Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-10-12
Helena, Montana, Thursday October II, 1882.
A BIG SHRINKAGE.
What an AbstemiOus Diet Did for a
FIeshy Gentleman.

What an Abstemious Diet Did for a
FIeshy Gentleman.
Boston Globe
Eating is largely q matter OF habit None
of us need more than half the food we eat. !"
The speaker was gentleman from Salt Lake
City, now visiting professional friends in
Boston. The interviewer, just from the
table, where he had dined to heartily, per-
haps felt the force of the remark more at
Just that time than he would at most any
other
"No. I've no desire to be interviewed. [
don't care to be presented to the public as
monstrosity, but l have been remarkably
successful in decreasing the amount Of my
flesh, which had become burden to me-"
Something after the Banting system, or
did you take any of the anti-fat remedies so
common ?"
II discounted Banting, following much
more rigid course. You see" said the gentle
man with self-satisied chuckle, "it came
about this way. l am only five feet seven
inches high, with bones as small as those OF
woman. and two years ago measured
fifty-eight inches around the waist, twenty
four inches around the neck"
Gracious, what collar" interjected the
interviewer.
well, it wasn't neck exactly. My head
set in q chunk of fat on my shoulders.
That's about all there was to my neck. One
night, after having surveyed myself in the
mirror, and thinking what an ungainly piece
of flesh l was. l went to bed and had a
dream that was sought for by circus man,
who had been successful in exhibiting curios-
tiles in a side show. The next day thought
more about it and determined to get rid of
some of the 27O pounds Of flesh l had; just
as hard, solid flesh as you ever saw. Food
assimilated with my system nicely, you see,
and ate enough for two ordinary men at a
meal / began at once. Two meals day, 8
in the morning and in the afternoon.
What did I eat Beefstake principally, six
to eight ounces at meal, with two ounces
of bread toasted hard. Nothing else, except
an occasional change to mutton but no vege-
tables, no pork no veal"
''And for drinks?"
mo water, except in sips Fleshy persons
are always tempted to drink large quantities
of water. Now, let them sip their water,
and it will soon become insipid mo pun in
tended, and it will quench their thirst just
as well. usually drink cup of tea with
out milk or sugar"
Didn't you grow hungry at first 2"
Hungry? Well, had always dined with
Dives on the best could get and looked
forward to my dinner as the great delight of
the day Now, / was dining with Lazarus
Yes, / suffered deal from hunger at the
outset-a hack at the swill-barrel would
have been luxury. You see, | began by
trying my diet at the family table, right in
the midst of temptation, but | soon had to
give thaeup. My wife weighed my meals
every day \and served them to me in sep
arate room l ate what was set before me,
and haG to be content. Hungry? I've seen
the time during my dieting that | would
have robbed the support of man with
wife and fourteen children to get a square
meal"
What encouragement did you get 2"
well, I weighed myself every morning,
and now, right here, I say, no one can sue
cessfully diet to reduce flesh unless he weighs
himself regularly. When / began to see
that was reducing at the rate of one, one
and half, two, and some days as high as
four pounds, felt encouraged and persisted.
The first month l lost twenty-five pounds,
and in few months I was so far reduced
that / could walk mile or ride on horse
back That did me good"
You smoked some during the time?"
Eyes, fifteen or twenty cigars day.
Smoking don't seem to be injurious to me.
had to do something to keep my nerves
soothed."
do you still keep up your rigid system of
diet?7
.Well, while I am here in the East am
eating as much in day as ought to in
week; but the moment / see I am gaining
flesh I start in again with the weights and
How much flesh have you lost since you
began two years ago."
II weighed 270 pounds at the start; now
I weigh 19O / have reduced my waist
from fifty-eight to forty inches,
and wear an eighteen and half inch col
lar, where | used to wear twenty-four inch.
and feel ever so much better. | can get
around easily and take some comfort. There
is nothing like it. According to insurance
tables man of my hight and build should
weigh about 158 pounds. / presume that
I could diet down to nearly that, but | am
satisfied
The gentleman in question then branched
off into general conversation on the Nor
mon subject, on which he is very familiar.
and after a pleasant chat the interviewer
bade him good day.