EATING LIKE A HORSE

As a little kid, Roger loved to order a hamburger, French fries and an extra-thick chocolate frost malt from his favorite restaurant. Every Saturday night, Roger’s dad would bring him a burger. Roger was athletic when he was young so he managed to stay slim, but later he started putting on weight in high school. 

He left for college and married Anita. With a less active lifestyle, Roger began putting on weight. “I still ate like a horse, but didn’t exercise,” says Roger. Within two years, he gained 100 pounds, steadily gaining weight until he weighed 425 pounds. “My waist was 62 inches, making it a 5’ 2” waistline!” says Roger. “I was like that for 30 years.”

After trying every diet, Roger was frustrated. He would starve himself all day and then start eating at 4 pm. “I would start eating and then not stop until I went to bed,” says Roger. He ate everything imagineable: hot dogs, tacos, nachos with cheese, fries, milk shakes, subs, fried chicken, cheesecake, ice cream and cashews. 

When he finally outgrew the big men’s store, Roger sat home on his bed. He was financially stable and retired at the age of 41. Tears rolled down his face. He cried out, “Father, I don’t want to be here anymore. My family is taken care of; just let me come home.” Soon after that moment, Roger’s son, Ty, put some grapes in the freezer. Roger, then 50, started eating the grapes at night while watching TV. “I ate them until my mouth was numb from being cold,” says Roger. 

With nothing else changing in his diet, Roger says he began losing weight. Three weeks later, his clothes were loose. “I did nothing else except eat grapes,” he says. Then he started waking up in the middle of the night. “The message came to me that I can literally eat all the fresh fruit and unprocessed starchy carbs and still lose weight,” says Roger.

He started experimenting with different eating patterns. After two years, Roger lost 230 pounds and has kept it off ever since. “As I started losing weight, Anita thought there was something wrong with me,” says Roger. The doctor told him he was one of the healthiest patients he ever examined. Previously plagued with high blood pressure, acid reflux and a host of other physical problems, Roger’s physical problems went away with his weight loss. 

7 STRATEGIES THAT WORKED

Roger says he changed the foods he ate and also adjusted the way he ate those foods. 

Lean meat: use extra-lean burger, ground turkey or chicken.

Eat more fish: grilled, broiled, baked or blackened. 

De-lettuce the salad. Use more beans and other vegetables like onions, green peppers, peas and corn.

Make veggies interesting. Eat all the veggies you want and still lose weight.

Find a favorite meal. “I ate a lot of chicken and three-bean salad and lost weight,” says Roger.

Eat veggie omelets. Roger ate lots of omelets without cheese. Add onions, tomatoes, green peppers and salsa.

Switch to skim milk instead of cream in coffee. Over time you will get used to the lighter taste.

Roger says there there were key concepts that came into focus for him as he created a weight-loss plan. 

Secret #1: You must eat fruit every day. Eating fruit helps kick the addiction to sweets, candy and desserts. 

Secret #2: Make lunch your biggest meal. Have your main protein-rich meal at lunch.

Secret #3: Choose the least fattening option that tastes good to you.