Rhode Island man says he ate Chick-fil-A every day for months and lost 132 pounds
A man from Lincoln, Rhode Island says eating at Chick-fil-A every day helped him lose 132 pounds after a series of health scares left him searching for new ways to lose weight.
While it may be a surprising recipe for success, it's not a unique problem in America, which has one of the highest rates of obesity in the world.
Pizza and beer took a toll
Tom Carroll says he was always a bigger guy.
"When I stepped on the scale, it said 346 pounds," he said. "I liked being the big guy that had a good time, that could go out and eat pizza whenever, and go have a beer and not think about it."
At 32 years old, all of that pizza and beer was starting to catch up to him.
"I knew I was really big, and I didn't want to go to a doctor and have them tell me you're really big, and be embarrassed by that," he said.
Chick-fil-A menu held the answer
Carroll found the way to his weight-loss journey on the menu at his local Chick-fil-A over the state line in South Attleboro, Massachusetts.
"We stumbled onto this awesome salad at Chick-fil-A," he said. "And I thought to myself, if I could just have this salad every, single day, I'll be OK with eating salad all the time."
A few weeks later, amid some health problems, Carroll stepped on a scale.
"I just lost 60 pounds," he said.
The only changes he made were giving up alcohol and eating that salad every day.
"We get very excited every time he comes in to see us," Silvia, a Chick-fil-A employee, said.
Two changes had big results
After months of eating Chick-fil-A salads and not drinking alcohol, Carroll's blood pressure was down to a healthy level, his blood sugar improved and he felt better.
"You can just, by taking, starting with just one meal, focusing on making one meal healthier than it used to be on a consistent basis, can have a dramatic effect on your health," said Dr. Joan Salge Blake, a nutritionist at Boston University.
Carroll wrote an essay on his experience after keeping the weight off for six months. Since posting it online, he connected with others who have similar stories about weight and health problems.
"Being able to help other guys like me has been the most rewarding thing that I've ever done in my life," he said.
