Dropping LBs: Joe Mammolito, E. Northport

HIS STORY With three young children -- ages 9, 8, 4 -- and his 40th birthday looming, Joe Mammolito decided it was time to make a change, so he joined a local gym -- Orangetheory Fitness in East Northport.

"They were having a weight-loss competition as part of their grand opening, and I signed up, thinking it would be a good incentive," says Mammolito, who won after losing 37 pounds in six weeks. "Usually, I'd join a gym and lose interest after a month."

Mammolito, who was heavy in high school, had lost weight in his 20s but gained it back during his 30s."I started to eat more and more and eventually just quit exercising," says Mammolito, who spent the time focusing on a new business and a new relationship.

He says going to the gym worked for him because there was constantly someone to whom he felt accountable: trainers, others in the classes, and, eventually, himself and his family.

"When I was heavier, I remember getting out of bed in the morning and the aches and pains I'd have just walking to the bathroom," Mammolito says. "Now, I feel like I just turned 30 instead of 40."

He's also a part-time assistant soccer coach with the Elwood Soccer Club in Elwood.

"I used to just tell the players what to do," says Mammolito, who was the only one in the family with a weight problem. "Now, I can really show them."

DIET "Back then, I supersized all the bad foods," Mammolito says. His current breakfast is plain oatmeal and egg whites. Lunch is a salad and maybe a quarter pound of sliced turkey. He says he often skips dinner and when he does eat it, practices portion control.

EXERCISE He goes to gym classes three times a week. He also spends time doing physical things with his family, which he didn't do before. "We play basketball, swim and take walks," Mammolito says.

ADVICE "There's no getting around the hard work, but something will work for you," Mammolito says. "You just have to find that thing. I found my niche, and you can, too, if you just stick to it."