“His nickname growing up was Scientific Ty,” jokes Chris Schutte, who’s known Paoletti for 20 years and used to be roommates with him, but now lives next door.

Fortunately, for 32-year-old Paoletti, his love of science was instrumental in his weight-loss efforts, helping him lose more than 100 pounds by testing new techniques and diets and finding what worked best for him: his own personal science project.

“My entire life I’ve been overweight and never really thought about it,” says Paoletti. “It’s just who I was.”

Schutte thought the same thing: Tyler was always just Tyler. Even now that Paoletti’s gone from 270 pounds to 169 pounds and put on muscle from lifting weights, friends don’t realize how much weight he’s really lost until they see old pictures. When Schutte’s daughters see those old photos, they refer to him as “the old Uncle Ty” — a guy who is a far cry from the new Tyler.

Paoletti remembers a point, about eight or nine years ago, when he did lose a little weight, tried to eat “slightly” healthier and occasionally ran on the treadmill, but he got injured, lost momentum and stopped paying attention. He admits it might have continued like that, but remembers getting out of bed one day about a year ago and everything hurt. He could feel his body deteriorating. “This can’t be healthy,” he thought, “not at 31 years old.”

He pinpoints that day as the turning point on his weight-loss journey — the first day of his most important science experiment.

Once he made the decision to get healthier, it simply became a science and math problem. In his free time, Paoletti started doing all the research he could. He’d read up on different weight-loss theories and diets, visit forums and look at data. He found MyFitnessPal and loved the math element of tracking calories and macronutrients. The app turned the endeavor from an abstract, vague idea about losing weight into a concrete plan with numbers and graphs.

“I liked the idea that everyone is their own science project,” says Paoletti.

At first, he just tried to eat healthy here and there and get on the elliptical at the YMCA. During the summer of 2016, he rode bikes with Schutte and their friends, who all live near each other. But when he began tracking calories with MyFitnessPal, he was finally able to make a plan and things really got going.

“It was the details and numbers that really sparked his interest,” says Schutte.

To find the best approach for his body and lifestyle, Paoletti tried different diets, closely tracking the numbers and macronutrients. When he didn’t feel well after a few weeks, he looked at his history in MyFitnessPal and saw he hadn’t eaten red meat and was low in protein. A bonus of tracking everything, he says, was he started realizing how much he was eating and how big his portions were.

As Paoletti continued mountain biking with his friends, he lost a small amount of weight, “but I looked in the mirror and I was still the same person,” he says. After more research, he decided weight training would help him change more than just the number on the scale.

In December 2016, he started lifting — of course, only after more research on proper technique and standard lifts. He watched videos, learned about progressive overload and downloaded a training program. Because he was “luckily” undertrained and overweight, he says, he was able to see big gains right away. He had also found his passion and something to look forward to.

From there it was trial and error — more like a science project. Once he started lifting, he wanted to put on muscle and still lose weight, so he had to experiment with finding the right blend of nutrients, proteins, carbs and fat. For Paoletti, it wasn’t just about losing a set amount of pounds, but about being a different person. After his beginner gains, he hit a plateau, struggled with some injuries, adjusted his diet and did more research. Now he’s back in the gym, gaining more strength and losing even more weight.

“I’m someone who gives 110%, does all the research, looks at all the angles,” he says.

Paoletti is so happy with his success that he wants to share his story — and all that research. On October 15, he outlined it all in a Reddit post. Now that he’s lost 100 pounds, can squat 244 pounds and deadlift 340 pounds, he wants to help other people reach their goals and invites people to reach out to him. He’s changed his whole life and found new motivation, so it’s not surprising he constantly gets asked for the secret behind his success.

But the answer isn’t what people expect or want. According to Paoletti, there isn’t a secret. When people ask, he tells them he’ll help set them up calorie tracking and meal plans. The rest is up to them

“You can’t just sit around and wait for motivation,” he says. “You just have to do it.”

Upgrade to Premium and join Tyler and more than 1 million MyFitnessPal Premium members. 

Meet Ashley Marsh, a mother of four in Rhode Island. Ashley’s wedding day in 2013 was the starting point to turn around her weight problems and become healthier. Fortunately, for Ashley, her transformation wasn’t an individual journey. From daily walks with her daughter to celebrating weight loss milestones with her husband, the entire Marsh family has joined her in the commitment to better health.

“I’m proof that no matter who you are, you can change your life.”

Ashley’s story perfectly embodies the power in our community, proving that all you need to create a better life for yourself is a desire to succeed and a commitment to putting in the work. We are committed to telling your victory stories, so be on the lookout for more motivation and encouragement.

Every dreamer deserves support. Discover inspiring tips, tools and stories of dreamers like you to help kick-start your own dream pursuit.

Done something awesome yourself or know someone who has? Share your personal victory (or someone else’s) for a chance to see your story here. These are real stories from real community members, so we want to hear from you and help celebrate your accomplishments.

READ MORE VICTORIES

> From Overweight Smoker to Boston Marathon: Lori’s Transformation
> Getting Back on the Bike: How Tracey Changed Her Life After an Accident
> 1,055 Days & Counting: Carla’s Unstoppable Run Streak

As a member of the United States Air Force, Gerard (or G, as he likes to be called) is required to take regular fitness tests to gauge his level of health and fitness, ensuring he is ready for any military mission at any time.

After scoring a 78 on his 2008 test — just 3 points above passing — he decided he didn’t want to be average and knew he needed to make a change to his diet and overall lifestyle. Even though exercise was part of G’s routine, he couldn’t seem to say no to the not-so-healthy foods that were outdoing his hard work.

“On a personal level, that was not where I needed to be in life. You really can’t outrun your fork.”

After buckling down on his diet by tracking his food with the MyFitnessPal app, getting a standing desk for work and becoming more serious with his running, G scored a 95 on his 2011 test, surpassing even his own expectations.  

Now, G has completed multiple marathons and recently ran a 100K (62-mile) race this past June. Clearly, his life is a far cry from his 2008 self — and we don’t need a fitness test to tell us that.

WATCH MORE VICTORY STORIES

> Danielle’s Story
> Sam’s Story
> Ashley’s Story

It was early in the Colorado ski season and he had been looking forward to months of fun and challenging runs on the slopes. After teaching his five kids to ski while they were growing up, Williams was confident in his abilities. But there he was, exhausted and struggling to get up from a fall in the powder. Again.

“I felt like the Pillsbury Doughboy whenever I had to stand up,” he recalls. “The whole day consisted of huffing and puffing, and of course, falling. That’s the moment when I thought: This is not working. This is not how a guy in his late 40s should be. Something needs to change.”

For the couple decades leading up to that moment, Williams led a fairly sedentary lifestyle outside of the kids’ ski lessons. As a businessman in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he spent a great deal of time at a desk or in his car and ate plenty of on-the-go meals. Since his mid-20s, when he first felt truly overweight, he’d embarked on one fad diet or another, losing 20–30 pounds at a time and then regaining the weight as soon as he grew tired of dieting.

The ski incident, coupled with a looming 50th birthday, convinced him to try a different tactic. Rather than starting yet another trendy diet that was doomed to fail, he started tracking his food intake with MyFitnessPal. He set a weight goal and used the app to determine a realistic timeframe for getting there. For the first time, he knew exactly how many calories to eat per day and how his daily meals fit into a larger weight-loss goal.

After some time using the app, he realized the more he exercised, the more calories he could eat while still staying on track — an adjustment the app made automatically. Williams had started running on a regular basis and needed some extra calories to fuel his workouts, but was careful to stick to his calorie goals.

Williams admits to still eating his favorite foods from time-to-time, like hamburgers, french fries and pizza, but he’s also developed a love for healthy food and can easily see when less-than-stellar meal choices are starting to become a problem. He knows if he slacks on tracking his food, it’s likely he’d start slipping into his old patterns — like overeating or snacking mindlessly while traveling from one client meeting to another.

“Even though I lost the weight and kept it off, tracking helps me to continue making better choices,” he says. “Because I’ve been doing this for so long, I spend less than two minutes a day entering my food. But the effect of tracking and being aware of my choices lasts all day.”

Five years later, that day on the ski slopes seems like a different lifetime for Williams. He’s lost 50 pounds and still logs his meals every day.

His healthy eating is also giving him more energy than he had even as a 20-something, he says. These days, he skis more than ever, plays drums in a band, owns his own business and has run two marathons and a number of half marathons. He also just signed up to tackle one of the toughest races in the world, the Pikes Peak Marathon, which takes runners straight up the mountain for the first 13.1 miles and straight back down for the second half.

“Everything is affected by being healthier,” he says. “Five years ago, I would never have imagined I could be at this point. But now, I go on my morning run and look up at that mountain and I think, ‘I’ll be running up there soon.’ What an incredible feeling. Commit to the process and it will really pay off.”