OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio–Tom Slater had been an addict for years.
“Some fight drugs, some fight alcohol, some fight all kinds of things. My addiction was food,” he said. “I was out of control. Food was my addiction.”
He wasn’t always big. In college, Tom was active in sports but after a volleyball injury, the excuses came and gradually, so did the pounds.
“I’m a traveling guy. I’m out on the road for work, in hotels,” he said. “The propensity to eat fast foods and that nature are always there.”
In January 2008, the scales hit nearly 300 pounds, but then an epiphany.
“The starting point was I need to get healthy. I wanted to be here in my family,” Tom said. “The little curve ball thrown in there was my brother-in-law’s passing; that fired me to where I needed to get, to really put it in overdrive and accomplish the goals I had set.”
His goal: to drop 100 pounds by his daughter’s next birthday, a mere six months away.
“It didn’t change overnight. I didn’t go from a 20-ounce steak to broccoli,” he said. “Every day, I moved a little bit more and ate a little bit less.”
Tom managed to drop the weight–and keep it off. He weighs 162 pounds today–40 percent less than what he did two years ago.
“That was a big fear of mine. So many of my friends, my neighbors have too lost that much weight,” he said. “But keeping it off is a challenge. This isn’t a diet. It’s a change in lifestyle.”
As for his meals, he’s adopted an 80-20 rule. Eighty percent of what he eats is healthy, 20 percent are indulgences.
Health experts say if you want to make weight loss your resolution, it all starts with a few simple steps.
You need to plan, stay active and eat, said Tara Harwood, registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic.
“A lot of mistakes people make is the all-or-nothing attitude,” she said. “They start to, then, cut certain foods. You don’t necessarily need to cut any foods from your diet, it’s just about what foods you should be eating more of and what you should be eating less of.”
Harwood suggests people eat more dairy, vegetables and fiber to help stay fit.
To maintain his weight, Tom stays active with his two young children and he walks four miles a day.
“Never been happier, never been healthier,” he said. “Now, I can live a long, healthy life.”
Through the loss of a loved one, Tom’s lived the possibilities, hoping others will too.
“I realize I was killing myself slowly with cheeseburgers, donuts and pizzas,” he said. “I had a choice. He didn’t have a choice. It kind of hit me into fifth gear, and I was like, I can make a difference here. He’ll always be my hero.”
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