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HEALTHY LIFE
HEART & STROKE
May 1-2, 2013
By ROB CULLIVAN
Pamplin Media Group
W
illiam “Huck” Dilg, 47, of Ore-
gon City, once believed “run-
ning is against my religion.”
Now he runs between four
and seven miles five days a week and is
training for a half-marathon at Crater Lake
this summer.
Dilg, who weighed nearly 400 pounds at
one point is now a svelte 230 — which he
hopes he can get down to 200 — and is the
American Heart Association’s 2012 Lifestyle
Change Award Winner for Oregon and
Southwest Washington.
He was selected by participants in last
year’s Greater Portland Heart & Stroke
Walk, after being named a finalist by a com-
mittee.
Dilg’s wife, Cynthia, nominated him for
the award. She says he lowered his blood
pressure and improved his eating habits, go-
ing from “not many green things” and de-
vouring bowls of rice and hot dogs to con-
suming moderate portions of lean meat and
fish and a large variety of vegetables.
“He wishes to help others discover these
new joys,” Cynthia wrote in her nomination
form, noting he no longer snores loudly be-
cause he no longer suffers from sleep apnea.
Dilg adds that not long ago, “every day
was the luck of the draw.”
“I was over 395 (pounds) and working
50-plus hours a week and barely getting
enough sleep, he says. “I was always tired
and unable to do many things I wanted to.”
Fearing the worst, and hoping to spend as
much time as possible with wife Cynthia,
whom he married in April 2012, he decided
to make some “small changes over long peri-
ods of time,” starting when the couple got
engaged.
“I started eating better and going to the
gym, starting with
water aerobics, then walking, then the ellip-
tical trainer and finally running,” he says.
It all came down to a basic energy equa-
tion, he says: “Eat less, do more!”
Everthing had to change if
he wanted to shed pounds per-
manently, he says, noting Cyn-
thia joined him in the quest to
lose weight.
“For the first nine months we
had to weigh and measure and
record everything we ate to
learn what the correct portion
was and what a normal-size
meal is,” he says. “It took about
18 months to lose 170 pounds,
and I have been stable for over
a year. Small changes over an
extended time period will re-
sult in amazing results.”
Meanwhile, his wife has lost 74 pounds
by eating better and running, walking,
climbing stairs and using an elliptical
trainer.
“We wanted to assure we would be able
to spend as many years together as possi-
ble, and we were both not healthy,” he says.
Not only did his body get healthier, so did
his pocketbook, he says.
“I work for an investment casting compa-
ny, and I have received a promotion since I
have lost the weight,” Dilg says, noting he
believes people treat him better because
“I’m not tired and cranky all the time,” and
people “will stand closer to me and interact
more with me.
“I am a customer service planner and love
every day I go to work. I am happier and
love my life.”
Dilg advises folks who want to make a
similar change to start small and avoid
trendy diets. “Diets are a guaranteed fail-
ure,” he says. “That is why they are such a
great business, every person
who goes on a diet will fail. If
you are heavy you got there by
living an unhealthy lifestyle.
Going on a diet will solve the
problem for the short term, but
the problem is that people will
go back to the unhealthy life-
style and again gain the
weight.”
You have to change your
whole life if you want to lose
some serious weight, he says.
“You must make a lifestyle
change, and that is why it real-
ly felt great to receive the Life-
style Change Award because my entire life
has changed and everything is better, be-
yond what I had ever imagined.”
Cast your vote
■
The American Heart Association wants to
recognize individuals who have made positive
changes to improve their quality of life and health,
and influenced those around them to do the
same. No change is too small; every accomplish-
ment is significant and should be celebrated.
Nominations can be submitted by friends,
co-workers, relatives or individually.
■
The top three finalists will be chosen by a
selection committee, and the winner will be
determined by walk participants who vote at
the Greater Portland & SW Washington Heart
& Stroke Walk on Saturday, May 18.
■
Info:
PDXHeartWalk.org
■
William ‘Huck’ Dilg took slow, steady path to lose
weight and become 2012 Lifestyle Change Award Winner
Oregon City man
lost weight, gained
a better future
“We wanted to
assure we would be
able to spend as
many years
together as
possible, and we
were both not
healthy.”
— “Huck” Dilg
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
This photo shows Dilg months after he made a serious commitment to shed weight. Now at 230
pounds, his goal is to reach 200.