Rick Salewske keeps a picture on the wall of his office at Clark Dietrich Building Systems in Dallas of the man he used to be. The framed photograph of him has been there since 2001.
“I remember that picture and I remember what it was like and I still have some of those clothes. I still have my big pants that are a 68″ waist. I still have excess skin and I still have reminders every single day that I used to weigh 538 pounds,” Salewske said.
A co-worker wanted Salewske to see that picture every day to motivate him on a weight loss journey he’d started a few months earlier. Salewske’s boss at the time was concerned about the 538-pound man and paid for him to enroll at the Cooper Lean Program at Cooper Aerobics Center.
Through better eating and regular exercise, Salewske dropped 300 pounds.
Now 22 years and 334 pounds later, he’s a lean 204 pounds and hoping a book about his life will inspire others to change their lives.
“There’s really nothing in there about how to lose weight. There’s no like calories or foods, It’s really about motivation,” Salewske said about the book called Half the Man, Twice the Faith: The Rick Salewske Story.
It’s his story of losing weight and gaining faith. Salewske believes a connection to God pulled him out of dark times and into a better life.
“When I lost the 300 pounds originally, I thought that I could like snack every once in a while and then I could eat sugar and I could do this, I could do that. And I learned over the years that I can’t,” he said. “I’m an addict. And, and what do you have to do? You have to quit things. I have to quit certain foods in order to do this. But I really think that’s what’s really helped me over the last two years is my relationship with God.”
Like a lot of people, Salewske’s weight crept up during the coronavirus pandemic. He knew he needed to get back in control, and it started with cutting out sugar and “bad foods. I cut out all the drinks and I decided to just eat a lot of fruits, a lot of vegetables, a lot of chicken, a lot of fish, I never stopped exercise. But, I think the biggest thing with me was that this time around, I kind of left it with God. If I had a hard day, I always told myself He’s got my back.”
Salewske wanted to write a book that could help people overcome their own challenges but couldn’t afford it. A friend put him in touch with a writer who loved his story and two years later, Half the Man, Twice the Faith was released and now sold online.
“Really the message of the book is to try to help people, whatever problems that they have going on with life, whatever it is, mine was weight,” he said. “I was 38. I was 38 years old and now 24 years later, I’m gonna be 62. I’ve been married for over 20 years and I have three kids. I’m blessed.
Salewske will sign copies of his book on Friday, June 7th, at Cooper Fitness center in Dallas. He’ll be there from 10 a.m. to noon and again from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. It’s open to the public with books available for purchase for $20.
