When Big Brothers Big Sisters Executive Director Kenny Taylor was introduced by a mutual friend to RunTex CEO Paul Carrozza early this year, Carrozza immediately offered to help Taylor get in shape. At the time, Taylor, a busy, single man, was not taking the time to exercise, cook or plan his meals. As a result, he was eating mostly takeout food and weighed 377 pounds.

Over the next few weeks, Taylor began following a plan given to him by Carrozza, and Carozza periodically checked on his progress via e-mail. Blown away by Carrozza’s sincerity and dedication, Taylor proposed a partnership between BBBS and the RunTex Foundation that would teach Carrozza’s approach to a healthy, active lifestyle to other adults, who could then pass it on to children, while raising money for BBBS. Carrozza suggested a preliminary list of people who would be good candidates for such a program, and One Ton o’ Fun, ten teams of people who will lose a total of a ton by the ThunderCloud Subs Annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, was born.

Taylor said one-to-one mentoring, Big Brothers Big Sisters’ model that pairs one adult mentor with one child, is the most effective way to pass information on to children. The most effective way for an adult mentor to influence the child he or she is pared with is to set an example. This is where One Ton o’ Fun comes in as a BBBS partner. When children see adults exercising, they will exercise, which benefits them in many ways.

“They perform better academically and they stay away from drugs. When they are active they are healthy as well,” Taylor, who occasionally brings his “little brother” to group workouts, said.

Through One Ton o’ Fun, Taylor has set an inspiring example. He drastically altered his diet and exercise habits; between working out with the other One Ton o’ Fun team captains and his own team, the Big Skinnys, he exercises six to seven times a week. He has also cut down on carbohydrates, sugar and fatty foods, while increasing the protein, fruit and vegetables he eats. Since One Ton o’ Fun began in June, he has lost more than 40 pounds. His goal is to lose about 80 pounds by the time the program ends on Thanksgiving.

“There are no diet plans out there with that kind of goal,” Taylor said, adding that sticking to the exercise and diet routine is getting easier. “It almost feels like it’s just what I do now,” he said.

Taylor explained that since his job involves a lot of working lunches, typically at least four each week, the key to sticking to a healthy diet is planning his meals ahead of time. He usually eats turkey sausage and eggs for breakfast, salad with tuna for lunch, and fish or grilled chicken with vegetables like broccoli or spinach for dinner. He rarely eats dessert.

Gary Avignon, a psychotherapist and founder of Avignon Therapy and Nutrition who has been working with Taylor through One Ton o’ Fun, said that most approaches to dieting and weight loss are too rigid. As a result, people on a diet will abstain from eating something while on a diet, regardless of the social situation they are in, but when they are no longer on the diet and go back to their previous habits, they gain the weight again.

Avignon has taught Taylor that his body is sensitive to carbohydrates; it converts starch into sugar, which is stored as fat. Since Taylor’s body works this way, it is important for him to reduce sugars and starches, but not to restrict his diet so much that he feels deprived. When Taylor is bored with what he is eating or craves cheesecake, Avignon tells him to “scratch the itch and minimize the damage,” then to correct himself and go back to the plan. No one is overweight because they ate one piece of cheesecake or had one bad day, he said. What commonly occurs is a dieter will deviate from a plan once, and then catastrophize the diet and abandon his or her goals.

“People don’t know how to digress and correct,” he said, emphasizing that the emotional and psychological aspect of eating often sabotages people’s attempt at weight loss and healthy eating. “Experts put them on black and white diets and they think they fail. People aren’t taught to live in the real world.”

Exercise plans must also be flexible and realistic, according to the Big Skinnys co-coach, Jen Ohlson. For someone like Taylor, who started from scratch, the key to a long-term plan is moderation.

“Taylor goes to show that if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. With knowledge and support, and by sticking with it, you can see great results,” Ohlson said.

When he began, Taylor focused just on getting moving and walking. He has slowly increased his workouts to include hills, and he now walks faster than he did when One Ton o’ Fun began.

“Three months ago this was not an option, but today I did Mount Bonnell four times,” Taylor said. “I am confident I can get through the workout now.”

In addition to the nutritional and fitness guidance Taylor has gained through One Ton o’ Fun, adopting a healthy lifestyle along with others in a supportive group atmosphere has motivated him to continue working toward his goal. He said before the program began, he was intimidated by Town Lake, believing that only the uber-fit and healthy belonged there, as well as RunTex, which he thought of as “the ultimate fitness store for top tier runners.” He said through One Ton o’ Fun, he has learned that both are accessible for people at all fitness levels, even those who are just learning how to be active. While he had never been to Town Lake before the program began, he now spends a lot of time on the hike-and-bike trail.

“Before, I didn’t want people to see me and to talk about me, and I didn’t want to hurt myself because I was so big. This made it okay and cool to get out and walk. It’s easier with a support group and people cheering you on, so you don’t feel bad about it,” he said.

Taylor said he has a lot more energy now than when One Ton o’ Fun started, and he sleeps better than he did before. Since he is adopting what he has learned through the program as a lifestyle, he believes he will maintain his weight after the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.

“Two-thirds of the population is overweight. It’s a problem that is not going away. I want to visually show it is possible to be in this condition by exercising and eating right, without pills or fad diets,” he said.

One Ton o' Fun is sponsored by the RunTex Foundation, KTBC Fox7 Austin, Austin Fit Magazine, FitCity, the Livestrong Challenge, Ironsmith, O2 Austin, New Balance and Tonyia Cone Communications. For more information on the program, which benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas and the Neighborhood Longhorns Program, visit www.onetonofun.com.

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