Sometimes it's good to be a loser

Curtis Hicks laughs at being called a legend by friends and acquaintances.  But it seems a fitting title.

“I feel better than I ever have,” Hicks said.

The Robson Ranch man has lost 104 pounds in the past year.  This month, he’s marking Men’s Health Month by needing only half the cholesterol medication he used to.

The 68-year-old now has enough energy and stamina to properly chase grandchildren and has gotten a part-time job.  It’s something he couldn’t do when he weighed 280 pounds.

“When I retired, I was very overweight and suffered with aches and pain in my knees and joints.  I struggled to cope with the summertime heat in Texas, so I’d stay inside and eat junk food in front of the TV.”

At a time when an estimated 63% of Texans are overweight or obese, Hicks feasts on common-sense eating and the support of community groups within the UK’s largest weight-loss program, Slimming World, which has crowned him ‘The Greatest Loser of 2011’.

“I love the new ‘me’ and would never go back to my old ways.  I feel so fit, healthy and alive,” Hicks said.