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I Lost It: 'My Technique Is Simply To Keep Moving'

Photos courtesy of BILL CRAVEN

Bill Craven's technique is easy: Keep moving, whether it's walking, riding a bike, or drinking another glass of water.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 22, 2008

Bill Craven, 72, Zephyrhills

Starting Weight: 225

Current Weight: 185

Why I did it: Weight-loss-wise, I was a three-time loser. I gained a pound for every year of my life since college, going from 175 to 225 from 1957 to 2007.

During those years, attempts to lose weight failed. Diet milkshakes worked for a month. I took off 30 pounds, but gained it all back the next month. A vigorous five-month exercise program felt great, but my small fat loss was replaced by only a small muscular gain. Seven years ago, when I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and began sleeping with breathing equipment. I gained new energy and increased my exercising, but lost no weight. I became convinced that I would not be able to lose.

I resolved in fall 2007 to lose weight. At age 71, I was huffing and puffing on short walks; my feet and back and neck hurt when I jogged. I was unable to tie my shoelaces without some kind of body support. A class reunion group picture was the final straw. I was shocked. Yet, my resolve to change did not turn into action for another five months.

I was introduced to the Take Pounds Off Sensibly (TOPS) program by neighbors earlier this year. They were doing a good walking program around the neighborhood and I envied their discipline. I accepted their invitation to attend a meeting, and that turned out to be a very important step to bettering my life.

How I did it: Shortly before my friends invited me to TOPS, I weighed myself at 225 and was moving up to size 46 pants. I started starving myself that day with a 10-days-to-lose-10-pounds "cabbage soup" diet. I hated the idea of a starvation diet. I knew it wouldn't work. I weighed in at TOPS a week later at 222.

TOPS took a different approach. Don't diet. Change your life and plan your own food program. Figure out what will work for you. And that's what I did. In the next 5 1/2 months, I lost 40 pounds.

I began with a "cabbage soup" that contains as many vegetables as you want to put in, is very easily made, and is tasty and filling. I made 12 quarts at a time and usually lasted a week. The first week that was all I ate, but I supplemented it with one lean meat dish, one potato, and lots of fruit, salads and water, water, water.

This became the core of a low-calorie program of 1,600 to 1,800 calories a day. The soup was so good it was my snack of choice when hungry. I progressed to regular cereal and coffee breakfasts, soup lunches and snacks and healthy dinners.

Hurdles: Temptations to overeat abound, whether you snack too much, say yes to too many desserts, buy that high-calorie food or let non-food frustrations be satisfied by an eating frenzy. My technique is simply to keep moving. Do something: take a walk, fix a bike, talk to a friend or have another glass of water.

Going the distance: My last real cooking experience was the day my wife and first child came home from the birthing center 54 years ago. I now enjoy shopping with my wife and appreciate the extent to which she has been picking healthy foods for us.

Thanks to TOPS, my pants are a size 38, not 46; I don't take anti-cholesterol meds; I have a new wardrobe; my wife tells me how proud she is of me; and I walk and bike instead of huffing and puffing. I guess I'd better stick to it.

Best advice: TOPS has been important to my success because it introduced healthy living routines and good food choices, and covered the stumbling blocks and successes of others who are in a long-term process requiring serious commitment.

Keyword: Lost It, to tell us about a weight-loss plan that works for you. Or send your story to mshedden@tampatrib.com or Mary Shedden, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa FL 33606.

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