Written by Alison Johnson
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+ Tammy Clark, Lost 125 lbs
“Baby steps have taken me further than I ever thought they would.”
A year after the amputation, the King William County resident enrolled in a 10-week weight and health management program at the Zacharias Ganey Health Institute in Richmond, which included individual nutritional counseling and personal training. Then in a wheelchair, Clark began riding a bicycle-like exercise machine with one leg and working with weights. Once she got a prosthetic water leg a few months later, she signed up for water aerobics and swam laps with support from a foam noodle.
Over the next year, Clark, 48, lost more than 125 pounds, moving from self-doubt to self-pride to counseling other amputees who want to get healthier. “Now I think, ‘I’m alive, and even if I might not do things they way other people do, I can still do them,’” she says. “Some things are out of my control, but there are a lot of things that are under my control that I can do to make my life better.”
Clark eats plenty of fruits, vegetables and proteins such as chicken, hard-boiled eggs and beans, limits carbohydrates and exercises at least three or four days a week, mainly in the water. She walks with a prosthetic leg but would like to get a specialized running foot and compete in a 10K, a distance target that would be longer but for her struggles with lupus. “That’s one piece of advice I’d have: don’t set unrealistic goals,” she says. “I think you give up more quickly. People always want things too fast. I had to learn to be patient. Take baby steps. They’ve taken me further than I ever thought they would.”
Clark’s husband, Troy, and 28-year-old son, Gary, are beyond proud. Friends she hasn’t seen in a few years don’t recognize her until they hear her voice, and strangers react very differently. “When you’re so heavy, people look at you like, ‘Gosh, all she does is sit around and eat,’” Clark says. “It made me feel awful, even though my weight was really linked to not being able to move.”
While Clark is still on disability, she has much less joint pain and no longer takes any medications to control her blood sugar; she once needed up to six insulin injections daily. As she continues to drop pounds, she hopes to have surgery to remove six inches of extra skin from her arms. She also hopes her story can inspire others, no matter what their overall health, and has organized a monthly support group for Richmond-area amputees. “If I can do this with one leg, anyone can do something great
for their body, too,” she says. “No one should ever give up.”
+ Kelly French, Lost 60 lbs
“Weight can really creep up on you, and you don’t know how bad it is for you until it’s not there anymore.”
Through a complete diet overhaul, French, a 47-year-old Williamsburg resident, has shed at least 60 pounds since last winter and hopes to lose about 50 more. Down from a high of 325 pounds on his 6-foot-2-inch frame, he is happiest about having the energy to play sports with his three sons ages 20, 17 and 15 ride his motorcycle longer and fit easily into amusement park roller coasters. “One time I couldn’t get on a ride, and that made me feel awful,” he says. “You feel like everyone is staring and judging. It’s wrong, but the world does judge on appearance.”
For French, Chief Estimator at the Roofing & Remodeling Company in Hampton, cutting carbohydrates and sugar has been the key to success. One strategy for the former chips-and-cookies fanatic: look at those substances as harmful and addictive drugs. “I don’t want to use them at all, because once I start it’s very hard for me to control myself,” he says. Instead, French eats mainly lean meats and cheeses with a few vegetables thrown in (he avoids fruit, which is high in natural sugars).
Realizing that he can’t exercise his way to an ideal weight, French no longer uses food as a reward after workouts. He swims for about 30 minutes two or three days a week, lifts some weights and plays weekly racquetball games with his 15-year-old son, who is rehabbing from knee surgery. French hopes his knees, long stressed by his extra weight, will soon feel strong enough for him to start running.
One major highlight was a recent family trip to Kings Dominion, where French enjoyed thrill rides all day long with no worries about weight limits. “I just have a much better self-image and a more positive attitude, and I’m not tired all the time,” he says. “Weight can really creep up on you, and you don’t know how bad it is for you until it’s not there anymore.”
No third strikes, for sure.
+ Rodney Reid, Lost 160 lbs
“Going into this, I had heard horror stories about people who have surgery, lose all this weight and then gain it all back later. That was not going to be me.”
Reid knew he needed professional help, and he wasn’t too proud to ask for it. Turning to the Center for Weight Loss Success in Newport News, he chose a laparoscopic surgery that drastically reduced the size of his stomach. Since that operation on Sept. 6, 2011, the 46-year-old Newport News resident has shed more than 150 pounds from his 5-foot-7-inch frame, reaching the weight he was at his high school graduation. The surgery, he stresses, was just one tool; the rest was plain hard work.
“Going into this, I had heard horror stories about people who have surgery, lose all this weight and then gain it all back later,” says Reid, a forklift operator at Costco. “That was not going to be me. While the weight might have fallen off quickly at first, it’s been up to me to keep
it going.”
Reid’s worst habit was not eating for long stretches of time, sometimes nine or 10 hours, and then downing huge portions after work. He now snacks regularly on fruit, small packages of nuts and protein shakes; he also carries a water bottle to avoid soda. He exercises five days a week, usually running on a treadmill for at least 30 minutes and weightlifting to further trim his body fat percentage.
While never too depressed or limited in his activities before, Reid, who is single, feels 20 years younger in terms of energy. “If I had a day off, a lot of times I wouldn’t feel like going anywhere or doing anything,” he says. “Now I always want to get out of the house. I’d love to travel—the tropics are calling.” His blood sugar levels, once borderline diabetic, are back to normal, and he’s weaning off blood pressure medication. Little things feel good too, like fitting easily into restaurant booths. And he’s happy that his loved ones, including his nephews and godsons, no longer have to worry when they look at him.
He’s back to being the healthy kind of big guy.
+ MORE STORIES OF SUCCESS :
John Greene, 38
Volunteer Fire Chief
City: Chesterfield
Weight lost: 130 lbs.
Method: Lap-Band surgery at Bon Secours Center for Bariatric Excellence
Top tip: Weight loss surgery is not enough. You have to change your lifestyle – that means you have to exercise and eat right too.
“Last year I decided to rescue myself and get control of my health and weight. The odds of me dying because of health issues were far greater than the odds of getting injured or dying going into a burning building.”
Tammy Miles, 54
senior project manager at Riverside Health System
City: Newport News
Weight lost: 51 lbs.
Method: Low-carb diet and regular exercise, with guidance from the Center for Weight Loss Success
Top tip: Don’t focus on what you “can’t” have, but on what you “can” have. Also, tell a friend what you’re doing so he or she can hold you accountable.
“The bottom line is you have to decide you want to lose weight. I didn’t ‘go on a diet,’ I made a lifestyle change. I feel better eating the way I do now, so I want to continue that. I do allow myself to ‘taste’ foods that I did not eat while losing that weight. But in reality, I don’t want those foods anymore.”
Genna Robinson, 10
5th grader
City: Virginia Beach
Weight lost: About 10 lbs.; body mass index also has dropped by two points
Method: Eating more fruits and vegetables and limiting unhealthy snacks such as cookies; exercising, including going to the YMCA with her mom and playing on a travel softball team
Top tip: Don’t let being healthy change your life to the point that you don’t enjoy it. Just change the way you eat and exercise.
“Don’t ever doubt yourself and think you can’t be healthy, because you can. It has made me more confident in myself because eating healthy and knowing I’m healthy makes me feel better. I know I can do more things because I’m healthy.”
Courtney Zawisa, 33
realtor
City: Virginia Beach
Weight lost: 30 lbs.
Method: Competing in her gym’s 100-day weight loss challenge, (she won a $1,000 prize), working with gym trainers in a small group setting, exercising at least an hour a day, cutting out processed foods and sodas
Top tip: Commit to making a long-term lifestyle change: make exercise a daily habit, starting with short walks if needed, and find small, easy changes you can make such as wrapping sandwiches in lettuce instead of bread.
“Get support. Don’t try to do it alone. I won $1,000 and I can’t gain the weight back because everyone at my gym is looking at me. I once overheard people in the locker room saying I’d probably just gain the weight back. I don’t think they were being ugly, but at that moment, I knew: that will never happen.”
Bob Rose, 65
systems analyst at Computer Sciences Corp.
City: Petersburg
Weight lost: 51 lbs.
Method: Aerobic and cardiovascular workouts, diet emphasizing protein/fiber and limiting sugar/carbohydrates, education at the Zacharias Ganey Health Institute in Richmond
Top tip: It helps to understand the “whys” of a healthy lifestyle – the positive and negative effects of exercise and proper eating on various organs and the metabolic process.
“Get your mind right first. Don’t get focused on losing weight. Know that it is a journey to improve your overall health. The proper physical fitness and nutrition regimen will result in the desired weight loss over time.”
D. Brian Cummings, 46
planning & research division manager for a police department
City: Richmond
Weight lost: 50 lbs.
Method: Gradually went vegetarian, reduced dietary sugar and drank lots of water. Ran and did light strength training at least twice a week
Top tip: Take personal responsibility for your health. Follow evidence-based wellness—the best practices proven to most effectively to lose weight, improve health, and keep the body young.
“I continued to always remember and keep in the forefront of my thoughts the mantra ‘Only I can control it.'”