Bill before and after

Spudly to Studly
by Bill Volckening

Watching TV isn't usually an activity associated with dramatic weight loss, but with the help of Cooking Thin, I went from 265 pounds and a size 42 waist down to 195 pounds and a size 34 waist.

I had gained a whole lot of weight because I was in a stressful, low paying job and an unhappy living situation. I was overeating for pleasure and stress relief. Unhealthy food choices and a lifestyle that didn't include exercise resulted in a 70 lb. weight gain and all the accompanying signs of poor health in less than three years.

Building an All-You-Can-Eat Wardrobe Takes Work
Although I enjoyed cooking at home, I chose to eat out most of the time. I'd convinced myself that I didn't have enough time to cook and clean every night. I'd go straight from work to a restaurant and bring my work with me just to "prove" to myself I was "forced" to live this way.

The local diner was the place to be every morning. I pretty much ate everything in sight: cheese omelets, pancakes swimming in butter and syrup, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, southern biscuits with sausage and gravy, butter-soaked toast with jelly, orange juice and a bottomless cup of coffee, with cream and sugar. My typical breakfast could easily exceed 2000 calories.

I tried to keep lunch "healthy" so I usually hit a salad bar. Meals started out innocently enough; a plate of salad with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and no oil. Never enough to satisfy a working man, I'd move onto the all-you-can-eat Fettuccini Alfredo, pizza, bread and soup. Baked potatoes called for sour cream, cheese, and bacon. Dessert was usually a frozen yogurt brownie sundae.

Brew pubs are on every street corner where I live. Dinner and an icy cold glass of beer in a casual atmosphere after a long, hard day at work was how I'd unwind. I ordered anything I wanted; creamy chowders, half-pound burgers dripping with melted cheese, mounds of greasy fries and a beer or two to wash it all down. By the end of the day, I'd sometimes consumed over 6000 calories. I was eating three days worth of food in one.

Bill's Top Ten High Impact Flavor Ingredients Crushed toasted coriander seed Lime juice Fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley Rice vinegar (unseasoned) Crushed toasted cumin seed Orange zest Fresh basil Dried Ancho chiles Fresh cilantro Ground whole nutmeg Bill's Breakfast of Champions 1/2 cup bran cereal with 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla soy milk, fresh fruit, and espresso with lemon peel Bill's Favorite Take-To-Work Lunch Curried chicken salad sandwich on whole grain bread with a granny smith apple Bill's Favorite Afternoon Snack Salmon jerky Kathleen's Favorite Afternoon Snack (cuz who can find Salmon Jerky!) Leftover veggies or salad from the night before or a slice of whole wheat toast with a Tablespoon of peanut butter and half a banana or a 1/2 cup of sweet California Grapes and a few Black Walnuts Bill's Favorite In-A-Hurry-Dinner Oven Roasted Salmon with Fennel Salad

A Penny Saved, A Pound Earned
I was convinced I was saving money by eating out. Unfortunately any money leftover at the end of the month was spent on wardrobe necessities; larger sized everything. I went from a size 34" waist to a size 42".

Eventually, I decided to make some changes. At first, it was mostly guesswork. There are so many conflicting ideas about nutrition. The majority of the ideas I came across were based in scientific rhetoric. I didn't need theories about ratios of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. I needed basic information about where to go in the supermarket and what to do in the kitchen.

Environmentally Friendly
Along the way, I discovered other things needed to change, too. Maintaining an unhealthy lifestyle was starting to lead to health problems. Changing directions wasn't so much an act of courage or leap of faith. It was a necessity. Soon, I found that a healthier lifestyle including exercise and a mindful approach to nutrition led to dramatic weight loss.

So, I moved out of my tiny apartment and left the stressful, low-paying job behind to pursue brighter prospects. I knew I had to start exercising. With the encouragement of a good friend, I joined the YMCA and started swimming again. I had been a swimmer most of my life, but had fallen out of the routine for several years. I really missed swimming, and as soon as I got back in the pool, I was hooked.

My Reversal of Fortune
Swimming was going well, but I still had no idea about what to eat to lose weight. In my youth, exercise had always allowed me to get away with poor eating habits but I knew I couldn't get away with that anymore. I was determined to make changes.

I discovered Cooking Thin on the Food Network. I was immediately drawn to the show's host, Chef Kathleen Daelemans, because she lost 75 lbs. without dieting and has been able to maintain her weight loss for ten years and counting.

The show introduced simple ways to make positive lifestyle changes that went beyond recipes and ventured into strategies for achieving and maintaining weight loss in a language I could understand. Watching Kathleen navigate the supermarkets taught me a lot. I learned how to select produce, what to look for when shopping for fresh fish. I learned how to use spices, how to use fresh herbs and how to work high flavor, low calorie ingredients into menus so the food I cooked would taste great. I learned portion control basics. I learned how to set my kitchen up for success and how to choose kitchen tools.

Friends In All The Right Places
In addition to the show, the discussion forums offered support when I needed it most. Complete strangers log on and cheer each other on. Kathleen posts every day too. I made up my mind to lose the weight, followed the show, utilized the forums and lost 70 pounds the right way.

Every day I find healthy new foods to enjoy and new ways to prepare them. I've learned that nutritious food doesn't mean bland boring or complicated. If you're creative in your approach, you can dine like royalty and get in and out of the kitchen before Sportscenter starts.

Recipe: Swimmer Bill's Fennel Salad
Serves 2

Ingredients:

	Zest of 1/2 an orange, about 1 Tablespoon
1	Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2	Tablespoons vinegar (I used champagne vinegar, but you could use any vinegar you like)
	Kosher salt (to taste)
	Fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
1	bulb fennel (10 oz.) sliced thinly in a v-slicer
1	teaspoon chopped capers, drained and rinsed
10	olives, chopped (I used Kalamata because I can get them in small amounts but you can use Nicoise or any other olive you love)
1	Tablespoon chopped red pepper (I used sweet/spicy red picante peppers, but you can use bell pepper or any other pepper you like – even roasted red pepper)
2	Tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

Whisk together orange zest, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and if you're feeling adventurous, whisk in a splash of fresh squeezed orange juice, too.

Add fennel, capers, olives and peppers. Toss to combine and coat evenly. This is wonderful served with grilled salmon or roasted chicken.

Bill's Morph: If you have any leftover, try tossing with your favorite pasta for an awesome take-to-work cold pasta salad. Add a little leftover chicken if you need the protein boost.

Bill Volckening is the United States Masters Swimming Editor for SWIM Magazine. In 2003, he was the USMS Long Distance All Star for the men's 35-39 age group. For more information about Masters swimming, go to www.usms.org.

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