June 30 would become another birthday for him: the day he decided 2 yrs ago to change his life. He remembered a colleague from school telling him to make use of the elliptical because it was gentler on joints. Mazzetti took the advice and went to the fitness center in the middle school to give it a try.

The pedaling resistance from the elliptical 2 day diet strong version was intense. He started in a sweat in a few minutes. He wasn't a fan, but after spending 30 minutes working out, he decided he'd give it another try the next day.

"It required Fifteen years to get to where I was. It had been surely likely to take me greater than a couple of days to get rid of this weight. So I told myself to keep coming back," he explained.

Soon, Mazzetti was working out around the elliptical an hour every day, even on the weekends. He would drive an hour from his home in Lake Zurich to his school's health club in Richmond just to exercise. Also, he decided to cut soda out of his diet entirely. He replaced it with carbonated water so he could get the fizziness he loved with no empty calories.

He changed his diet, too, cutting out simple sugars like cookies and candies. Rather than eating junk food meals for supper and dinner, he started cooking big breakfasts each morning. He'd awaken before 5 a.m. and whip up entrees like steak and eggs before jetting off and away to school. His lunches were medium-sized and the dinners were usually light, like a salad. Everything was home cooked, something he'd never attempted before.

"The first time I visited a supermarket, I bought a bit of steak and an ear of corn and that i was like, 'I can perform this,'" he said. "I realized cooking was fun." He went from ordering nearly all his meals from restaurants to preparing 95% of his meals in your own home.

It didn't take long for him to see drastic alterations in his stamina -- and his waistline. By December 2012, he had slimmed right down to 200 pounds, several he hadn't seen since senior high school.

By January 2013, Mazzetti weighed 180 pounds. He was beginning to feel less anxious around people. He started motivating his coworkers to workout with him at school. He also saw big alterations in the way in which his music and choir students interacted with him. These were more engaged and responsive in his class. He was gaining their respect.

His family was so inspired by his dramatic weight loss the whole clan, including Mazzetti, got a gym membership near their home in February 2013.

In the club, Mazzetti got a trainer to help him transition from the weight loss mentality to a weight maintenance mentality. He started weight lifting and allowed himself to consume more carbohydrates so he would have energy for his workouts.

"He just really transformed his whole life," Julia said. "He went in the unhealthiest part of our family towards the healthiest. He was hiding himself, in his house, in the food, and that is not who he's."

Today Mazzetti is down to a 32-inch waist. He weighs 170 pounds. He wears fashionable, slim-fitting shirts to demonstrate his slender frame, which is a drastic vary from his old school attire of oversized khaki slacks and bland dress shirts. He also lost the comb-over and started growing out his hair to intensify his newly defined jawline. The trimmed body, smaller clothes and new hair revealed the 20-something hiding underneath all that weight.

"I can honestly say I'm within the best shape of my entire life," he explained.

His new confidence brought him to the realization that he desired to pursue another life path, too. He quit his seven-year teaching career and enrolled in Illinois State University to obtain a master's degree in choral conducting.

However the beloved teacher hasn't been forgotten by his students. His sixth, seventh and eighth graders made a Facebook fan page for him. On the page, one of his students wrote: "This is a tribute to one of the greatest humans to ever grace this planet. Dino wasn't only a great director, however a great friend. He's ever present to lend a helping hand or perhaps a crappy joke, and that i thought it was only right to create a group for him."

His newfound confidence has also affected Mazzetti's acting life. In July, he nabbed the lead role as Dr. Frankenstein within the manufacture of "Young Frankenstein" by College of Lake County.

The dance routines and long rehearsals managed to get the most challenging role he has ever played. "I will not have had the ability to do that role if I wasn't as fit when i currently am," he said. "I usually played characters who did 2 day diet new little or no dancing at all."

For him, the key to weight loss ended up being to stay positive. "You'll be the last person to see the physical changes because of the fact that you see yourself differently than other people," he said. "Go for it. Do it. The only person riding the roller coaster of your life is that you simply."