PORT ANGELES — Dave Ramey’s loss is the Port Angeles food bank’s and pantries’ gain.

Ramey has donated 125 pounds of food to the food bank — one pound for each milestone of weight he has shed from his own body in the past 10 months.

“It’s symbolic — I’m giving the weight away to never get it back,” Ramey said.

When Ramey’s weight loss reached 50 pounds, he donated 50 pounds of rice to the Port Angeles Food Bank.

At 75 pounds, he donated 75 pounds of peanut butter to the Independent Bible Church’s food pantry.

When he hits that 100 pound target, he will donate 100 pounds of potatoes to another food bank or pantry.

On Thanksgiving, he will donate however many pounds of turkeys as he has lost at that time, Ramey said.

Ramey, a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Uptown Realty, was inspired by a friend’s weight loss, motivated by health concerns and held accountable by his wife, co-workers and friends.

Riding elephant

A photo of Ramey riding an elephant in Temecula, Calif., symbolizes one of his reasons for wanting to lose weight.

“I was pretty heavy in that picture,” Ramey said.

“The joke is that I wanted to go horseback riding, and this is what they brought me.”

Ramey didn’t know how much he weighed at the time.

His bathroom scale wouldn’t register high enough, he said.

In September 2010, Ramey, who is 5 feet 11 inches tall, stepped on his doctor’s scale, which revealed that he weighed 367 pounds — about twice the recommended weight for his height.

“It took my breath away,” Ramey said.

“I said, ‘Oh my God’ — it alarmed me.”

At that doctor’s visit, he also learned that he had crossed two markers for diabetes.

Time to do something

It was time to do something about it, Ramey said.

So he created his own weight loss program with the intent to lose 100 pounds in one year and an additional 50 pounds by July 1, 2012.

His target weight is between 215 and 225 pounds, he said.

His program alternates between Slim Fast and Smart for Life weight loss programs, and he added his own creation, AIM.

“AIM is ‘accountability, inspiration and motivation,’” Ramey said.

It’s hard to lose weight when there is no motivation or people to help with accountability, Ramey said.

Five years ago, Ramey decided to lose weight but had neither the motivation nor the accountability.

‘Easy to lie’ to self

“I told my friends I planned to lose weight, then hoped they forgot about that,” Ramey said.

It’s easy to lie to yourself, which leads to “cheating” on a diet plan and eventually giving up, he said.

It’s harder to lie to friends and family.

So this time, he discussed it openly and frequently.

In return, he got feedback and support.

“We nag on him about it,” said Beep Adams, Coldwell Banker office manager.

His general health is also obvious to those who have been with Ramey for the past year.

“We used to hear him coming down the stairs; we could hear his wheezing,” Adams said.

“Now, he can sneak up on anyone.”

Another benefit is having time with his wife, Alice, while out walking, he said.

Once a week, the Rameys walk from the Coldwell Banker building at 1115 E. Front St. to a restaurant via a route of at least one mile each way.

Ramey uses Google Maps to create his routes, which often go far out of the way to add distance if their restaurant of choice is too close.

During the walks, they talk about things that never came up before.

“It’s like a dream come true,” Alice said.

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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.