KTBC Fox 7 General Manager Danny Baker hit a nerve when he asked Rob Balon, KLBJ 590 AM and KTBC Fox 7 restaurant critic and president and CEO of the Benchmark Company, to join One Ton o’ Fun, a fitness program created by RunTex CEO Paul Carozza and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas Executive Director Kenny Taylor. Not only was Balon trying to lose weight on his own in order to control type II diabetes, he was also previously a “big brother.”
Balon has an athletic background; he played football in college and won his age group in triathlons as recently as the mid-1990s. He also used to spend a lot of time walking. However, when he began experiencing extreme back pain as the result of a degenerative disk in his spine that prevented him from performing weight-bearing activities like walking, Balon gained a lot of weight and was eventually diagnosed with type II diabetes.
“That shook me up,” he says.
In order to shed some pounds, he began working out on a stationary bike and rowing machines last September. At that time, Balon, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall, weighed in at 460 pounds. He lost about 55 pounds, which he described as a good jumping off point for One Ton o’ Fun, but had hit a plateau, partially because the medicine he takes for diabetes makes it difficult to lose weight. He says One Ton o’ Fun started at the perfect time, and since the program began, he has lost another 30 pounds. His goal is to weigh 300 pounds.
Balon says belonging to One Ton o’ Fun has motivated him, and he often receives e-mail from fans, wishing him luck. He says this keeps him accountable for losing the weight, since he knows people are paying attention. Since losing 85 pounds, his blood sugar has returned to a normal range, he feels better and he can buckle his seatbelt on airplanes without an extension.
Due to his degenerative disk, Balon cannot walk as much as the other people on Rob’s Reducers, his One Ton o’ Fun team, so he rides a stationary bike at his house six times each week. He also tries to walk on the trail with his team several times each week, but after walking about a quarter of a mile, the pain sometimes forces him to take a break. Since beginning the program, the pain has lessened, however, and he recently walked two miles with the group without experiencing excruciating pain.
“For me that’s huge. The weight loss has to help; it takes some pressure off it. I’m slow but at least I’m doing it,” he says.
Balon has cut his caloric intake to 2,200 calories per day. Since he does not have a high metabolism and eating all kinds of food is his job as a restaurant critic, he has modified his behavior and now eats a few bites of unhealthy food he reviews, rather than eating all that he is served.
“People rely on me for my opinion on food, but I don’t have to eat all of it to know how it tastes,” he says.
Balon, who occasionally blogs about One Ton o’ Fun on his Web site, is proud to be able to lose weight while continuing to review restaurants. Since his job is to tell
Balon says snacking and sweets have been his toughest food challenges since One Ton o’ Fun began, but he has found healthy alternatives to some foods he previously ate. He strives to decrease simple sugars and simple carbohydrates. Instead of potato chips or Doritos, he now snacks on carrot or celery sticks with garlic-herb flavored Rondel cheese or Triscuits, and he has substituted Haagen-Dazs, which he says was the hardest thing to give up, with low-carbohydrate fudge bars or Jell-o with fruit and whipped cream.
Balon has modified some of his meals as well. He often eats low-carbohydrate breakfast tacos made with whole wheat tortillas and he now frequents Zen, a Japanese restaurant and supporter of One Ton o’ Fun that recently was recognized for “Best Fast Food” by the Austin Chronicle, for lunch. He says the 400 to 500 calorie meals taste good and are much healthier than a 1,500 calorie plate of three cheese enchiladas. Due to the requirements of his job, Balon rarely eats dinner at home, so he substitutes wheat pasta and brown rice as often as he can when he is out.
Balon says his wife is emotionally supportive of his goals and helps him stick to his plan at the grocery store by reminding him not to be tempted by the ice cream aisle. As a member of Rob’s Reducers, she also works out with him occasionally.
Balon’s connection to Big Brothers Big Sisters is another big part of his commitment to One Ton o’ Fun. Last month, Balon received an e-mail from a man who was his “little brother” about 30 years ago. The man, now in his 40s, is married and a business owner. When he saw Balon on a television spot featuring One Ton o’ Fun, he decided to contact him.
“We had wondered about him,” Balon said. Thanks to One Ton o’ Fun, the two reconnected and had dinner together.
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.1tonofun.com.
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