Part 2

So John, with his brother and sister-in-law and their two sons, made the two-day drive in two cars, so that he could keep one in Durham. "It was a terribly long drive," John remembers. "I wasn’t very comfortable, sitting there all day like that. We got here and checked into the motel, and the next morning we went to the Rice Program Clinic."

At the Clinic, the medical staff weighed John in, gave him a physical, ran some tests—and were amazed.

"I remember the doctors looking at my blood tests and just kind of shaking their heads," John says, with a small smile. "The amazing thing is that my blood pressure was really just about normal, and my cholesterol was 152, and my blood sugar was okay. It was just astonishing that I was in the health I was in, not diabetic. But it would have been just a matter of time, I’m sure. Basically, I’m a perfectly healthy guy, I just weighed all that much."

That initial clinical assessment held a nasty surprise for John, though. After not having weighed himself for years, he watched in horror as the scales mounted to 651 pounds.

"I just couldn’t believe it! I remember I lay in my room the first two or three nights and I cried. I kept saying ‘It’s impossible!’ I had thought I could come out here, lose maybe 100 pounds, and be in pretty good shape. But 300 pounds! It didn’t seem like anything that could possibly be done. But I was here, so I thought I would give it a try."

Initially, the doctors restricted John’s exercise to lying on the floor with his feet up, in order to reduce the edema in his legs. On the diet, he began losing weight immediately, a pound or two every day. After a couple of weeks, he began walking in the swimming pool, increasing his distance slightly every day. He then joined a water aerobics class. After a while, a fellow patient persuaded him to try the exercise bike.

"The first week was living hell. Getting used to the seat of the bike was just terrible! But I started doing that, and still doing the water aerobics. And every day I felt better."

On the bike, John increased his distance to about 20 miles a day. About three months after enrolling, he had dropped about 100-150 pounds, so he added weight-lifting to his regimen, alternating it with the bike. Then a few months ago he began trail walking.

"Before I came, I was sleepy and tired all the time. Now I go to bed around 11:00, and by 6:00 the next morning I’m ready to go. The first 6 months I was here, on Sundays I would usually stay in bed until noon, just to recover and rest. But now I go out and walk the five-kilometer trail around the Duke golf course about 7:00, then come back to the Rice House for breakfast. This morning I walked nine miles."

This, bear in mind, from a man who, a year ago, couldn’t walk more than 50 feet without stopping to rest! Meanwhile, along with John’s astonishing progress from near-invalid to near-athlete, there was also, of course, The Diet.

"The first six months I was here I never ate anywhere else, or ate anything that wasn’t on the program. I was on Phase One—rice and fruit—for six weeks, and I remember I couldn’t wait for Phase Two. Variety! But it really wasn’t that bad on Phase One. It’s not what you’re used to eating, but it’s good food, there’s no doubt about it. It’s natural food. I guess what they’re trying to teach you here is that food shouldn’t be the whole focus of your life. When I came, I really looked forward to eating, the pleasure it’s going to give me. But about five minutes after you’re done eating, you think, ‘What was that all about? I don’t really feel all that much better, and now what have I got to look forward to?’"

Somehow, listening to John talk about his amazing self-transformation in that calm, considering voice, you could almost believe it was easy—but he doesn’t encourage any illusions about that. It was a long, hard row to hoe. And he’s quick to acknowledge the factors that made success possible for him, the sources of strength both internal and external. Especially, he says, his spirits and his determination were buoyed up by the attitude of the Rice House staff and by the other patients.

"One thing I want to make sure people know is that if they come here and follow the program, stick to it, it’ll work. It’s as good as you want to make it. The people here are so helpful, so great. I’ve never seen them get impatient with anyone. I can’t say enough about the staff. [Registered Dietician] Susan Montgomery is as genuinely nice a person as I’ve ever met. The same goes for [Office Manager] Kenny and [Chef] J.R."

"When I started out, though, I was like a deer in the headlights. Just totally. . . well, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t have any idea. My first six months here really were no fun. I didn’t get around all that well. I didn’t go to the movies—I didn’t think I’d be able to sit in the seats. I didn’t feel that comfortable out in public. So, basically, I sat in my room by myself. I did a lot of reading, which is one of my favorite things.

"After a time, I started feeling more comfortable. I remember the first time I went to the movies. Two ladies here in the Program said, "Oh, don ’t worry. The seats in this theater, the armrests come up." So we got in there and the armrests didn’t, but I was all right. It was okay. First movie I’d seen in a long time. I didn’t go to the movies at home, you know. After that I started hanging around a lot more with some of the guys. We’d drive around, go to the movies, go have coffee. Just general guy things."

"I think the secret is to try to have a lot of interests in life. In this program you find people who are positive and those who sit around and feel sorry for themselves and don’t like the food. It’s your choice if you want to be here or not. But as long as you’re here, spending the money and the time, you might as well try to be positive. My brother, who’s into Tai Chi, always says, you don’t want to hang around people who take away from your Chi, your power or energy. I try to stay away from people like that."

Now, after more than a year’s hard work every day, John has achieved more than he ever thought possible. Now he’s starting to make plans to go home, to leave the Rice House, which he calls a second home and a second family, to go back to Iowa for the first time in 15 months. He’s timing his return, he says, for when everything has just greened out and the sun’s turned warm and you want to stay outdoors all day long. But this won’t be a neat, happy-ever-after ending. He’ll be entering the next—and, as every Rice Dieter knows, perhaps the most challenging—level of a life-long campaign.

"It’s going to be hard to leave here in a lot of ways, because I've made a lot of friends here. I’m safe here. I know what I can do. As long as I stick with the program there’s nothing to worry about.

"I’m scared to death of going on to the next phase, because there’s a lot of potential to fail." He pauses and gazes away, no doubt at images of homecoming to come. "I think I’ve established that I have will power. I’ve got friends here who’ve gone home and done really very well, and I’ m hoping to use them as my models. But once you find yourself in a social situation, well, you know how it is. Somebody remarked to me, ‘When you get home, we’ll have a big party.’ That means beer and barbecue! And that’s a big part of everybody’s life there. A lot of farmers have a big old breakfast with all of the fixings. I was one of them. It’s going to be a matter of making a lot of choices."

"And another thing, everybody telling you how good you look! I guess compared to the way you were, you do look good. But you’ve got to take it with a grain of salt, because you don’t want to get too happy with yourself. You’ve still got a lot of work to do."

All modesty. All caution. John is a true champ, but it’s hard to get him to pat himself on the back. Finally, after a little needling, he flashes a rare, broad grin—sort of like that springtime prairie sun warming up.

"Yeah, I am really proud of myself." Then he adds, "But I ’ll tell you more in a year. I’ve got to see that I can keep it off . . . I’ll tell you in a couple of years.

"Follow up: This article was written in April, 2001. Since that time John has returned home to Iowa and resumed farming. He continues to follow the modified Rice Diet at home and has lost an additional 55 pounds. He tells us that he does not feel that he is on a diet, but "this is just the way I eat".


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