Success Story: Curnis Upkins Jr.
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Upkins, after losing 219 pounds.
Curnis Upkins Jr. attributes his sizeable weight loss to the Healthy Weight Advantage program at St. Dominic.
“I lost 219 pounds,” he said. “At my lowest number, it was 180.”
The human resources director at St. Dominic first became interested in the Healthy Weight Advantage program after joining the wellness committee.
“I wanted to be a good example and lose a few pounds,” he said.
Upkins was on the medically directed track, where a doctor did his blood work and tested his blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose level.
“Then I went into the program and it consisted of a combination of shakes and pre-packaged meals,” he said. “It was 120 to 140 calories per meal. I generally consumed 800 to 1,000 calories a day.”
For the first two weeks, it was all shakes.
“That first week, I was starving,” he said. “But after the first week, the hunger started to lessen. When I started a combination of shakes and food, I wasn’t hungry at all.”
At the onset, he had high blood pressure and he was not physically active. But now, his blood pressure is “very stabilized.”
“I don’t get dizzy anymore,” he said. “I really feel great.”
And he’s much more active.
“I was an athlete,” he said. “It messes your mind up when you gain weight and try to go back to what you could do. On that first morning, I tried to jog a mile. I might have gone 300 yards.”
After walking two or three miles per morning for four weeks, he was able to start jogging again.
“I do keep up my fitness routine,” he said. “An injury sidelined me for four weeks, but I’m slowly getting back into walking.”
He wasn’t the only one trying to lose weight at his workplace, so “nobody was bringing bad food to the office,” he said. And at home, his wife made healthy meals.
“I’m lighter than I’ve been in 35 years,” he said. “At one point, I weighed 185-189. This morning, I’m at 182-183. I could probably lose 15 more.”
He finished the Healthy Weight Advantage program in May, but continues to eat right and exercise.
“The key thing is to attend the classes that go with the program,” he said. “It’s on how to eat and how to substitute foods.”
