Melvin Hazer: a thinner, happier man

FOOD was Melvin Hazer's vice. On an average morning it was not unusual for the o3-year-old man to begin the day by eating a half-pound of pork sausage, three scrambled eggs and buttered toast, and washing it all down with a large glass of milk. Breakfast was frequently followed by large portions of fried foods, with hefty helpings of rich sauces. Between meals he snacked on any available edible. It was this steady diet of fattening provisions that made Hazer a 310-pound man--and a miserable one at that.

But one spring morning in 1987, he awakened in his Forestville, Md., home, looked in the mirror and resolved to alter his sendentary life and change his food-loving ways.

"All that extra weight felt awful," says the Sheraton Hotel convention manager who is now a lean 170 pounds "I really looked like garbage."

For Hazer, confronting his weightiness was easy. It was travelling the distance to slimness that presented an occasional road block.

First, he contacted a registered nutritionist who had been recommended by his doctor, and she found he had four problems: boredom, subconscious eating, easy access to food, and inactivity. At work, Hazer had to make sure that all the hotel's guests were satisfied, so he dipped into pots and claimed to be taste-testing for quality. After work he often nightcapped with a pint of his favorite ice cream. The nutritionist concluded these erratic eating patterns were to his detriment and devised a strategy for him to shed 140 pounds. Thus, Hazer began a weight-loss regimen consisting of a 1,200 calorie diet, combined with consistent exercise. It was his fourth diet, and the only one he had not failed.

Not only did Hazer begin a diet but a behavior modification program as well. It was an "eating awareness technique" aimed at changing lifelong patterns of poor habits. He began by recording everything he ate, and he ate only when sittingdown. He monitored his hunger levels and ate until he was satisfied--not full. His breakfast fare consisted of two ounces of fiber-rich cereal with a half-cup of skim milk and a piece of fruit. At lunch he dined on a starchy food (such as rice or whole wheat bread), a cup of steamed vegetables, and four ounces of broiled or baked fish, tukey or chicken. For dinner there was more of the same.

For exercise, Hazer walked 15 minutes a day to build endurance and increased the distance and time gradually. When he grew bored with walking, he joined a health club and worked out with free weights and alternated walking with jogging. In one week, he shed eight pounds, and 21 had vanished by the end of the first month. And in one year he had reached his goal weight of 170 pounds.

"I was shocked and overwhelmed," he says. "I really couldn't believe it. I've tried other diets and they didn't work. I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't though about giving up every once and awhile, but I'd look at my progress and get motivated all over again."

As Hazer lost weight, his personality changed. He no longer felt the need to be house-bound and eat to feed his woes. His relatives ceased to worry about him, and collegues at work complimented his transformed physique.

"Losing weight was like a new beginning," he says. "Before, my social life was virtually nonexistent. I had gotten to the point where I didn't want to be seen by anyone. Occasionally I'd visit friends and family, but everything I did focused on food. Now my life has changed considerbly. I go dancing or go out on a date. The only problem I have is I still love food, but I try to eat in moderation."

Presently, Hazer's concern is not with tipping the scales. "My weight is under control," he insists. He still follows his nutritionist's guidelines but does not deny himself the foods from his heavier past. Through behavior modification he has learned to monitor his weight and cook without using fattening ingredients. He buys dietary cookbooks to help prepare low-calorie meals, and he rarely eats red meat.

The weight-watching process may seem tedious and cumbersome, but for Hazer it is no longer a burden. It is simply a way of life. "If I want to maintain my weight, I'll have to work at it," he says. "It's hard, but I guess I should take my own advice--he patient, be strong and don't give up."