( CNN ) -- Doug Skinner held up the pants in the tiny dressing room and shook his head . There 's no way , he thought . No way I 'm at a size 48 . This was 2004 . Skinner was fresh out of college , recently married and just starting his career as a technology coordinator for a local school district . I refuse to go any bigger than 46 , he thought vehemently . `` Unfortunately , that day I did have to buy those [ pants ] , '' Skinner remembers . `` But I did n't go any higher than that . '' Skinner always had an excuse for his obesity as a young adult . The self-described `` stocky '' man was just big-boned , he told himself . In reality , he weighed close to 300 pounds . `` It was n't like we were stopping on the way home at McDonald 's every night -- it was just portion sizes , '' Skinner says . `` The easiest thing in the world [ for me ] is to eat . I 'm a food guy . I love food . I love dessert . '' But that day in a badly-lit discount clothing store in New Jersey , something clicked . He walked back over to his wife , Denise , who looked unhappy with her clothing selections as well . They decided right then to make a change . `` We said , 'Look , this is it . Let 's not kid around anymore . '' Got your own weight loss story to share ? Visit iReport . The couple went home and borrowed a few Weight Watchers books from a relative and began to eat less . `` The first month , I was starving , '' Skinner says . `` After the first month it was easier . It 's still not easy today , but it 's easier . '' Doug and Denise also started walking laps around a park near their house . It was n't exactly fun , but he did n't know what else to do to get active . After a few weeks he jogged one lap . Then two . As he lost weight it got easier to jog and a couple of laps turned into a couple of miles . He did n't slow down until he reached 200 pounds . Now Skinner runs five days a week -- on Mondays it 's a long run of six to eight miles ; the rest of the days he does about four . On May 1 he completed the 10-mile Broadstreet Run in Philadelphia in a time of 1 hour and 22 minutes . He does n't count calories but eats small meals for breakfast and lunch : cereal and a banana in the morning ; yogurt and an orange around noon . Dinner he plans ahead of time -- splurging on Friday night when he takes time off from running to share pizza and cookies with his wife . He weighed in last week at 174 pounds . Like in any weight loss attempt , there were setbacks . In 2007 Skinner had reached 220 pounds . A `` Biggest Loser '' -type contest at school helped him drop down to 170 . When he posted his story on iReport in March , he weighed 193.5 pounds . `` I 'm not ashamed to say my weight goes up and down ... It 's a constant fight , '' Skinner said in a phone interview last month . `` I 'm looking at a bowl of cookies that are right across from me and I kind of want one . Fortunately , the phone cord does n't reach that far . '' `` There 's no way I 'm going to sit at a Thanksgiving table and not eat anything ... I consider myself a foodie and for as long as I live I will never have that type of [ fear ] relationship with food -- I enjoy it too much . I will not deprive myself because of a pound or two . '' He hopes his daughter Gwen grows up to appreciate food like he does , without ever having to worry about battling the scale . So he 's setting a good example early . `` I 'm trying to avoid putting all the pressure on the food aspect . Every step counts . I say that tongue-in-cheek , but it 's important . The thing that 's worked best for me is getting off my butt . '' Skinner continues to write about his weight loss journey on his blog , Daddy 's Tired .
Doug Skinner weighed nearly 300 pounds in 2004 . Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos:'Big Brother' cast members who gained weight after the show ended Skinner runs five days a week and recently completed a 10-mile race .