‘This was the start of the covid lockdowns and I made a commitment to go alcohol-free at the exact time that a great majority of Americans were lockdown and alcohol consumption was on the rise.’
During the first four months of his weight loss journey, he tracked all his meals and counted calories.
‘My goal was to keep my daily caloric intake between 1,600 to 1,800 calories,’ he said.
His exercise consisted of cycling.
‘I always did a 3-mile (4.8km) bike ride from the train to my office, but I started to get off a stop earlier and made it a 7-mile (11.2km) ride,’ he said.
‘I remember one of these rides in the first week on this journey. I stopped, out of breath on an overpass, cried a little and thought to myself, ‘Damn, how did you let yourself get so out of shape? You’ve run marathons in the past, and you feel like your going to die just climbing up this overpass?’
‘My initial goal with cycling was to drop to a healthier weight and get back to running and maybe train for another marathon. I also began cycling during my lunch hour.
‘This became a daily routine, and I eventually got to the point of doing about a 20-mile (32km) ride during my lunch hour. During this journey, I fell in love with cycling and never looked back.’
As he reflected on his marathon days, Steve said he found the strength to ‘get back to feeling happy, healthy, and strong,’ just like he was in his 20s and 30s.
‘But this time I wanted to stay that way,’ he said.
‘With the help of James, I was able to shift my view of eliminating alcohol from a view of ‘giving up something’ to a view of ‘what am I gaining’.
‘This shift in thinking was critical to my success. I live an alcohol free lifestyle which enables me to consistently enjoy mental focus and clarity and maintain a healthy and very active lifestyle.’
He knew he needed to overcome his bad habits to get healthy after his wife tearfully pleaded with him to stop drinking
Between April and October 2020, Steve lost 25kg (55 lbs) after going from 111kg (245 lbs) to 86kg (190 lbs).
‘The most significant change to my diet that led to my successful weight loss was, without a doubt, the elimination of alcohol. Alcohol thwarted any attempts I had maintaining a consistent and healthy diet,’ he said.
‘I examined my relationship with alcohol, I rather quickly came to the decision that eliminating it from my life would be the best decision
‘Once that factor was removed, I became consistent. Consistency is the key to success.’
Since retiring from his job in August, he now spends his time enjoying a happier and healthier life.
‘In the mornings, I do about a 30-minute stretch and dumbbell weightlifting routine. I begin with a stretching routine for my legs, back, and shoulders. I do a set of push-ups, followed by a set of crunches,’ he said.
‘I do a set of 15 arm curls, shoulder press, and bench press with the dumbbells. I do this just to maintain upper upper body strength and to avoid having tiny cyclist arms.
‘The plan is to ultimately increase my weightlifting activities now that I have more time with eliminating a two-hour each way commute and no official workday.’
Between April and October 2020, Steve lost 25kg after going from 111kg to 86kg
He maintains a healthy diet but occasionally treats himself to his favourite foods, including pizza and ice cream.
‘I deviate from the diet and indulge in a snack or have a ‘splurge’ meal like pizza, but I am consistently back on the bike the next day and back to normal eating,’ he said.
‘Ice cream is my guilty pleasure. I also need to remember that “You can’t outrun, or now, out ride a bad diet”. I need to remember and do a better job of portion control on these guilty pleasures.’
Looking back at old pictures of himself, Steve – who’s now a shirt size large and a pants waist size 36 – said: ‘I feel proud and happy to be where I am now.
‘I was recently telling my wife that I do these long rides and they are great accomplishments and they are challenging,’ he said.
‘But I’ll never forget the day, I was out of breath on a short climb up an overpass… It was the start and starting was so hard and it hurt. But it also ignited a fire within me to keep pushing forward. It got better, I got better. I am really proud of that ride.’
For those struggling to lose weight, Steve said: ‘Reflect and write down all your “whys”. Ask yourself, “Why do you want to lose weight?” Focus on them daily.
‘Your “why’s” will be what you gain when you lose weight and get healthier. Focus on what you are gaining rather than focusing on what you think you are sacrificing.
‘The only thing I would do differently is start earlier. I’m glad I finally made this shift at 50.’