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About 25 years ago, Rick Salewske weighed 538 pounds. “When I arrived, my world became smaller and smaller. I couldn’t fit into chairs. I couldn’t go to restaurants. My knees hurt. The steering wheel of my car hit my stomach. I couldn’t put on my shoes. I dropped out of college because I didn’t fit behind the desk,” he tells TODAY.com.
In 2000, three things happened that motivated him to change:
- He dreamed that he died and saw his siblings lower him into the ground.
- He skipped his twentieth high school reunion because he hadn’t seen his classmates in years, and he was ashamed of his weight.
- He was hired for a new job over the phone, but he turned it down because he was afraid: “They didn’t know I weighed 538 pounds. What would their eyes look like when I walked in?
He kept the job he had, and the CEO of his company approached him one day, wanting to help him lose weight. “I call him Clarence, from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ because he was an angel. He saved my life,” says Salewske. The CEO suggested Salewske try the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas.
There he began following an 1,800 calorie per day diet. “I learned what 1,800 calories was. I gave up sugar and ice cream. I ate three balanced meals,” he says. It was the early 2000s and he focused his diet on foods that were popular for weight loss at the time, such as bran cereals, 1% milk, fruits and Lean Cuisine meals. Over time he learned to cook fish, chicken and vegetables.
He also worked with a trainer and started exercising. “I could only walk a short distance, but I ended up walking a mile, then two and three. I started running and playing basketball. I burned more calories and continued to eat 1,800 calories a day. It sounds simple, but it was hard work,” he says.
In two years he lost 300 pounds. It changed his life. His weight loss was so impressive that he appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show twice – the second time he surprised his then-girlfriend of six months, Kelley, with an on-air marriage proposal. She said yes, they married in 2003 and now have three children, ages 18, 16 and 13.
He had difficulty maintaining weight
Over the years, small habits creep in again. Salewske started eating fast food, cookies and cheesecake. “I had gone from 538 pounds to 238 and then I went up to 270. For me, being 270 pounds was a bit of a shame because I thought I should stay at 238, and I didn’t.” he says.
His weight gain didn’t stop there. Years passed and then COVID struck. In May 2022, he weighed 315 pounds. He went to the dentist and he could not treat him because his blood pressure was too high. That motivated him to turn his attention back to weight loss.
Another path to weight loss
Some of the steps he took this time were the same ones that worked for him twenty years earlier: He cut out sugar because he thinks he’s addicted to it. “There’s a good chance I’ll never eat pies and tarts again for the rest of my life,” he says.
This time some things were different too. He found strength in his faith. “When I think I can’t do something at the gym, or when I think I can’t stop eating certain foods, I rely on my faith,” he says. “I truly believe I was successful this second time because of my faith. Being healthier helps my faith. And being faithful helps me in sports,” he says.
He trains 45 minutes in the morning and 20 to 30 minutes in the evening during the week, and on Saturdays and Sundays he aims for an hour and a half a day. He generally uses the treadmill, the Stairmaster and the exercise bike.
“My knees don’t hurt. My back doesn’t hurt. It really feels good to live this way. I am 62 years old and I keep pushing myself and seeing how far I can go,” he says.
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