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Working hard at getting in shape

By CAMILLE C. SPENCER
Published June 9, 2007

Chris Hart lifts weights at the YMCA in New Port Richey after a nonstop workout on the elliptical trainer that normally lasts one hour. Hart weighed 550 lbs. when he started going to the YMCA two years ago. Now, he's lost 200 lbs.
	[Times photo: Brendan Fitterer]

NEW PORT RICHEY - The 13 steps at his house seemed like a mountain. Chris Hart had to pause midway to catch his breath.

In public, kids pointed at Hart, calling him fat. Even a family trip to Busch Gardens a few years back posed a problem.

At 550 pounds, Hart was too big to get on the rides.

"My kid wants to ride a ride, and I can't go with him, " said Hart, 46. "It's embarrassing."

So Hart started working out at the SunTrust Branch YMCA in New Port Richey. He traded time spent at the all-you-can-eat buffet for hours on the elliptical trainer.

His hard work paid off. He's lost 210 pounds in the past two years.

Now he's on track to become a personal trainer. He wants to show people how to balance working out with eating to live, not living to eat.

"You run into uneasy times, and instead of going to the bottle, you go to Burger King, " he said. "But food has got to be looked at as fuel for the body. That's the difficult part."

* * *

Growing up in Takoma Park, Md., Hart was an average-sized boy for a few years. He grew chubby during elementary school.

"At age 7, I started to eat more often. Nothing in particular. I don't want to say I used food, but it was my friend."

His parents, a funeral director and an accountant, urged him to lose weight. So did his doctor.

But by high school, Hart swelled to 240 pounds. He got down to 195 pounds before enlisting in the U.S. Navy when he was 17.

Eventually, though, he gained it all back.

"It becomes habitual, " he said. "You grab a sub instead of getting ticked off about something. I don't think it's a conscious thing, but I never met a sub that talked back to me, or a pizza that gave me a hard time."

Hart married his wife, Irene, in 1981. Affordable housing drew them to Florida six years later. The couple had two children.

Hart's eating habits worsened. He didn't have a picky palate. Two-pound steaks. Burgers. Chicken wings.

By the time he reached 550 pounds, he could buy clothes only at big and tall stores. He couldn't fit into armchairs.

He tried diets: Atkins. Weight Watchers. Cabbage and grapefruit diets. They didn't work. His old eating habits crept back in.

In 2004, Hart's doctor diagnosed him with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. The doctor said he was going to die soon if he kept eating the way he was. Hart was 44.

"I call it the little button, " Hart said. "If you can find that button and push it, you wake up at some point in time, whether it's the stark realization that you're officially 3 inches wider than you are tall, or that you can't walk up a flight of stairs."

Hart feared gastric bypass surgery. He didn't want to go under the knife. He heard it could cause gallbladder problems.

But he knew he had to do something about his weight.

A trip to the YMCA helped him figure out what.

* * *

Hart's daughter is a child care worker at the YMCA. One day, when Hart stopped by to pick her up, he glanced around the gym.

Hart was drawn to the quiet atmosphere. Unlike other gyms he'd been to, there wasn't an abundance of already-fit people to intimidate a beginner like himself.

"It was in the back of my head that if I was going to do it, that was the place, " he said.

Hart jump-started his exercise plan in January 2005. He went on a 21-day, liquid-only fast.

His first workout was Jan. 1. He lasted only five minutes on the elliptical trainer.

Hart kept trying, increasing his time on the machine during each visit. Now he stays on for three hours.

He rides his mountain bike a mile from home to the gym every day. For about three hours a day, Hart, a stay-at-home dad, swims, bikes and lifts weights.

Hart eats only canned foods. That way he can count the calories.

He stays away from steamed veggies. He's tempted to douse them with butter.

His diet consists of protein drinks for breakfast, nothing for lunch and tuna mixed with diced tomatoes for dinner. While dietitians don't encourage skipping meals, Hart says his diet plan works for him.

Hart's dedication to a healthier lifestyle also motivated others.

His childhood friend Chris Ostrowski was also overweight. In August, he tipped the scales at 433 pounds.

So Hart asked Ostrowski to come to the gym with him. Since last fall, Ostrowski has lost 80 pounds.

"This is the meeting place now, as opposed to Dunkin Donuts, " Ostroswki said, laughing. "He (Hart) got me going. You can see people on TV all the time saying they lost weight, but having someone you know do it is tangible."

Officials at the gym asked Hart to take a job at the front desk.

Now he plans to start taking classes to become one of the gym's 12 personal trainers.

"He is really committed to being healthy, and wants to give back, " said Bernadette O'Keefe, program executive at the YMCA. "I am really in awe of the work and dedication he has put into getting his life back."

Now, Hart is diabetes-free. His cholesterol is normal. He proudly shows off the muscle tone in his arms and legs.

In his fanny pack, Hart keeps photos of himself at his heaviest. They remind him of how far he's come.

And how far he has yet to go. He wants to drop another 140 pounds to reach his target weight of 200 pounds.

"My goal, " he said, "is at 50, to be in better shape than I was at 20."

Slimming down

Chris Hart's eating habits and clothing sizes have changed drastically since he began losing weight two years ago. Here's a before-and-after look at his life:

Editor's note: Consult your doctor before changing your diet.

[Last modified June 9, 2007, 10:17:18]