How a Dallas Stars executive used COVID-19 to lose 100 pounds
This time one year ago, Tom Holy weighed 304 pounds. Today, he weighs between 210 and 215.
We all had aspirations to put all quarantining to good use, and re-evaluate our lives. The public relations director of the Dallas Stars was one of those who can say COVID was not a total waste of time, or his life.
The Dallas Stars are loaded with quality stories, right down to the PR guy.
“It comes down to mindset. I wanted to make choices that would help myself rather than hurt myself,” Holy said in a recent phone interview; he is with the Stars as they played Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night in Edmonton.
“I really don’t know why I had this realization. I didn’t even know I was making the decision,” he said. “It was, ‘What can I do with things that were very limited?’ The choices were three-fold.”
Holy, who is now 40 and single, adjusted his choices based on budget, the need to stay active even if he’s stuck inside, and what he could do better himself.
His journey is his, and yet applicable to everyone.
He did it, and so can you. It starts by taking nothing more than a single step out the door.
Start with walking
Shortly after March 12, when the NHL paused its regular season for concerns over COVID, Stars employees were told to go home. And stay there.
En route from the office to his house, Holy stopped at the grocery store to stock up on essentials. He bought enough food for two weeks.
“I came home and I walked for three miles,” he said.
By the time the broader COVID shutdown went into effect, Holy was already on a successful path to losing some weight. At 6-foot-3, he was told he should weigh around 210.
He figures he weighed about 268 when he had to do everything from his house.
“After I ate dinner that first night, I went for another three-mile walk,” Holy said.
Like so many people during March, he went for a lot of walks. Like so many people in March and April, he started seeing things that were right front of his face.
Neighbors. Noises. A potential life that was there, just outside of the narrows views that so many of us are too busy to see.
On these walks, Holy doesn’t wear ear buds. He’s not listening to the latest podcast.
“I might make a phone call or two, but that’s it,” he said. “I don’t get on Twitter. I just zone out. It freed up my mind to focus.”
As the days grew into weeks, and weeks to months, Holy’s mileage expanded to Olympic levels. On Mother’s Day, he walked 13.1 miles.
In one day, he walked a marathon — 26.2 miles. That was not all in one walk. Twice he walked 100 miles over the course of a week.
People in his neighborhood quickly noticed their neighbor, and nicknamed him “The Walker.”
One neighbor was so inspired by Holy he took to the same routine, and lost 40 pounds.
On some of these walks he was joined by Jared Sandler, who is one of the radio voices of the Texas Rangers on 105.3 The Fan. Sandler lives near Holy.
Holy befriended people, including a neighbor whose brother-in-law lives six houses down from current Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski on a lake in Wisconsin.
As Holy walked, the weight dropped. But as anyone who exercises with the goal to lose weight can attest, there is another ingredient.
Intermittent fasting
Jobs in sports can lead to a variety of unhealthy choices. The schedule can be chaotic, which can result in late-night eating, binge eating, stress eating. And rarely are we talking about a plate of vegetables.
The bad schedule makes not exercising easily attainable.
Holy was diagnosed with diverticulitis in 2016, which did not help. He had other physical issues, including a neck problem.
“It was more on the emotional side that I was carrying all of this weight that I should not have been carrying; that’s what I do in general,” he said. “It was not eating for me, it was activity. I cloaked myself, everything was work related.”
In August of last year, he made the decision to try intermittent fasting. Basically, the plan calls for the person to basically eat from noon to 8 p.m.
He gave up cream and sugar from coffee. and since COVID forced him to eat at home, he was making all of his own meals.
“I ate out way too much,” he said.
Ham, turkey, lettuce and cheese wraps became lunch. Chicken breast, steak or veal chop for dinner.
“I cannot believe consistently walking would yield these results. I would have thought weightlifting, something else,” he said. “I just built in time each day that I had to do this. You have to keep moving, and, for me, walking worked.”
Keeping the weight off
When the Stars finally returned to work on July 10, and practice, forward Tyler Seguin saw Holy and said, “What’s up, skinny?”
None of Holy’s suits fit.
Although he has been in the Edmonton’s small bubble, where square footage is at a premium, he still walks. He bought himself an Apple watch to chart how much he’s moved, and daily activity levels.
He also knows what qualifies as our “new normal” will not be our forever.
“I think about that quite often. How am I going to do this when the routine changes?” he said. “Thus far I have not missed a day to do something active. Do I have to do it earlier sometimes? Yes, but it’s OK.
“What I learned was that it’s OK to make yourself a priority in your life. If you do, you can do for the people you care for so much better.”
When “this all started,” we all had dreams to use this time constructively. Tom Holy used the COVID shutdown to walk it out, and lost the weight.
You can, too.
