Relationships can cause people to do some interesting things. In Andalusia native Ty Smith’s case, it motivated him to lose 136 pounds.

After ending things with his girlfriend a year ago, Smith made the decision to better his life and lose weight.

“I had just broken up with my ex, and I looked at myself and I said, ‘It’s time to get skinny,’” Smith said. “I know it sounds weird, but she was skinny and she looked good, so I knew that I needed to get after it.”

Smith started small and noticed the change in his weight almost immediately.

“The first thing that I did was start drinking a lot of water,” Smith said. “I cut out soda and tea and I lost ten pounds pretty quickly. After that, I started walking from the First Baptist Church all the way to McDonalds and back.”

Now, Smith is up to walking and running more than 10 miles a day.

“The first couple of months I just walked,” Smith said. “I was watching what I ate and made sure I ate healthy. Then I started working my way up and now I run and walk more than 10 miles a day.”

Smith said that at the beginning of his weight loss journey, he struggled.

“Starting out it was pretty tough,” Smith said. “But I got used to it and got into a routine. At first, I wanted to quit almost every day, but I had it in my mind that I needed to lose weight.”

At his heaviest, Smith weighed 318 pounds, but now he is only six pounds away from his dream goal weight.

“I have always wanted to be 180 pounds,” Smith said. “But now I might go a little smaller, because I still have rolls, but that might just be skin. I might try and hit 175. My entire adult life I have always been big. When I graduated high school I was 290 pounds, so I never thought that I would get to where I am now.”

When Smith was at his heaviest weight, he said that he felt tired all of the time and didn’t feel confident.

“Being that heavy was just tiring,” Smith said. “I just didn’t like how I looked and I had lost all confidence in myself. Right now, I am a little more confident in myself, but I’m not cocky or anything. I do want to put a little more muscle on now.”

Smith said that his family has really pushed him and supported him from the beginning of his weight loss journey.

“My mom and dad have been really proud of me,” Smith said. “Some of my friends said that I would lose a little bit of weight, not a lot, and that is what drove me to prove them wrong.”

Finding the time to go to the gym isn’t a problem for Smith, who makes sure to go twice a day.

“I work with my dad building cabinets during the day,” Smith said. “Then for the past year I have been getting off in the afternoon and going straight to the gym. Then I will come back home and rest a little bit before I go back again.”

For people in the middle of their weight loss journey or wanting to start losing weight, Smith advises them to not give up.

“You just have to push yourself,” Smith said. “Because I know that there were many a times where I wanted to quit. I just had to keep telling myself that it is all going to be worth it in the end.”

Smith is a 2012 graduate of Pleasant Home Schools and is the son of Donnie and Debra Smith.