Healthy Living

One young man used patriotism to battle his bulge. When his 405-pound girth prevented J. Roundtree from joining the Army, he lost half his body weight to become fit enough to enlist.

"Always in my head going into the Army was an option because my mom was in the Army, my dad was in the Army, my sister was in the Army," he told ABC 6. Though after years of eating fast food and doing little exercise, the 21-year-old was morbidly obese.

Determined to serve his country, he went on a strict 1,500-calorie-a-day diet and started exercising using P90X workout videos, jogging, swimming, and playing basketball. That was a big switch from the times he ate 10,000 calories of junk food in one day.

He admits, it isn't always easy. "There's going to be days where you're like, 'Oh I don't want to do it', but you gotta keep doing it," he told ABC 6. Down to 205 pounds, he knows the ends justify the sacrifice. Now enlisted, Roundtree begin basic training at Ft. Benning in Georgia in November.

"I never would have imagined that he would do that, but when J. sets his mind to something, don't tell him he can't do it because he'll prove you wrong," said his mother Diane with tears in her eyes. "When I see him in his military uniform, that's going to tear me up, I mean, I will be the happiest mother in the world." Sweet and inspiring don't you think?

What has motivated you to lose weight or get in shape?