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With summer about here, many of us - maybe most of us - wouldn't mind losing a few pounds around the middle.
How about more than 100?
That's what Herman and Sherman Smith set out to do two years ago.
Today the 24-year-old twins from New Orleans have lost a combined 215 pounds eating Subway turkey sandwiches and exercising. In doing so, they've parlayed their triple-digit slim down into a celeb career as corporate cheerleaders.
Not bad for a former auto mechanic and car detailer who endured ribbings at school for being fat.
THE TWINS were in Hyde Park this week promoting the HeartSmart Weight-Loss Challenge sponsored by Lifestyle Family Fitness and Subway. Whoever loses the most weight over 12 weeks will win $5,000 and a two-night stay at the Sirata Beach Resort in St. Pete Beach.
Anyone can take part. Just head to an area Lifestyle gym and step on a scale. A trainer will take your picture and, less fun, measure your fat.
Registration ends June 30. The biggest loser will be awarded Sept. 25.
Since dropping the weight, the Smith brothers have become official spokesmen for Subway, traveling around the country telling their story. Their second commercial began airing Monday, and they recently finished taping a segment for an upcoming Montel Williams Show.
They haven't always been health and fitness fanatics. In fact, just the opposite. The twins, who have 10 siblings, come from a family of big eaters.
RED BEANS, smoked sausage and fried chicken graced every dinner table. They inhaled 17-inch roast beef subs with extra gravy like they were Tic Tacs. A typical lunch: two Burger King Whopper meals.
They decided to change their gluttonous ways after their mother's doctor told her she would die at an early age unless she lost weight. They didn't want the same prognosis and vowed to get on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet.
They stumbled upon Subway after forgetting to bring lunch to their former jobs at a car dealership. They scanned the nutritional guide and ordered a footlong turkey sub on wheat - minus the cheese and mayo. At 560 calories, they could have one for lunch and another for dinner.
The twins lived off Subway and cereal breakfasts for seven months. Between the two of them, that's about 840 feet in sandwiches.
Nowadays they eat plenty of salad, grilled chicken and egg white omelettes. No desserts. No pop. No jambalaya.
Somehow, they don't crave it anymore. Except maybe the french fries and strawberry cheesecake.
They exercise almost daily, switching up the routine to give different muscles a break. The results are easy to measure. Sherman went from 300 pounds to 185. Herman dropped from 290 to 190. Even their feet shrank a few sizes.
Losing the weight has changed their outlook. They have more energy and feel better about themselves. They choose what they eat, knowing that if they want to splurge on a steak they'll work it off in the gym.
"We don't say it's cheating," Herman said. "We've earned it."
They tell people to get to the gym for exercise and, naturally, to Subway for nutrition. No one's looking at your love handles, they assure. And if they are, who cares? Bathing suit season is here.
THE LAST DROP: The summer outdoor music series starts Wednesday at Old Hyde Park Village. Put on your favorite new summer fashions and grab your dog. The beer will be cold and the crowd warm.
- Susan Thurston can be reached at 226-3394 or thurston@sptimes.com