This is part of a series to share stories about members of Team U-Haul who have committed to make healthy lifestyle choices. Here, Dan Ferre, general manager at U-Haul Moving and Storage at South Las Vegas Boulevard, talks about his journey.

LAS VEGAS—Believe it or not, the person who really inspired me to lose weight was U-Haul CEO Joe Shoen. He put out a video last year saying he lost about 40 pounds and his blood pressure medicine had been cut in half. I thought to myself, “Joe and I are close to the same age, and if he can do it I should be able to do it.”

At that time I was taking close to 10 pills a day. I had high blood pressure, gout, high cholesterol and was borderline diabetic. I was a mess, and I’m not the type of person who likes taking pills, so I was determined to quit having to take them.

My doctor had been trying to get me to lose weight for almost 10 years, so I went to her to make a plan.

Putting the plan to action

The first thing I did was use a smaller plate when having dinner. I also started eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and I stopped having ice cream every night. I still occasionally eat pizza, but only a couple slices a month. Within the first two months of my new diet I lost 23 pounds and I was off almost all of my pills.

The most encouraging part of all of this is the comments I get from people. My wife is thrilled with my progress, and my U-Haul Team members are shocked at how much weight I’ve lost. To be honest, keeping it off isn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

Now that I’ve altered all of my shirts to fit me, there’s no way I’m going to gain that weight back. I also don’t miss seeing that big belly in the mirror every morning!

What are your go-to options for eating healthy or losing weight? Tell us about them in the comments section.