GLENWOOD SPRINGS - As America woke up Tuesday morning, millions of people tried to shake off memories of their New Year's festivities. Bleary-eyed, they stared into the mirror and thought: This is the year it will finally happen.

Whether you want to quit smoking, turn off the television or learn a foreign language, Jan. 1 is the traditional time to make the commitment. The real question, however, is whether or not you'll stick with it past Groundhog Day.

Doug Evans, 63, knows all about this. After struggling with weight his entire life, he finally made the lasting leap toward fitness at the beginning of 2006. The miracle, he said, isn't the 80 pounds he's since shed. It's that, two years after starting the weight loss process, he's more committed than ever.

"It's really improved my self-esteem," he said. He then added, with a laugh, "It also helps that everyone's coming up to me and saying how skinny I am!"

Standing 5-foot-6, Evans weighs around 197 these days. At his peak, however, the former Colorado Mountain College professor weighed in at 280. Trying to condense his health history into a few sentences, he conceded that he'd lived a life with far too much fast food, far too little exercise. He was chubby since childhood, and by middle age, the extra pounds had become dangerous. But even after a heart attack and angioplasty, he kept "gaining weight, gaining weight, gaining weight."

His "moment of truth" came in 2004. It was then that he realized that, yes, he was president of the CMC faculty senate. But, no, he couldn't fit into the chairs in the committee room.

"They were either going to have to bring in a love seat for this faculty member, or I was going to have to lose weight fast," he recalled.

Eventually he was provided with the love seat, but Evans was finally fed up. He could hardly move. His only comfortable sweatshirt was marked "XXXL." After an adulthood of crash diets, Evans arrived at Health Management Resources (HMR), a national weight loss program, run locally out of Valley View Hospital. As he ate the low-calorie, pre-packaged meals, and started to walk an hour or so a day, a dramatic shift took place inside him. For the first time, he was in control of his body.

"It was very intelligent and supportive, and all about living in a balanced way," he said of the program, an obvious eagerness in his voice.

According to Nicole Dacuma, local HMR director, the dire situation Evans found himself in is all too common in this modern society. In 1900, she said, only 10 percent of Americans were overweight. In 1960, the number rose to 20 percent. Today, however, 66 percent of adults are heavier than they should be, and 40 percent of those are obese.

And being in the weight loss industry for 12 years, Dacuma, 39, has met quite a few of them. When people come into her office, she said, they're frustrated and desperate, ready to lose the fat - with good cause. Apart from the aesthetic aspect, she said, extra weight is the cause of everything from "diabetes, to joint problems, to heart disease to stroke concerns. You name it, it's related to all of those."

So, how does one change? Truly, who knows? But Dacuma acknowledged that there are a few guidelines one should follow. Stay away from fad "soup diets of the day," she cautioned. Stick with long-established programs, ones that are structured, easy to follow. Make sure they focus on accountability and include a follow-up program. Most of all, she urged, don't feel bad that you can't go it alone.

"Weight management is a skill. It's not based on willpower," she explained, with an air of gentle understanding. "Most of us need support. We're not going to do well on our own."

Evans agreed wholeheartedly. Without the help of a program, he said, "I would have died a year and a half ago."

A recent retiree, he's now looking forward to several months of vacation in Glenwood's sister city, Teotecacinte, Nicaragua. Upon his return, he hopes to have reached his final goal weight of 170.

When asked for a piece of advice for those struggling with their weight, he offered words of warm support.

"It can happen," Evans said, without hesitation. "It can absolutely happen."



Contact Stina Sieg: 384-9111ssieg@postindependent.com



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