Fulton (WSYR-TV) -- A Central New York man is headed to New York City for a feature on Thursday's Good Morning America. He took a shot at weight loss, thinking he might lose 50 pounds if he was lucky. Turns out, one year later he’s lost just about 200 pounds.
Healthy eating and exercise helped Jay Wornick lose the weight, which started as a bet with his wife in January.
These days, it takes a lot to get Jay to break a sweat, but it wasn’t long ago when he was drenched after just walking up a flight of stairs. Jay was 366 pounds.
"I would sit down and eat two large pizzas for dinner by myself," he said. "I would go out to Burger King and get two triple Whoppers, two chicken sandwiches and eat them before I got home, and I live one block away."
Jay knew the way he was living disappointed his family.
"I would see it on my kids face. I would see it on my wife's face. She wanted to spend time with me. I just didn't care. I was just so miserable. I just couldn't get off the couch. I was so big," he continued.
That's when Jay made a pledge. At first, it wasn't to the gym.
"I said let's put in 100 percent effort. Let's cut soda, let's cut out the fast food. No pizza. No processed food," he said.
Once the weight started to drop off, Jay turned to training at the YMCA in Fulton. Gradually increasing his routine, he now does one hour of cardio followed by an hour of strength training. He dropped 40 pounds after just one month.
"And after two months it was 70 pounds, and after three months it was 95 pounds. It was like, holy cow, how far can I take this?" Jay continued.
Jay has lost 199 pounds. His goal: 200 pounds.
"Jay did it the right way. He said to himself, I can only change one thing at a time," YMCA Executive Director Betty Fadden said. "Set a goal for yourself and make them easy, manageable goals."
His next goal: gaining back 15 pounds, this time in muscle.
"I want to be ripped. I promised my wife John Cena. I'm giving her John Cena!" Jay said.
Jay and his wife started on this weight loss journey together. He won the bet, and now his wife will have to get his name tattooed on her.
After hearing his story, Jay was contacted by a very popular cable show called New York Ink. They now want to do his story and the tattoo. And tomorrow, Jay will be featured on Good Morning America, starting at 7 o'clock on NewsChannel 9.
