Inspiration: Trevan Borum’s Incredible 85-Pound Weight Loss
Name: Trevan Borum
Age: 50 years old
Home: Fairmount
Starting weight: 280 pounds
Current weight: 195 pounds
Total time it took to lose the weight: 19 months
My weight-loss wakeup call: For me, it took a personal tragedy to get healthy again. I had a very close friend who I met every day at happy hour. We loved to go out on the town and drink and eat. Unfortunately, we never met a martini we didn’t like and we combined that with ghastly eating habits and no exercise. Nineteen months ago my friend, a lawyer, walked out of the courthouse and dropped dead on the sidewalk of a massive heart attack. He was 40 years old and left behind two young daughters. I have a four-year-old son, and I vowed that wouldn’t happen to me. My friend motivated me to change my life for my son.
How I did it: When I first started I was so obese and out of shape all I could do was walk. I started by walking four miles a day. I was thrilled when I lost 35 pounds in three months. At that point I met Holly Waters, a personal trainer. She began training me and counseled me on changing my eating habits. Now I eat fish at least five times a week and have cut out fried foods, sugar and white flour. I also cut out all alcohol and have been amazed at how much better these changes made me feel. With Holly’s support and encouragement, I worked hard at the gym and lost an additional 50 pounds. I am still training with her because she motivates me to not get complacent and take my health for granted.
The moment I realized I was succeeding: My son loves baseball. We play every day after work in a fenced in field. He loves to pitch a wiffle ball to me. This last summer, I hit one of his pitches over the fence and he screamed, “Daddy, you went yard!” I realized that instead of being a bad role model for my son, I now was a father that he looked at with the kind of pride only a son has for his dad. I couldn’t have done that 19 months ago.
The biggest obstacle I had to overcome: Having the willpower to find the time to exercise. I now get up at 5 a.m. every morning to start my day. It wasn’t easy at first, but once it becomes part of a regular routine you don’t give it a second thought.
My three best tips for anyone trying to lose weight:
1. Don’t have unrealistic expectations. Take satisfaction in small gains; it doesn’t happen overnight.
2. Learning to eat healthy doesn’t mean you can’t eat great food.
3. Don’t beat yourself up if you backslide. Changing the way you live is not like flipping a light switch. It is a long process with three steps forward and one step back.
» Have an inspiring weight-loss story to share? Email us at eleaman@phillymag.com with details.
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