MANKATO — Monte Meyer was on a family vacation when his right foot made an audible popping noise as he walked down the dock. He limped away and cried and had to go home the next day.

Meyer weighed about 600 pounds on that June day in 2009. For him, that was his “Come to Jesus” moment. Meyer, campus pastor at the Campus Lutheran Chapel at Minnesota State University, got the message loud and clear: It was time to lose weight and get his life back.

“Fat people have to decide that today’s the day. They can do it. I’m a work in progress,” said Meyer, 49.

Obesity caused physical and emotional pain for Meyer, and it weighed heavy on his loved ones, too. Meyer said his children worried that he would die, and it embarrassed them when people stared, pointed or made fun of their dad.

Meyer’s weight-loss journey began on his premature return from the lake resort. He had his last fast food meal of a cheeseburger and fries. He made an appointment with a doctor at Mankato Clinic, but the appointment was six weeks away. In fear of stepping on the scale at the hospital, Meyer went on a low-calorie diet.

“I was mortified. Fat people don’t want to step on a scale,” said Meyer.

On July 20, 2009, Meyer weighed in at 588 pounds. He was pre-diabetic and had high blood pressure.

Over the last 18 months, he has lost 227 pounds and counting. He has lowered his blood pressure medication and his blood sugar is normal. Meyer now weighs 361 pounds and aspires to lose 111 more to reach his target weight of 250 pounds. At 6 foot 3 inches, the goal is realistic.

“I’ve been obese my whole life. If I can do it, you can,” Meyer said.

Goodbye, fast food

Meyer took the weight off solely through behavior modification. Every day for the past year, he has done three things to lose weight: count calories, exercise and hold himself accountable.

Meyer rejected weight loss surgery.

“It would have treated a symptom but not the problem,” Meyer said. “I could have eaten through that.”

Throughout his weight-loss journey, Meyer kept a journal. He recognized that he ate when he was happy or sad, and on a spiritual level, food had become a false idol.

“I’m telling everybody to find comfort in Jesus, and I’m running to Burger King,” he said.

For over 10 years, Meyer steadily gained weight. He lived on a fast-food diet of 5,000 calories a day. Breakfast was a sausage biscuit with egg, two breakfast burritos and a large diet Coke. Lunch was Erbert & Gerbert’s peanut butter sandwich with beer cheese soup. For dinner, it was a double quarter pounder with cheese and fries.

Meyer is a musician, so he compares his fast-food habits to music.

“It’s like a choir singing to come and eat,” he said.

Meyer replaced fast food with healthy alternatives and sensible portions. He learned to shop the perimeter of the grocery store — a free service from Hy-Vee Hilltop’s dietician. Meyer also uses the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System — the higher the food scores, the better the nutrition.

“The readiness for change was there,” said registered dietician Erin Gonzalez at the Mankato Clinic Diabetes and Nutrition Education Center. “He made the differentiation between diet and lifestyle change. He was ready to make that lifelong journey.”

Now Meyer eats about 1,900 calories a day. Breakfast is egg whites and turkey sausage on an English muffin or steel cut oats. For lunch he might have sushi or a quarter chicken with two veggies on campus. Dinner may be chicken chili, hold the loaf of bread.

Meyer has learned to make healthy choices at restaurants. At Applebee’s, he chooses from the meals under 550 calories. At Buffalo Wild Wings, he orders the Boca burger, and at Subway, it’s the Jared combos.

Hello, exercise

By the fall of 2009, Meyer was down to 550 pounds, but he had to stop three times when he walked a block on campus.

In December 2009, Meyer joined a fitness facility. He used the elliptical machine with no tension and walked on a treadmill at 2.6 mph. Sweat poured off him, and every five minutes, he had to take a break.

Meyer needed help. Gonzalez recommended certified personal trainer Dawn Naples. Meyer signed up for two personal training sessions a week, which he started in January 2010 and still does today.

“It is not a diet, it’s a journey. It’s changing your behavior every day,” Naples said.

Now Meyer’s pastimes are active ones. He bikes, hunts pheasants, trains his two springer spaniels, and walks on campus. Last fall, Meyer ran his first 5K.

“My approach to exercise is progression,” said Naples. “Do a little bit every day. Make it a priority and part of your day.”

Naples worked with Meyer on the elliptical machine and then on the treadmill. One of Meyer’s first exercises was to get up and sit down to build strength. She also got him into the weight room immediately.

“There is such a benefit to weight training because it builds muscle mass, which in turn burns more calories. Plus it improves function,” Naples said.

Meyer does 30 minutes of cardio exercise five to six days a week and 30 minutes of weight training four times a week. He is currently adding extra minutes of cardio. The expense of a personal trainer and gym membership is much less than Meyer’s $25-a-day fast-food habit.

“I still live a normal life,” Meyer said. “I’m not doing anything extraordinary but changing my life.”

Meyer has surrounded himself with supportive people along the way: his high school son and college daughter are his biggest boosters. 

“I’m in it to win it now,” Meyer said.