Meet Tom Slater, a
Weight-Loss
Challenge success
story



 
By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

 
For years, Tom Slater, 42, of Olmsted Falls, Ohio,
had a long list of excuses for why he didn't lose
weight and get in shape.

He felt he had no time to exercise because his job
required a lot of traveling. His knee hurt from an
 
injury he got while playing volleyball in college.
And he didn't want to give up his diet of
cheeseburgers, fries, pizza, cookies and doughnuts.
"My excuses were almost a death sentence of
circumstances," he says.

Then, in January 2008, the scales hit 288 pounds. A
few months later, his brother-in-law died from a
rare form of cancer at age 37.

Slater had an epiphany: He realized that life was
short and that he was killing himself with
cheeseburgers and fries. He decided that if he
wanted to be around for his wife and kids, he
needed to give up his excuses and change his ways.

So he cleaned up his diet and started exercising. At
5-foot-10, he now weighs 162 pounds.

Slater is one of the readers who volunteered to
share his story as part of USA TODAY's annual
Weight-Loss Challenge, which launches Monday.
This year's theme: No excuses. Stories about other
readers who have slimmed down will be featured
every week for the next seven weeks.

To lose the extra pounds and to continue to keep
them off, Slater limits himself to 2,000 to 2,500
calories a day, following an 80-20 rule: About 80%
of the time he eats healthful foods such as fruits,
vegetables, oatmeal, whole grains, chicken and
turkey, and about 20% of the time he eats foods he
craves such as cookies and doughnuts. "If I hadn't
done that, I never would have stuck with this."

At the peak of his weight loss, Slater was biking 20
miles a day. Now, he walks briskly about 4 miles a
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After: Tom Slater now weighs 162 pounds.
 
day with his dogs — once in the morning and once
in the evening. His wife, Stacey, comes along for the
second walk and lifts weights with him for about 15
minutes daily.

Before Slater trimmed down, his body fat was 54%
and he was on medications for high cholesterol.
Plus, he had high blood pressure. Now his body fat
is 12%. He's no longer on cholesterol medications,
and his blood pressure is normal.

When people ask him for advice on losing weight,
he tells them: "If you eat less and move more, you
will lose weight.

"I don't know how much less you need to eat and
how much more you need to move. It's a different
equation for everybody. But if you do those two
things, you'll be successful."

 
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