If your doctor is telling you that you need to lose weight but not exactly guiding you in the right direction then you must read My Big Fat Greek Diet by Dr. Nick Yphantides. Dr. Nick weighed 467 pounds until he finally decided to do something about it. In this exclusive interview he shares his thoughts on weightloss and provides the key to getting to your ideal weight.

Were you overweight as a child and young adult?

The weight was a progressive uphill avalanche. I started getting pudgy in middle school, overweight in high school, obese in college, off the charts in medical school and off the planet as a very busy physician working 90+ hours a week the last 7-8 years before i finally pulled the trigger.

It sounds like stress was the biggest factor that contributed to your weight gain. What advice do you have for people who are gaining weight and under so much stress that they don't have time for themselves?

Stress was one of many factors. Bottom line: I ate for reasons other than satisfying hunger. Food is not valium. Food is not a friend. Food is not a cure for boredom. Food is not a retreat. Food is not good companionship. Food is for nutrition!!! Why we eat is as if not more important than what we eat. If you dont have time for yourself, who do you have time for? I use to feel like i had no time to excercise in the past. My attitude now is that i dont have time not to. My book talks alot about having a healthy relationship with food. You have to change the way you see before you can change the way you look.

Other than your pulmonary hypertension what motivated you to finally do something about it?

My primary motivation was the realization that my health is a gift. A gift that i have the responsibility and desire to take great care of. I had the priveledge of being diagnosed with testicular cancer a few years ago. When facing my mortality head on, it shocked me into realizing how irresponsible and how hyppocritical i was being with regard to my personal health and fitness. I was tired of telling my patients "do as i say not as i do." i realized i had to change my life if I was going to change my weight. My desire was never to just lose the weight. It was to lose it and never ever find it again.

In a recent interview you said "the key to losing weight is having the motivation and getting to the point of realization is that this is a matter of life and death. . . . I had to come to the realization that this is a slow, perhaps unintentional form of suicide" that is a scary and powerful statement. Do you think that most people who are severly obese or overweight feel the same way?

I honestly think that most people who are significantly overweight are in some degree of denial. The facts are powerful. The consequences are obvious. I was a well respected doctor, community leader, politician, professor and advocate for the poor. I knew the truth in my head. But look where I got. My denial skills were perfected. Connecting my head and my heart was a very powerful experience. I almost died from cancer. I could not avoid having cancer but I can avoid having high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and pulmonay hypertension. Many are literally dying from complications of their excess weight. And if they pause long enough to ponder that, they know it. This can be changed. I want to offer people hope and help. Inspiration and instruction. If I can lose 270 pounds naturally without surgery or medications, I honestly believe with god's help anyone else can too.

The fact that you set new priorities worked wonders for you. Why do you think this was so important in your success?

Its not just new priorities. I decided that I needed to change my life. Diets do not work. They are temporary. Temporary artificial periods of deprivation are not effective in the long run. If you cant be on the diet for the rest of your life its not the answer. Obviously for a period of time there will have to be caloric restriction to burn off all the stored calories. I burned off nearly a million calories losing 270 pounds. 270 pounds x3500 calories per pound= 945,000 calories burned from my fat stores. But if one does a diet and then goes right back to what got them there in the first place its all useless. Amazingly, that is what so many of us keep doing!

The article about you mentioned you exercise a couple of hours daily. What exactly do you do to stay fit?

I do about an hour of cardio and about an hour of weight training. Not everyone can or should work out that much. I lost so much weight that I am resculpting my body. I have had no surgery at all and even the loose skin is progressively improving. I will never be a speedo model. Bummer!

For some people being healthy isn't enough of a motivator. What are other ways to stay motivated when you are in the process of losing weight?

Love. It all comes down to love. Do you love anyone? Do you want to be here for them? Do others love you? Do they want you to be around for them? If you think about it, by our actions many of us act like we love food more than we love those closest to us in life. I believe that having the right motivation is the real key. It can come from so many places. I share much about that in the book. For each person it will be different. A one size fits all does not apply for diets and it does not apply for motivation either.

Buy the book and read about Dr. Nick's amazing weightloss journey: