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Family fights battle of the bulge together
The Dean family lost over 500 pounds by leaning on each other for support
A family that lost 500 pounds
Feb. 11: The Deans all struggled with their weight, but one day they decided to make a healthy lifestyle change. TODAY anchor Meredith Vieira reports.
A Nebraska family of self-described “fatties” lost a combined 500 pounds in one year, proving that the family that loses together wins together.
“It never felt so good to be called ‘losers,’ ” Tony Dean of Omaha told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira on Monday in New York, where he assembled with six other family members who joined him in a collective quest for fitness.
Tony Dean, who lost 36 pounds, not only came up with the idea to make losing weight a family affair, he is the principal author of the book the Deans wrote about their experience: “The F.A.S.T. Diet: Families Always Succeed Together.”
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Now, they’re taking their program public — a family on a mission to spread health and fitness in an increasingly obese nation.
They’ve already had one major success in addition to their own: Last year, they helped a group of 100 people lose a collective 4,000 pounds — two tons of adipose tissue, a.k.a. blubber. They’re also talking to the mayors of 50 towns about running municipal programs.
Tony Dean, an entrepreneur, got the idea while watching one of his favorite TV shows, “The Biggest Loser.” Contestants on the show leave their homes and jobs for three months and work with personal trainers on the best equipment available. Most people can’t afford that luxury, but he realized that a huge psychological advantage contestants had going for them was their sense of togetherness in pursuit of a common goal.
“One thing they had that I knew we could create was accountability to hold everybody in check when they had bad days,” Tony Dean told Vieira.
With him on the show was the rest of his family, including his parents, Michael and Sheila Dean, Tracy Wright, Jamie Sacks, Jeremy Dean, Julie Dean and Tina Chereck. Michael Dean, they agreed, was the toughest one to get with the program. He hadn’t exercised in 30 years, never met a candy bar he could resist eating, and claimed to have no desire to change.
Tony Dean got the idea in mid-2005. He shared it with his sister, Julie, who also works as his assistant. Despite their mutual enthusiasm, they put off breaking it to the family until early November, when they were gathered for a birthday. They were almost unanimous in their support, with the only question being whether they should start right then or wait until after Christmas.
Tony Dean figured the eight family members averaged 5 feet 6 inches and 215 pounds. The family body shape was round.
“I said, ‘I want to eat my cherry pie, so it better be after,’ ” Michael Dean told Vieira. “I was the only vote to wait until after Christmas. I was voted down.”
Just the same, said his wife, Sheila, the family had the same Christmas dinner they usually had — including Michael’s cherry pie. They just ate more sensibly.
In the following year, Michael lost 101.5 pounds and learned the joy of exercise. Sheila, the mother, lost 65 pounds; Tracy Wright, 32.6 pounds; Jamie Sacks, 100.2; Jeremy Dean, 73.5; Julie Dean, 68.5; Tina Chereck, 40.8; and Tony, 36.2.
The power of the family working together, Tony Dean said, gives individuals others to call when they’re having weak moments.
His brother, Jeremy, had spent years on yo-yo diets: he’d lose big amounts of weight then put them back on and repeat the process. “Just the support system and learning more about food has really, really helped me a lot,” he said. “I was 150 pounds at one time and a year later 215.”
It’s not easy, the family said, but it can be done, and the secret is the support group.
“Everybody’s trying to do it by themselves and that’s a big mistake,” Tony Dean said. “There are 200 food decisions to make every day, and if you make 90 percent of those right, you’re going to fail.”
The Dean family lost over 500 pounds by leaning on each other for support
A family that lost 500 pounds
Feb. 11: The Deans all struggled with their weight, but one day they decided to make a healthy lifestyle change. TODAY anchor Meredith Vieira reports.
A Nebraska family of self-described “fatties” lost a combined 500 pounds in one year, proving that the family that loses together wins together.
“It never felt so good to be called ‘losers,’ ” Tony Dean of Omaha told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira on Monday in New York, where he assembled with six other family members who joined him in a collective quest for fitness.
Tony Dean, who lost 36 pounds, not only came up with the idea to make losing weight a family affair, he is the principal author of the book the Deans wrote about their experience: “The F.A.S.T. Diet: Families Always Succeed Together.”
Story continues below ?advertisement
Now, they’re taking their program public — a family on a mission to spread health and fitness in an increasingly obese nation.
They’ve already had one major success in addition to their own: Last year, they helped a group of 100 people lose a collective 4,000 pounds — two tons of adipose tissue, a.k.a. blubber. They’re also talking to the mayors of 50 towns about running municipal programs.
Tony Dean, an entrepreneur, got the idea while watching one of his favorite TV shows, “The Biggest Loser.” Contestants on the show leave their homes and jobs for three months and work with personal trainers on the best equipment available. Most people can’t afford that luxury, but he realized that a huge psychological advantage contestants had going for them was their sense of togetherness in pursuit of a common goal.
“One thing they had that I knew we could create was accountability to hold everybody in check when they had bad days,” Tony Dean told Vieira.
With him on the show was the rest of his family, including his parents, Michael and Sheila Dean, Tracy Wright, Jamie Sacks, Jeremy Dean, Julie Dean and Tina Chereck. Michael Dean, they agreed, was the toughest one to get with the program. He hadn’t exercised in 30 years, never met a candy bar he could resist eating, and claimed to have no desire to change.
Tony Dean got the idea in mid-2005. He shared it with his sister, Julie, who also works as his assistant. Despite their mutual enthusiasm, they put off breaking it to the family until early November, when they were gathered for a birthday. They were almost unanimous in their support, with the only question being whether they should start right then or wait until after Christmas.
Tony Dean figured the eight family members averaged 5 feet 6 inches and 215 pounds. The family body shape was round.
“I said, ‘I want to eat my cherry pie, so it better be after,’ ” Michael Dean told Vieira. “I was the only vote to wait until after Christmas. I was voted down.”
Just the same, said his wife, Sheila, the family had the same Christmas dinner they usually had — including Michael’s cherry pie. They just ate more sensibly.
In the following year, Michael lost 101.5 pounds and learned the joy of exercise. Sheila, the mother, lost 65 pounds; Tracy Wright, 32.6 pounds; Jamie Sacks, 100.2; Jeremy Dean, 73.5; Julie Dean, 68.5; Tina Chereck, 40.8; and Tony, 36.2.
The power of the family working together, Tony Dean said, gives individuals others to call when they’re having weak moments.
His brother, Jeremy, had spent years on yo-yo diets: he’d lose big amounts of weight then put them back on and repeat the process. “Just the support system and learning more about food has really, really helped me a lot,” he said. “I was 150 pounds at one time and a year later 215.”
It’s not easy, the family said, but it can be done, and the secret is the support group.
“Everybody’s trying to do it by themselves and that’s a big mistake,” Tony Dean said. “There are 200 food decisions to make every day, and if you make 90 percent of those right, you’re going to fail.”
