Jim Stone, 53, an engineer in Madison, Ala., has sobering reasons for both his weight gain and loss.
He put on 50 pounds about 20 years ago while going through chemotherapy and radiation treatments for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is now in remission. He also gained weight when his first wife, Melanie, died of colon cancer a few years ago.
He had not made any serious attempts to lose weight. But this fall he noticed that many of his family members, friends and co-workers in their 60s and 70s were having health problems because of their extra pounds. "I realized I was closing in on retirement and I didn't want to face the same situation," Stone says.
So he volunteered to give USA TODAY's weight-loss plan a try and has lost 50 pounds since late September. At 6-foot-1, he now weighs 232 pounds, down from 282.
This year's seventh annual challenge seeks to help people lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks and put them on the road to a healthier weight. Stories about readers who have trimmed down are being featured every Monday through early March in the newspaper and at dietchallenge.usatoday.com.
What Stone likes about the plan is that it includes options for eating at fast-food places and other restaurants because he dines out frequently.
Now when he goes to Wendy's, he often has a small chili and baked potato; at Taco Bell, he chooses a beef or chicken taco with a garden salad with salsa as the dressing.
Stone also took the walking quiz designed for the program (at dietchallenge.usatoday.com) and started walking at least 20 minutes a day. That inspired him to go back to the gym and start intensive weight training and working out on the elliptical and treadmill. He has been gung-ho when it comes to exercise, working out 1 1/2 hours most days. That has helped him tone up and preserve and build muscle.
He also joined Weight Watchers for more accountability and education. His second wife, Debbie, also started going to the meetings and has lost 15 pounds, reaching her goal weight.
"I am learning to eat the foods I like in the right amounts," Stone says. "Tracking what I eat is important. A lot of times when I think about eating something, I pull out my tracker and think, 'I really don't want to write this down.' "
He says he would have tried to slim down years ago if he had known it would be relatively easy by making healthful choices.
"My eating habits have changed," he says. "I've been able to downsize my portions so that I'm no longer overeating, and I keep healthier snack food around for the times I want to graze."
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