Today, FALL/WINTER 2006 1 - University of the Ozarks

The Incredible Shrinking Student“The scales couldn’t weigh me at the time. My aunt, who isa nurse, said I was at least 450 pounds. I wanted a change. Iwas sick of being fat,” said Travis Perusich, a sophomore fromMount Ida, Ark.Perusich, indeed, made a change, shedding more than 200pounds in just over a year on diet and exercise alone.“Just a little over a year ago, I had a 60-inch waist, wore a6XL t-shirt, and weighed 450 pounds,” commented Perusich.“As of October 1, I had a 36-inch waist; that’s a two-foot lossin my waist alone! I wear an extra large shirt and am happily at249 pounds.”The decision to lose weight came after Perusich realizedthe health risks of being overweight. After high schoolgraduation, Perusich went to the doctor to get advice on how tolose weight. The doctor’s answer was weight loss pills.“My doctor put me on diet pills that were supposed to helpme,” said Perusich. “I took them for only one week and decidedI didn’t want anything messing with my brain. I decided to loseweight on my own.”And he did. Perusich managed to lose all 200 pounds bydiet and exercise. Beginning in the summer of 2005, he beganwalking two miles a day and riding his exercise bike. Accordingto Perusich, he cut out all soft drinks and began to grill everythinghe ate instead of frying it. He grilled so much that his grilleventually broke. Perusich lost his first 75 pounds in two months.“I got to the point where my pants were falling off, literally,”said Perusich. “I had a low self-esteem and didn’t see myselfas losing that much weight. I had bought a pair of 58-inch pantsthat summer, and I finally realized I was losing weight whenthose fell off.”When it came time to begin college, things changed.“When it came to school, I realized I couldn’t walk outsideon the nature trails like I wanted to because I was intimidatedto walk with the other athletes,” said Perusich. “I went on adiet I hope to never see again. I brought my exercise bike toschool, and all I ate for meals were two bowls of Campbell’ssoup, cereal bars, and juice. I began riding my bike 10 miles aday and drank only water.”Perusich lost another 80 pounds during his freshman year,bringing his total weight loss to 150 pounds. Realizing he had tostart pressing himself harder, Perusich began walking four milesa day, instead of two, and continued to ride his exercise bikeanother 10 miles. Perusich said he lost 40 pounds over this pastsummer and has already lost 15 pounds since school began thisyear.Perusich said overeating caused his weight-gain.“I would go through an entire two-liter bottle of soda in onemeal,” he said. “It was just the volume of food that I ate thatcaused me to gain weight. I cut my food portions into one-thirdof what they used to be.”Losing 200 pounds has completely changed Perusich’s life10 Today, FALL/WINTER 2006for the better.“I can now putmy foot behind myhead,” said Perusichas he proceeded todemonstrate. “I cannow do a sit-up, andI can put on my seatbelt,which I wasn’table to do before.Going upstairs usedto kill me, but now Ican take two or threeat a time.”The weight losscaused Perusich tomake other changes.“I had to buy somany clothes,” saidPerusich. “I alreadyhad to put away theTravis Perusich shows off the size 60-inch pants he wore before he lost morethan 200 pounds.clothes I bought this past summer. Even my feet shrank a size.I used to wear a size 13, now I wear a 12, and before I lostweight, my class ring was a 15, now my finger is an 11 and ahalf.”Perusich has noticed people treat him differently.“People never used to come up to me and say how nice Ilook,” he said. “At the beginning of the summer, I went to alocal pizza place and saw two of my classmates (from highschool) there. One of them asked, ‘how much weight haveyou lost, Travis?’ After I told him 150 pounds, he said, ‘I thinkthe rest of our class has found the weight you lost!’ ”Perusich’s story has served as an inspiration to others.“I like to see people’s reaction when I show them my oldpants. Some compliments people have given are, ‘You slimmeddown so much, you’re an inspiration,’ ” smiled Perusich. “I likereading all the messages on Facebook. People know if I can doit, it gives them hope that they can do it too.”Although Perusich has come a long way in his effort tolose weight, he still has a few pounds left to shed before reachinghis goal of 200 pounds.“This semester, I’m taking weight-lifting, and my bike evenbroke from using it so much,” said Perusich. “I’m more of anormal size, but it’s still kind of intimidating. I still have 50pounds to lose.”Perusich has advice to offer for anyone who desires tolose weight.“First you have to decide you want to lose weight,”commented Perusich. “Don’t eat ice cream and drink Cokewith every meal while saying ‘poor me.’ Have the willpower,and once you have made that decision, stick with it.”