Q: When did you realize that you had a weight problem?
A: I realized I had a weight problem in the mid-1980s.
Q: What made you decide to do something about it?
A: Someone mistook me for Al Roker (before he had had the gastric bypass).
Q: When did you start?
A: The spring of 1989.
Q: How much weight have you lost?
A: 50 pounds.
Q: What is/was your goal?
A: 50 pounds was the goal
Q: What weight loss program or eating modifications do you follow?
A: Well, when I eat, I try to eat portions which are no larger than my fist. I also avoid eating after 8:00 pm.
Q: Can you explain your basic program?
A: I include more fresh fruits and vegetables. I have also eliminated drinking sodas.
Q: Do you exercise?
A: Yes, indeed.
Q: How often and how much?
A: At least four days a week. My workouts take 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Q: Where and when do you exercise?
A: I usually work out at the W. 56th Street and Sixth Avenue branch of the New York Health and Racquet Club. I prefer to work out in the morning.
Q: What exercises work for you?
A: All the exercises I do work for me. I’m very lucky in that regard.
Q: What are your trigger foods?
A: Definitely jelly beans and soda.
Q. How do you cope with temptation?
A: I just tell myself I don’t need it!
Q: Have you ever gotten discouraged? What do you do about it?
A: I haven’t become discouraged. I was 35 when I started. Consequently I was old enough to know I had to take a proactive stance for my health.
Q: How did you feel about looking at photos of yourself? Has that changed?
A: Looking at old photos of myself is almost like seeing a stranger in those pictures. That sensation has not changed.
Q: What is the best benefit of losing weight for you?
A: To be perfectly frank, I look a lot better than I did 26 years ago. My stamina has increased, and my breath control for singing is much better.
Q: Do people ask you for advice? What do you tell them?
A: No one has sought my advice, but I would tell them this process is a change of lifestyle and one’s relationship with food.
Q: What have you been able to do that you couldn’t have done before?
A: I think my favorite thing is the fact that I can leg press 460 pounds on my heavy days. There is no way I could have done this exercise twenty-six years ago.
