Matt McKenna weighed 500 pounds and had limited his activities out of physical necessity and shame. Then one day, his family stepped in. Concerned for his health and welfare, they told him enough was enough and asked for a serious commitment from him to lose the weight. So Matt moved in with his parents for supervision and support and began the South Beach diet. The first week he lost 25 pounds, and in just over a year he's hit his goal weight of 240 pounds. He also addressed his emotional food issues with counseling.

Even if your health and fitness goals are different than Matt's, stories like his might inspire you. Matt had overwhelmingly positive family support, but the choices he made were his own and he deserves credit for taking control. If you go to the article and click on Matt's gallery, he's got some interesting motivational tips.

His family wanted to encourage him, so his relatives made a deal that for every pound he lost, they would pledge a certain amount of dollars to Habitat for Humanity to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. By the time Matt hit his goal weight, his extended family had donated $10,000.

Matt's success inspired me today to stick to my health and fitness goals. What inspires you to keep going when the going gets tough?