Aurora man wins the battle of the bulge

At 262 pounds, Tom Herget had become a mound of a man - a realization that finally hit him halfway across the world.

While on a business trip in Japan last winter, the hefty Herget just couldn't get comfortable in his restaurant chair. Problem was, there was too much of him and not enough chair.

Adding insult to embarrassment, a couple of waitresses began giggling. At him.

"Probably not the first time they'd seen an overweight American tourist," said Herget, "but at that point, it became personal for me."

So Herget did something about it.

"I looked in the mirror," he said, "and decided I only needed one chin."

Thus began a five-month foray into a world he hadn't known since college.

Hoping to someday revisit those days when he weighed 190 pounds, Herget pushed himself away from the table and into the Vaughan Athletic Center.

His transformation has been enlightening. Herget has taken a load off - and then some. Last month, he tipped the scale at 199 pounds - a feat he celebrated with five witnesses who signed documentation as proof.

His wallet has been as big a benefactor as his health. Herget used to spend upward of $500 per month on prescription medications to deal with complications from excessive weight. Now he spends nary a penny at the pharmacy.

That's a side effect he can live with. At age 58, today he feels "like I did when I was 25."

He has the same energy when he hits the Vaughan Center seven days a week. Between tennis, running, basketball, weightlifting and bicycling, Herget has converted to an exercise aficionado.

"Like a good friend, the Vaughan Center is always there for me," said Herget. "And the camaraderie I developed with many of the members made it easy and enjoyable for me to work out every day.

"Working out at the Vaughan Center gave me confidence in my commitment. With the support of staff and fellow members, I knew I'd be able to finish every program I started."

It's not as though Herget was on a pizza and burger binge all his life (though he did enjoy the occasional milkshake). As a traveling business man, that meant lots of dinner meetings and fancy restaurant meals; nothing earth-shattering, but it amounted to a modest weight gain of two to three pounds per year.

Do the math over 25 years and the number can get, well, bloated. Hence, the 262 that stared back at him from the scale. All that on a towering, 5-foot-9 frame.

His four keys to success? Exercise, nutrition, spreadsheets and commitment. Nutritionally, it's been "like Lent lasting all year," but he's actually grown accustomed (and leaner) to filling his plate with fruits, vegetables and low-fat protein. Like a food accountant, he lists on a spreadsheet what he eats each day, what type of exercises he performed and charts his weight loss and measurements each week.

He declared victory last week when the scale read 199, but don't expect him to order a large pepperoni pizza in celebration.

"Now that I've taken the weight off, I plan to keep it off," Herget said. "I have no desire to reunite with the old me."

With a hop in his step and a gleam in his eye, Herget is living the high life these days thanks to his lifestyle change.

"I may not have a six-pack stomach yet, but at least I don't have the keg I used to have," Herget said. "Once you select your rationale for doing this, don't lose sight of it. For me, it's living a longer, healthier, more enjoyable life."

Jeff Long is the public relations manager for the Fox Valley Park District. Contact him at jlong@fvpd.net. For information on becoming a member at the Vaughan Athletic Center, call (630) 907-9600.