The goal is to help make children and their families healthier, and for years Engen has quietly supported those efforts, donating money, sharing the Youth Home mission with potential donors and serving as the agency's master of ceremonies at various fundraising events.
Engen admits it's hard for him to say no to such a worthy cause, and when the organization comes calling, he always answers.
Youth Homes' Anderson had asked: Would he be part of a fundraising team and commit to raising $1,000 for the nonprofit by getting pledges for walking or running in the Missoula Half Marathon on Sunday, July 13?
It wasn't the fundraising part of the question that made him pause.
Obese and out of shape, suffering from aching joints and swollen legs, the mayor knew he was in no condition to participate in the marathon.
He contemplated the idea for some time and then, taking a leap of faith, Engen called Anderson. “I'll give it a try,” he said. “Count me in.”
Committing to a greater cause than himself is what finally pushed the mayor toward a long-held personal goal he couldn't commit to for his own well-being.
With people counting on him - with Montana's youth counting on him - Engen turned to his physician and asked how to lose the necessary weight he needed to be physically active again.
“I've been trying to sort of get off the dime and take better care of myself and eat right and lose weight,” Engen said. “I couldn't figure out a way to get started and I asked my doctor if he thought I was a candidate for bariatric surgery because I felt pretty desperate about the whole deal.”
Engen's physician, Michael Caldwell, suggested something else - a militant personalized diet created and overseen by Ramona Kuburich, owner of RK's Slim N Trim and former owner of the Diet Center, a Missoula weight-loss business in the 1980s.
In February they met for the first time, and under her watchful eye, Engen agreed to follow a 1,200-calories-a-day diet, with a low-sodium, low-carbohydrate and low-fat regime, and committed to meeting with her three times a week to weigh in on her scale.
“The only meat I eat is chicken and fish. Everything else is vegetables,” he said. “I love steak, sausage and bacon and all that stuff,” he said, “but it's just easier for me to not tempt myself by eating it. So I eat a lot of chicken, as much fish as I can - and tofu.”
As of Thursday, Engen had lost 98 pounds, and had gone from wearing pants with a 58-inch waist to 44-inch Levis. He said then that by Sunday, he hoped to have hit his triple-digit goal of 100 pounds when the starting gun sounds at 6 a.m. for the Missoula Half Marathon.
Engen made that goal, and then some: As of Friday night, he had lost 102 pounds.
Aside from Kuburich's expertise, Engen's weight-loss success has been aided by the Good Food Store salad bar, which he frequents about five times a week, and by the unwavering support of his wife, Tracy, and his colleagues at work.
Carrying around a lighter frame has come with many additional, wonderful benefits. “As I lose weight, I'm more inclined to walk more, and Tracy and I like to walk our dog. And I even pumped up the tires on my bike and have gone for spins around the neighborhood.
“It's nice to be able to be more active, and weighing about 100 pounds less makes a huge difference,” he said. “I have fewer aches and pains, and it's just much easier to breathe.”
Kuburich is proud of her celebrity client, who is losing up to 22 pounds a month, and said fondly, “He's my biggest loser at the present.”
Although he's thrilled to be losing the pounds, Engen said he still has another 70 to shed. Yes, he's pleased, but he can't celebrate yet.
“It's one of those things I have struggled with for a long time,” Engen said. “I have been fat and I have been thin. I don't know what is the next trigger that makes me fat again and that's the hard part.”
“There's the maintenance piece, and maintenance is what I have struggled with all of my adult life,” he said. “It's a little embarrassing to talk about when the people I serve have really complex afflictions and challenges. I'm really fortunate my challenge is pretty much in my control - but it is pretty hard for me.”
Kuburich, he knows, will be there to help guide him through that difficult journey when the time comes. “She's seen it all,” he said, “and she's very encouraging.”
Come Sunday, Engen said he'll lace up a pair of his coolest sneakers and put one foot in front of the other and see how far he goes.
He hasn't done any formal training for the half-marathon, and he may only walk a few miles of the course.
That's OK.
“That I even feel comfortable saying I'm going to knock a few miles off the half-marathon is amazing,” he said. “It's been a while since I walked 13.1 miles.
“I'm going to do my best, and this year that's going to be good enough.”
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)