#1 How'd they do it?

Nate Evart

The How’d They Do It? interview series is designed to share the tips and tricks of how members of the Alfred community lost their weight. It has been edited for length and clarity.

To kick things off, we invited Nate Evart, an engineer, husband, and dad, to share how he lost weight for his kids by taking it one day at a time.

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Tell us a bit about yourself?

I work as a Standards engineer with two kids that keep me very busy, and I’ve been married for 6 years to my very patient wife. Plus I recently started playing Rugby and just completed my first season! 

Why did you want to lose weight?

I’ve been wanting to lose weight since as far back as I can remember. I’ve always been a heavyset person from a family of heavyset people. Sadly I’ve tried a number of “fad” weight loss routines, but nothing ever really stuck. Then when Covid hit, I qualified for one of the early vaccines due to how overweight I was.  

That was a big “come to Jesus” moment with having young kids, and I decided that I needed to give it another try before I approached my doctor about possibly doing bariatric surgery. 

From your heaviest, how much weight have you lost?

Sorry for the American pounds, but my heaviest was 350lbs (159kgs) and I got down to about 291lbs (132kgs) before Christmas. Right now I have been holding steady around 295 lbs and would like to drop down more, but have been focusing more on prepping for next seasons rugby over just dropping weight. 

Was there anything holding you back from losing weight in the past?

Probably the biggest thing was setting too difficult of a goal to achieve. Then I’d get discouraged and fall off the wagon whenever I’d hit a speed bump. 

What’s been the biggest benefit from losing weight?

Right now we’re going through a crazy heat wave here, and I actually commented to my wife about how I’m far more comfortable dealing with the heat then years past.  Outside that I just generally feel healthier. I was having some digestive issues that for the most part, have gotten better or gone away, and my joints feel much better than they did a year ago. 

What’s your favourite meal and how often do you have it?

One of my favourites that I eat regularly is a cajun dish called Étouffée.  We’ll eat it over just about anything, but it’s best over rice as it’s intended to be. We’ve also done a cauliflower rice one too and it’s okay.

Étouffée

If you could go back, what would you tell yourself at the beginning of your weight loss journey?

To keep after it and take it one day at a time.  

Got a message for the Alfred community?

Sometimes all that it takes to be successful with weight loss is how we actually view the journey. And for me, realising that I don’t HAVE to track ever single calorie of every single day was a massive weight off my shoulders, and allowed me to focus on other bad food habits I had, while still enjoying my food. 

Awesome stuff Nate! Keep it up!