Weight Loss: Health Story

Aired on Superstation WGN
Saturday, June 4 and September 24, 2005

Show 215

"I gained weight steadily in my twenties and I was 300 pounds when I quit smoking. Once you get past a certain weight, your whole world changes because you're not part of it," says Rick Salewske who weighed 500 pounds and was under forty years old when he sought help at the Cooper Aerobics Center. More than half of Americans are overweight. "When I came to Cooper, I started working with a dietician and a trainer. There is no magic pill. It's about realizing what you have to do and getting on a good program. If you take in less calories and burn more calories than you're going to lose weight. Start slowly, eat healthy food and start walking. Your mind will take over. It's just a matter of time. Think of life like this: If you fall down, you get back up. The more you try, the more success you will have," says Rick who has successfully lost weight through diet and exercise.