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 By Charlotte Hopkins

The UPMC BodyChangers is hosting their fourth annual Summer Sizzler Fashion Show! The event will be held at the UPMC Cancer Pavilion on Saturday, June 13 from 6-10 p.m.

Mark Dodd lost hundreds of pounds, showing that hard work and determination always pays off!

The show was the idea of UPMC doctors and is designed to champion people who want to make healthy lifestyle changes, including losing weight or eating better. Among the BodyChangers is Elizabeth Borough resident Mark Dodd, who weighed 490 pounds and now weighs 225 pounds.

When Mark Dodd was 41 years old, he weighed nearly 500 pounds, was bedridden, and suffered from five herniated discs. Mark was at a crossroads in his life, facing the realities of what a lifestyle of poor had health brought him to. He knew that he could either start taking the necessary steps to change his life and bring back the man he once was, or spend the rest of his life in that bed. He decided emphatically that change would be the only right answer.

The first steps down the road to a new life were to reduce his food intake and eliminate all carbs. He lost 100 pounds in the first 6 months! With that he was able to start walking and exercising again. His next big decision was to have gastric bypass surgery. In 18 months, he lost a total of 294 pounds.

In describing his life from then and now Mark expressed, "Before weight loss my life consisted of working, when I could, and sitting and sleeping in my recliner. Now I'm able to run, hike, bike, kayak and even skydive. I realized that life has so much more to offer and now I'm living life and loving it!"

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