Golden – Randy Dickman still wears the same belt he had when he and his mother joined a weight-loss program together, but he has had to punch several new holes in it – as he loves to demonstrate by flopping out the loose end with a flourish.
A 35-year-old heating and air-conditioning technician for the Colorado School of Mines, Randy weighed 270 pounds last January. Now he is down to 190 – about 10 pounds below his original goal, and the least he has weighed since he was a sophomore at Golden High School.
His mother, Jo Dickman, 59, also a CSM employee and Golden native, started at 226 and has dropped to 180, with 20 pounds still to go.
They credit the new eating habits they learned at an L.A. Weight Loss center in Lakewood – plus the support they received from each other.
“It’s easier with two people, because we can police each other,” says Randy. “And when you go out to eat, it’s much better to have someone eating the same kind of food you are, instead of the junk food most people eat.”
“Having somebody else doing the same thing you are really helps,” Jo agrees. “If I had been going alone, on the days when I didn’t lose as much as I wanted to, I would have quit.”
It was Jo who first proposed that they partner up. “I was on two diabetes medicines, and my doctor told me around Christmas last year that if I didn’t get my weight under control, I’d be getting shots,” she says. “Well, I don’t like needles – I’d have to sneak up on myself to give myself a shot.”
At his mother’s request, Randy went online and researched several weight-loss programs. They decided on L.A. Weight Loss “because instead of eating their food, they show you how to buy food out of the supermarket and get the right amount,” he says.
Says Jo: “They tell you to shop the outside ring, which has the fresh fruits and vegetables and the meats, and to stay away from the processed food in the center aisles.”
Besides going to regular weigh-ins together, the mother and son have enjoyed the advantage of being able to prepare meals together. They are living under the same roof in Randy’s house in Pleasant View while Jo and her husband, Butch, are building a home for themselves across the street.
Since slimming down, Randy has joined a 24 Hour Fitness club and found that he can “hit harder and run faster” in softball. Jo is no longer taking diabetes medicine and, after taking part in last month’s Walk for the Cure for the first time, she is thinking she may go back to playing softball herself.
“I’m really happy with this because I know it’s something I can live with,” she says. “And it has helped to have somebody on my side.”
– Jack Cox
