( CNN ) -- Mario Colao jolted out of bed at 3 in the morning . He was covered in sweat , his left arm was completely numb and his heart was pounding violently . He started crying because he was terrified of what was happening to him . That night in January 2010 was the third time in two weeks his sleep had been interrupted by heart attack-like symptoms , and he thought he knew why . `` It 's sad to say , but I felt like I deserved this because I never took care of myself , '' Colao says . He was 28 , weighed 460 pounds and wore size 6X clothing . He knew his habits of binge drinking , smoking two packs of cigarettes a day and overindulging in food were slowly killing him . `` I asked God to give me another chance , '' Colao says , `` and I passed out . '' The Chicago native had been overweight since childhood . He was born into an Italian family where food was at the center of everything . His parents worked long hours , so his grandfather played a large role in raising him . In school , Colao was bullied because of his weight , and his grandfather was his only friend . But when Colao was 9 , his grandfather died . He turned to food to comfort the loneliness he felt . `` Food became a total escape , '' he says . `` I always considered it my drug . '' The weight kept piling on through adolescence and beyond . At 18 , he started smoking . He began to drink heavily when he was 22 . All the while he continued to eat unhealthy foods day and night . On his blog , I 've Said It All Before , Colao gives examples of some of his regular meals at the time . One included two burgers , a large soda , large French fries and chicken nuggets , totaling more than 2,400 calories . By 2010 , Colao was drinking up to 10 drinks in one night and smoking two packs of cigarettes a day . But after those scary symptoms kept waking him up , he made a pact with himself to change . `` I quit smoking and stopped eating everything that was bad , '' he says . Colao 's parents bought him a treadmill because he was uncomfortable exercising in a gym . `` That 's what really helped me the most -- being able to gain the physical and mental stability and work out on my own , '' he recalls . He started by walking and slowly worked his way up to jogging and weightlifting . Colao overhauled his diet as well . He stopped eating fast food , fried food and red meat and drinking soda . He forced himself to get accustomed to healthy alternatives while allowing himself to indulge in small things so he would n't feel overwhelmed . He was motivated to change his eating habits by realizing how much time he would have to exercise to burn off the foods he was consuming . Over the first couple of months , Colao dropped 50 pounds . The loss drove him to continue , and he set a goal of losing 200 pounds . When he had lost down to 305 pounds , Colao went through a difficult breakup and eased up on his calorie counting and exercising habits . Six months later , he had gained back 40 pounds . Scared he would continue gaining weight , he got back on the wagon . `` I ended up being so angry at how bad I had gotten again , that I forced myself to get back on track , '' he remembers . He began monitoring his caloric intake again and started exercising two hours a day , five days a week . As a reward for reaching his goal of a 200-pound weight loss , Colao booked a trip to Philadelphia to run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and re-create a famous scene from the movie `` Rocky . '' He was on course to hit his goal when a foot fracture sidelined him for a few weeks . When the trip to Philadelphia approached , Colao had lost 185 pounds and was just shy of his goal . Regardless , he decided to go and run up those stairs . Colao finally hit his goal weight of 260 pounds in October . He still wants to lose another 20 to 30 pounds , but his focus has moved toward challenging himself with new exercises . He 's also weightlifting to tone up some loose skin that has developed around his arms and stomach . Through his journey , Colao has found support and motivation in his parents and girlfriend , Julia Gonzalez . He says he still struggles to see himself in his slimmer body , and Gonzalez pushes him to look on the bright side . `` I 'm always going to be a positive voice for him to remember what a great thing he 's accomplished , '' she says . `` He inspires so many people . People see him , and they realize that they can do it , too . '' Colao is using his experience to become a certified personal trainer . `` My main desire is to help people like me -- people that are obese and feel hopeless about the situation , '' he says . Four years ago , Colao could not tie his shoes without losing his breath . A few weeks ago , he did a push-up for the first time . In two months , he hopes to be a certified personal trainer and well on his way to helping others reach their weight-loss goals .
Mario Colao has lost 200 pounds in just under four years . Three nights of heart attack - like pain made him realize he had to make a change . He stopped smoking two packs of cigarettes a day and quit drinking excessively . Colao plans to be a certified personal trainer and continues to help people like himself .