The battle of the littler big man

An Oahu man works hard to shed the extra weight that he has carried most of his life

Growing up in Hawaii is all about the food.

You get together with family a couple times a week and everybody brings everything.

The white rice and mac salad are a given. Then there's the full multi-ethnic local style spread that covers every square inch of the table top. There's chow mein, Spam musubi, kalua pig, spaghetti, adobo, lau lau, fried chicken, hot dogs, salad drenched in ranch dressing and chili with undrained ground beef ("Ah, no worry boy. Jes' stir 'em in. Da's wat make da ting tase good, da fat!" is what the uncles used to say.)

Same thing goes for the lau lau with the big ol' chunks of pork fat ("Eh, no take out da 'aila. Das da bes' paat. Give 'em to me. I eat 'em. No waste boy").

It's interesting how childhood eating habits carry into adulthood.

Kurt Meyer, 35, was raised in Waimanalo and was always known for being the "Big Man." The food and the kani ka pila is what Meyer enjoyed most as a kid. The beer soon followed.

Meyer made it through high school pretty good-sized, but gained more weight while in the accounting program at University of Hawaii. It was OK, he thought. Being the "Big Man" was part of his personality. He was known for putting down the most food and the most beer.

By the time he got out of college and was in the work force, banging out tax season after tax season, he had reached his consumption capacity, but one thing was plummeting fast: his health.

Meyer weighed well over 400 pounds and was at high risk for diabetes. His family history of poor health didn't help, either.

During a visit to the doctor, his physician asked if he'd ever thought about gastric bypass surgery.

The answer was simple. "I'm not cutting my body open! I'll just work out and eat better," he thought.

And so he did.

He traded in the familiar plate lunches for fruits, vegetables and raw fish. He keeps his nutrition tight six days a week and allows himself one free day on the weekend because the family still gets together like old times.

The beer has been drastically reduced, along with the unnecessary snacking in the office. Soda has been replaced by lots of water.

Meyer trains with weights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are for cardio. Running is too high-impact for a man his size, so he chooses elliptical training or a boxing routine.

It's been more than a year since his doctor brought up the weight-loss surgery and Meyer hasn't stopped working out since. He's under 400 pounds now, but is far from quitting.

"Sometimes, after a long day at work, I don't feel like going in for my workout," Meyer said, "but I go anyway because I know I'm going to feel good when I'm done. Since I've started working out again, I have more energy, my clothes are fitting better, my weight is dropping slowly, but most of all my overall health is improving dramatically and I can eat normal portions of food because I never got surgery."