Down 53 pounds and counting

Pushing 220 pounds, Steve Calloway was fed up — literally.

“I kept having to buy bigger and bigger clothes,” Calloway, 52, said. “It was time to do something about my health.”

Co-workers who had slimmed down encouraged him to try Weight Watchers.

Calloway, a pharmacist at University Hospital in Columbia, had tried low-carb diets years earlier, but the weight crept back. He saw this as his shot to get back in the fitness game.

“It was about feeling better, not looking better,” Calloway said, while adding that people did noticehis changing appearance. “When I was heavier, people didn’t say much to me about when I would put on weight. But when I started losing pounds, people started noticing and they were complimentary.”

Calloway said his daily habits played a key role in his transformation.

When he went shopping, he parked far away from entrances. He took walks around the hospital, and used stairs whenever he could. “Just doing a little bit each day, just trying to move, made a difference,” he said.

However, Calloway doesn’t describe himself as a hard-core workoutguy, so his commitment was mainly to food intake.

“Portions are too large these days,” he said. “It’s important to be aware when I go out that I’m probably getting two days’ worth of food in one meal. It’s OK not to eat all of something.”

Still, Calloway saidhe doesn’t have a list of forbidden foods.

“Don’t think about each thing you eat as do-or-die,” Calloway said. “Instead, think about a longer period of time, several days or a week.”

Along with the co-workers that cheered him on, Calloway credits the support network he found at Weight Watchers for giving him tips and feedback.His biggest fan, though, has been his wife, Iris.

“She has a master’s degree in exercise physiology and is an avid exerciser,” he said. “She knows the important of exercise and good health and was excited when she saw me get after it.”

Calloway now weighs 167 pounds and is still reaping the benefits of the program.

“I certainly have more energy. Physically being able to do things and not worry about getting tired or hurt is great,” he said.

“There’s a certain element of confidence you get from accomplishing something like this and maintaining it. You also learn not to be so easily defeated.”