POCATELLO — Bill Clegg once weighed 622 pounds.
Many times, he felt like he was just a bystander during activities with his family and friends. He recalls a trip to Yellowstone National Park a few years ago, where he had to wait in the car while his family visited Artists’ Paintpots.
“I just couldn’t make the hike up the trail,” he said.
However, those days of sitting on the sidelines are over for the Pocatello resident.
Over the past few years, Clegg has lost 300 pounds, which is almost half of his former bodyweight.
His secret? Combining a clean diet and plenty of exercise with a dogged determination to meet his target bodyweight of 200 pounds, which he plans to do within the next year or so.
“I was a prisoner in my own body, and I came to the realization that I did this to myself,” Clegg said. “But I can undo the damage.”
From Logger to Recluse
In his youth, Clegg didn’t have a weight problem. In fact, he was a football player and wrestler at Highland High School. As an adult, he took on a physically demanding job in the logging industry.
Obesity didn't start to affect Clegg until 2001, when he sustained a devastating leg injury on the job. After being laid up because of multiple surgeries on his leg, along with a heart attack and an emotionally difficult divorce, Clegg began to eat excessively.
“I just reclused myself,” he said. “I didn’t want anybody around me. Food was my sanctuary.”
By 2014, the 5-foot, 11-inch Clegg weighed 622 pounds, had a 68-inch waistline and had to wear the largest T-shirts available from the big and tall clothing catalog — size 6XL.
It was also around this time that his health started to deteriorate. His knees and back constantly hurting, and he was suffering from congestive heart failure.
“At the rate I was going, I wasn’t going to live the rest of the year,” he said.
Change
The realization that his health was in serious jeopardy encouraged Clegg to drastically cut back his food portion size. The change worked. In one year, he lost more than 80 pounds.
However, at 540 pounds, Clegg felt he needed help exercising to continue his weight loss journey, so he went to Gold’s Gym in Pocatello to take up water aerobics. Naturally, his first day at the gym was a bit intimidating.
“I looked around and thought, ‘How am I going to do this with all these people here?’” he said with a laugh.
He first worked with trainer Chrissy Andrus. They had a few sessions together before Andrus left to pursue her master's degree. After that, he worked with Sherrie Hebert, another personal trainer who designed a daily exercise regimen for Clegg.
At their first workout together, Clegg showed up to the gym wearing sandals to Hebert’s initial dismay.
“She said, ‘You can’t wear sandals to exercise,’ and I said, ‘Nothing else will fit my feet,’” Clegg said. “My feet ballooned up because of my weight.”
Hebert, who writes a weekly fitness column for the Journal, has written multiple articles about Clegg’s weight loss.
He has been one of her biggest success stories. Under her guidance, Clegg has lost approximately 220 pounds over the past 19 months. With the 80 pounds Clegg lost before coming to Gold's Gym, that puts his total weight loss at 300 pounds.
Though the numbers are unofficial, the staff members at Gold’s believe Clegg’s 220-pound weight loss while working out at the gym is a record at the Pocatello location.
And exercising at Gold’s isn’t intimidating anymore.
In fact, Clegg is quite well-known among the gym membership. As he walks around the weight training machines, numerous people talk to him and ask him how the weight loss is going. One time, a woman saw him and gave him a big hug.
“A lot of people here are rooting for me,” he said.
His favorite acronym is P.U.S.H. — persist until something happens — which is a phrase he often cites for inspiration during his workouts.
How did you do it?
A common question Clegg hears is, “How did you do it?”
For one, Clegg stresses the importance of portion control when eating.
“If I want a cheesecake or pizza, I eat it,” he said. “But I stop at one slice. I believe in moderation and a problem I had before the weight loss was eating the wrong portions.”
He also stresses the importance of eliminating processed foods from his diet, focusing instead of healthy, natural foods.
As for diet pills and weight loss surgeries such as gastric bypass, Clegg says he is living proof that they are unnecessary.
Exercise has also been crucial for Clegg, who goes to the gym every morning. The exercise regimen that Hebert designed for him includes a lot of low-impact exercises to promote strength, balance and dexterity. While on the weightlifting machines, Clegg uses low weight and high repetitions to burn as much fat as possible.
He also credits hiring a personal trainer to help him through his journey. Not only does he say Hebert keeps the exercise regimen fun, but she often pushes him to levels that he wouldn't be able to reach on his own.
“I don’t regret any of the money I spent,” he said. “It boils down to looking in the mirror and asking, ‘What are you worth?’”
Not over yet
Despite the remarkable weight loss, Clegg is far from over.
He points to the Gold’s Gym Heroes wall, which features numerous members who got healthy by changing their lifestyles.
“Do you know why I’m not on that wall?” he asks. “Because I haven’t reached my goal yet.”
With his target weight at 200 pounds, he still has approximately 120 pounds left to lose. However, it's a goal he's ready to take on.
“When the going gets tough, the weak quit,” he said. “And I’m not weak.”
With 300 pounds already lost, the good news is that Clegg has already taken his life back, with numerous adventures on his itinerary this year.
As a hunter and angler, he is currently planning a backwoods excursion to reconnect with nature. He will also be hiking up the backside of Mount Borah, Idaho’s tallest peak, and will be rafting the North Fork of the Snake River.
He will also be visiting Artists’ Paintpots in Yellowstone — and this time he will not wait in the car.
“Don’t let your weight be your handicap,” he said. “Persist until something happens.”
