A Nicholls student is experiencing the results of choosing a healthy lifestyle. Marcus Broussard, a family and consumer science senior from Franklin, said he lost a total of 136 lbs in one year. Through a low calorie diet and strenuous exercise, Broussard dropped his weight from 296 lbs to 160 lbs.

Broussard recalls the moment he said to himself, “I’m too big.” He was trying on a pair of pants while shopping for clothes. He found the largest size in the pants, a size 44. When he couldn’t fit in this size, he came to the conclusion that he needed to lose weight. “I used to not feel good when I looked in the mirror,” Broussard said.

First, Broussard started to avoid high starch and high carbohydrate foods by beginning the Atkins diet. After about five weeks, he decided this diet wasn’t for him. He then switched to the South Beach diet, which promotes eating the healthy carbohydrates and fats and eliminating the unhealthy ones. “This,” Broussard said, “worked for me.” Broussard began exercising by first walking at a fast pace. He worked up to jogging, and then running 4 miles, at the minimum, each day.

The motivation to lose weight for Broussard was the fact that diabetes runs in his family. His father was diagnosed with the disease, and Broussard wanted to lessen the risks for himself.

He had two jobs at the time and was commuting from Patterson. Being dyslexic and having to study more than the average student, made it difficult to fit exercise into Broussard’s school schedule he said. He is very proud of himself for overcoming these obstacles, however, and says to his fellow students, “If I can do it, anyone can.”

He is enrolled in the Student Programming Association and plans to pledge the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He is also participating in the Intergenerational Program of family and consumer science, where he is helping teach a 10-week class to adults about creating a healthier lifestyle.