. >> reporter: at 18 taylor lebaron is already an accomplished author.e a book called "cutting myself in half." it's about his battle with childhood obesity. you see, he was always a chubby kid. in grade school he was constantly teased and picked on. >> people just they put me down for, you know, no reason other than the fact that i have a weight issue. >> reporter: as a teen a walk to the mailbox left him short of breath, lightheaded. he already had high blood pressure. one day he stepped on a scale and got what he says was the shock of his life. >> and the number was 297 pounds and i'm 14 years old and i'm alone in this room and i'm, like, oh, my goodness, i'm not even an adult and i weigh more than 300 pounds. >> reporter: frightened, he immediately stopped eating junk food and he began to count his calories. he started exercising at home, taking long walks. an avid video gamer, he made up a game to track how much he was eating and how much he was exercising. four months later unhappy with his progress, he started going to the ymca to work out. eventu