Five mornings a week Mike Rokicki wakes up at 5:30, heads off to the Student Recreation Center-North and works toward his goal of being healthier.
The Merick Hall director swims three days a week and does other types of cardio two days a week. He has started to incorporate weight-lifting, too.
Last May, Rokicki decided he wanted to lose weight for his wedding, which was in October, and he lost 25 lbs.
"After the wedding I said, 'Let's keep this going,'" Rokicki said. "I just kind of want to be healthier longterm and watch the weight, watch what I eat. I'm just trying to be healthier longterm and ensure myself a long, healthy life."
Rokicki has lost about 32 pounds so far and doesn't plan on stopping. He hopes to lose about 80 lbs. and reach his goal weight of 210 lbs.
Rokicki sets smaller goals for himself, too, and when he weighs in on Saturdays and finds that he's accomplished one of them "he celebrates in some way, shape or form," his wife, Gloria Rokicki said.
"When he weighs himself on Saturdays and finds that he's lost weight he's just over the moon -- like it's hilarious," Gloria Rokicki said.
Gloria Rokicki is impressed with her husband's dedication to wake up in the mornings and work out.
"I don't think I've had any challenges where I don't think I can do this anymore," Mike Rokicki said. "It's been more of sometimes I get up at 5:30, and I'm like, 'Ugh, maybe I need a little extra sleep.' But having to fight that voice that says, 'No, sleep in a little later,' that's been more of a problem than just hitting a rut and wanting to throw in the towel, so to speak."
Another problem he has faced is finding healthy alternatives on campus. Some of the options he has found are whole-wheat bagels and whole-wheat sandwiches from the Skylight Terrace in the University Center.
"Since I get a meal plan, and the options on campus aren't the best for you, it's trying to find that balance of getting a meal, especially when campus food is open, and thinking, 'How is this going to affect my diet?' I try not to let it affect my diet too much."
He recently started a blog about his weight-loss experiences at rokickiweightlossbattle.wordpress.com. So far he has written posts about his reasons for wanting to be healthier and how discovering his passion for swimming has helped him. He decided to blog after thinking about New Year's resolutions and thought maybe his story would inspire others.
"Because let's be honest, in our country weight is something we as a society struggle with," Mike Rokicki said about why he blogs. "So I figure if I can inspire one person even to start fighting their own weight battle then I've done my job."
Rokicki said that if people want to be healthier it is easier to just start right away.
"Just go and do it and find what feels right for you," Mike Rokicki said. "For me it's swimming. For some other people it might be biking or walking. It might be that they just need to find that one thing that they really enjoy and kind of go with it."
He also said that he wouldn't make major diet changes right away.
"Oh, and don't pay too much attention to what the weight scale says," Mike Rokicki said. "If the weight scale doesn't show that you lost a few pounds, then that's OK. Just keep pushing. One bad weigh-in doesn't make a bad diet -- it just is one bad weigh-in."
"I definitely feel more energy, I feel a lot better. I've lost four inches on my waist so I've been able to get some new clothes for myself. I just feel a lot better," Mike Rokicki said. "I don't huff and puff as much going upstairs. I just generally feel good."
