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'Stay Consistent And Keep Focused'

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 1, 2007

Tony Gillman, 51, Odessa

Height: 5-foot-9

Starting weight: 323 pounds

Current weight: 173 pounds

Why I did it: When I joined Weight Watchers on March 7, 2006, I had many reasons to want to lose weight. I had borderline high blood pressure, suffered from sleep apnea and could not walk up a flight of stairs without becoming winded.

I'd also received a letter from my daughter on behalf of my entire family saying I needed to do something; everyone loved me and no one wanted to see me die early.

I've essentially been on a diet all my life without much success. I'm also involved in a men's group at my church, and we had to put personal objectives together. One of my objectives was to lose some weight.

And, being an avid basketball player many years ago, I missed playing in the annual father-son basketball game at my 13-year-old son's school — and the games of his older brother before him. As the date for the game approached, my son avoided the subject. While he may have been embarrassed of me, it was more likely that he wanted to spare me the shame of having to decline because of my weight.

How I did it: I was on the Weight Watchers Core Program. Traditionally, most people think you count points on Weight Watchers. I felt that would be hard to do. I'm not the type to really measure out what I eat or care too much.

With the core plan, there are foods I don't have to measure. It's not so much that you can eat all you want — you can eat until you're satisfied.

I ate foods like whole-wheat pasta, potatoes and lean meat. I didn't eat fruits and vegetables before, but now I eat them all the time, because I can eat pretty much all I want. I had 35 additional points for the week to eat noncore foods, including low-fat bread.

I certainly gave some things up. I haven't had a piece of pizza since I started. I gave up any sort of sweet things and replaced them with low-fat sweet things, such as low-fat frozen yogurt.

I was pretty faithful when it came to exercise. I probably worked out 35 to 45 minutes once a day. I did a little strength training with my son, but I worried I would gain weight. But now I would like to work out more with weights.

Hurdles: I hit some plateaus. I found it pretty easy to lose for probably about 40 to 50 pounds. Then I was still sort of losing, but it seemed to be harder, and I had to work out more.

I talked with my leader, and she suggested upping my workouts a little bit.

I was going to my hometown in Indiana, and I hadn't been home for a while. I decided to lose 100 pounds before I went home, and I probably needed to lose 35 to 30 more pounds.

I started running extra in the morning before work. I remember the first week, I gained, and that was frustrating. But I ended up losing 99.8 pounds on my last Weight Watchers weigh-in before I went home.

Going the distance: With Weight Watchers, you set goal weight. I set it at 175, and I'm a little under that.

My weight loss also corrected my sleep apnea and lowered my blood pressure. My Weight Watchers partner — my wife, Micki — also lost weight and is now a lifetime member. Weight Watchers not only got me back in the basketball game but also got me back in the game of life. I now have a much better chance of still being around to walk my daughter down the aisle at her wedding.

I'm thinking about trying to lose more weight and put back on a little more muscle through weight training. I'm not actively trying to lose weight right now because I'm on the maintenance plan on Weight Watchers. That was a big event.

I have to maintain for six weeks, and then I'll become a lifetime member.

Best advice: Do some form of exercise, even if in the beginning it's not strenuous, and make that a priority over work, and family, too. I tended to think my time at the Y was spent away from my family, which it was, but my family certainly was supportive.

Stay consistent and keep focused even when the weight loss doesn't appear to be as rapid. Keep doing what you're doing, whether it is exercise or a reduced calorie intake.

I think my problem often was I'd reach a plateau, get discouraged and put the weight on. Don't stop doing what you were doing that helped you lose weight before.

I certainly recommend Weight Watchers. I think it was essential to my weight loss.

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