( CNN ) -- One day last September , I stumbled upon an article about retired NFL linemen who were struggling with their weight . A study mentioned in the article showed the life expectancy for those former linemen was significantly shorter than their normal weight peers . It made sense : How many older people do you know who are 6-foot-3 and weigh more than 350 pounds ? People that size do n't really grow old . I had already decided that I needed to make some lifestyle changes regarding my own health . But as a former football player , reading that article hit me hard . My first course of action was to buy a scale ; I had n't been on an accurate one in years . The scale in my doctor 's office would only go up to 350 pounds . Just to be safe I looked for a scale that had a maximum of 400 pounds . I set the scale on my bathroom floor , and exhaled as much air as I could as I stood on it . The next few seconds were followed by a rush of emotions -- shock , disbelief , frustration and anger . I weighed 383 pounds . How did I get to this point ? As I looked back on the previous few years , I realized that I was not a happy person . Within a year 's time , I had turned 40 , become a single father and lost my biggest supporter : my mom . I was disappointed in the direction my personal and professional life was taking . And I was using food to cope . My name is Ron , and I am a food addict . I used to read a poem to my student athletes that said , `` You ca n't fool the guy in the mirror . '' But yet that is what I had been trying to do . I thought I was destined to be a large individual for the rest of my life , and I questioned my ability to lose a significant amount weight at my age . The self doubt was prevalent in my mind . The more I felt sorry for myself , the more I ate . It was a vicious cycle . I realized that this decision to change my life was about more than just losing weight . I had to lose my inner critic . I had to lose the ropes that were tying me to the past . More importantly , I had to lose this black cloud hanging over my head . I had only myself to blame , and I knew I was the only one who could fix it . Exercise quickly replaced food as my comfort in life . Where I once turned to fast food in times of stress and frustration , I instead found myself going to the gym . The more I exercised , the more weight started to drop off . From a minute to a mile : Learning to run . It was a slow climb out of the personal hole I was in , but I found that eating right and exercising were the best remedies to change my outlook on life . When I got to the 50-pound milestone , I decided to look at my wardrobe . I had a closet full of bad memories and BIG clothes . For instance , I had a shirt that I wore to my 25th high school reunion . I hated it when I saw pictures of how heavy I looked in it . So why did I keep it ? I did n't have to think twice now about giving it away . It took at least two hours to finish cleaning out the closet . When I was done , I had five heaping garbage bags full of clothes . It was a gratifying experience to lose that much clutter from my life . The best part came when someone asked if they could take those clothes off my hands . I shared my story with that person when he picked them up . Maybe he 'll be giving them away again in the near future . I firmly believe that if I can make these lifestyle changes , that anyone can . We all have something to lose . More from Mike : Why I gave up soda .
Mike Wilber knew he had to lose weight -- and self doubt . Wilber has lost 50 pounds by exercising and throwing out some emotional baggage . Follow Mike 's journey training for a triathlon on Twitter @ TriHardMike .