UNDATED (CNN/WMUR) -- A New Hampshire man took on the battle of the bulge and won by dropping 330 pounds in one year.
A lot can happen in a year but rarely can a person claim this. Gregg Blanchard says, "I'm now 474 pounds, 330 pounds gone."
But don't think it's been easy. Since we last saw Gregg in early summer, he's had back-to-back infections and hospitalizations that kept him weak and sick for months. Blanchard says, "What happened was I wasn't getting that fuel my body needed. I was just... I was lethargic and didn't feel like working out."
When Gregg could have given up he fought harder. One big step after another until Gregg finally worked up the courage and the strength to take a stroll down the street.
Gregg has done the work but nothing would have been possible without his biggest cheerleader, his wife, Ann and tough love from his trainer, Mary Wiseman, who has volunteered her time and knowledge in the firm belief that she could help change Gregg's life. Despite a few setbacks along the way, Mary's support has never wavered. She says, "We had to get him to take that first step again and once he did he was on a roll, we're down the steps and 'let's go for a walk.'"
Much of Gregg's transformation requires the mental capacity to handle staggering change by not focusing on who he used to be. And that includes making sure that when we refer to him from now on we simply call him Gregg. He says, "I used to be the 804-pound man, I'm never going to be that way again so I don't want to be referred to like that. That was the old me."
Gregg's short-term goals are exciting and lofty. He wants to not only get into a car but to visit Mary's Manchester gym. They both have a sense of coming full circle. A newfound understanding personal struggles and a unique journey shared together on camera. Wiseman says, "It's not just about being addicted to chocolate or food or wanting sweet things. It's about what's inside your head, how you're thinking, where you come from, what got you to this place in the first place."
Gregg says, "As we go along I keep watching them and it's just, I just, it's hard to say but I actually need that little dose of reality, it actually helps me to not go back to the old me."