Gary Pallett is seen at his heaviest weight. (Gary Pallett ) At this time last year, Gary Pallett was wearing a 5 XL shirt and he weighed 375 pounds.

As a coach at the Manitoba National Triathlon Centre, he knew he had to make a change, so he made a New Year's resolution to get healthy.

Twelve months later, his transformation is astounding.

"My goal to lose 200 pounds fell 12 pounds short, but I did manage to lose over half my body weight going from 375 to 187 pounds. [My] waist went from 54 to 34 inches; shirt size from 5 XL to medium," he said.

"In 2012, I ended up in the hospital for a week and was told I had suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, after some further tests it turned out it wasn't a heart attack, however, it was enough of a wake up call to realize time was running out if I didn't make some quick changes.

(Submitted photo) "If that wasn't enough motivation, my teen daughter got pregnant and I knew I had to be healthy for them."

He spent the year reading everything he could find written about diet and nutrition and tried several different things, learning what did and didn't work.

"[I] finished the year with no signs of metabolic syndrome [and] managed to lose my sleep apnea as an extra bonus," Pallett said.

​"Now I need a new goal for 2014."

Pallett's 5 tips for sticking to your weight loss resolution: