(WKMG/CNN) — A Florida father of two wanted to join the military, but one thing stood in his way — his weight.

But now, Christian Montijo, 28, is ready to serve in the U.S. Army.

“I got a point to my life that I thought if I keep going on this path I’m just going to keep gaining weight and get to a point that I’m either going to die or be in a wheelchair something like that,” said Montijo.

A year ago, he weighed more than 230 pounds. The father of two said enough was enough, and he figured it wasn’t too late to get recruited.

“I started meal prepping and drinking water and cutting the sodas and cooking at home on Sundays for the whole week,” he said.

Once Montijo started noticing the difference in his body, he went to the recruiting station in Kissimmee, and even then, he still had 30 more pounds to lose. But he didn’t give up.

“You don’t gain weight 100 pounds in a week or in a month – it’s over time, so the same way that it takes time for you to gain weight it’s going to take time to lose the weight,” said Montijo.

He dropped 165 pounds. And in October, he got the call he was waiting for.

Montijo is headed to South Carolina for training.