Major League Weight Loss
Nick Yphantides '86, MD, had 467 reasons to take a sabbatical from his whirlwind career as a family physician, director of the local health service, and faculty member at the University of California, San Diego. His life’s work was devoted to improving others’ health, yet Yphantides had ballooned to 467 pounds, turning himself into a walking case study for the “do as I say, not as I do” school of teaching.
He knew he needed to lose weight, but felt certain that the punishing 90-hour week he typically worked would make shedding the pounds a difficult task. His goal was to drop more than 230 pounds, but he needed a plan. And from this need “Taking a Swing at Weight Loss” was born.
“I was looking for something that would combine my love of America and my love of America's pastime with my desire to retreat and facilitate healthy habits, including a better fellowship with God,”said Yphantides. “I knew I was embarking on a major struggle, and I thought ‘Why not make it a wholesome, fun, and enjoyable experience?’”
“I was looking for something that would combine my love of America and my love of America's pastime with my desire to retreat and facilitate healthy habits, including a better fellowship with God..."
So in April 2001, Yphantides set out on a journey in his Chevy Camper that would take him 38,000 miles through 49 states to visit every Major League ballpark. Yphantides attended 110 games, witnessing highlights such as Barry Bonds’ record-setting season, the farewell tours of Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn, and the World Series. But instead of enjoying these moments with hot dogs, peanuts, and Crackerjacks, Yphantides lived for seven months on a liquid protein that yielded 500 calories a day, about 5,000 calories less than he used to consume.
“The first week was the worst,” Yphantides said. “I was so hungry I could have eaten a cigarette butt covered in mustard. But God was generous. I lost 17 pounds the first week and an additional 13 the next. With these results, after the first couple weeks it was easy.”
In addition to the satisfaction of watching the pounds disappear, which they continued to do at an average clip of more than six a week, Yphantides also relied on the support of others, as friends and relatives joined him for stints on the trip.
When people experience drastic weight loss, there is a 95 percent likelihood they will gain it all back,” Yphantides said. “Unless I keep this weight off, I’ve accomplished nothing.”
“I chose to do this for the Lord, and there was a real sense of public accountability throughout this trip,” Yphantides said.
An online journal Yphantides wrote increased accountability and allowed him to update others on his progress. The site also became a forum for sharing highlights from his journey, such as when he crawled over two rows of seats and spectators to perform CPR on an elderly woman suffering a cardiac arrest at Wrigley Field. Other highlights Yphantides chronicled include attending World Series games in New York and Arizona.
When Yphantides returned to San Diego in November, he was 200 pounds lighter and closing in on his goal weight of 230. Even with such dramatic results, he knew he still needed to commit to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. “When people experience drastic weight loss, there is a 95 percent likelihood they will gain it all back,” Yphantides said. “Unless I keep this weight off, I’ve accomplished nothing.”
With this reality in mind, Yphantides kept a light workload, splitting a twenty-hour workweek between practicing clinical medical care and medical consulting for foster children. He also began devoting more than three hours a day to exercise, a regiment that remains a regular facet of his life.
“This has been an incredible experience,” Yphantides said. “Now I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing while I wait to see what direction the Lord leads me.”
Christopher Martin ’98 is a production manager for Clear Channel Entertainment Television. He lives in Washington, D.C. [email protected]
Posted: March 1, 2002