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thedrifter
01-17-06, 12:53 PM
January 23, 2006
The incredible shrinking recruit
Medic in training lost more than 200 pounds
By Michelle Tan
Times staff writer

Roderick Evans hasn’t had a Snickers candy bar in three years.

A self-proclaimed “Snickerholic” who ate a Snickers bar after every meal, Evans also gave up fried food and sandwiches piled high with butter — because he wanted to be a soldier.

It wasn’t easy. Evans carried 418 pounds on his 5-foot-7-inch frame and wore pants with 60-inch waists.

So he exercised. And he dieted. And after three years, Evans had lost an incredible 230 pounds. When he enlisted in the Army Reserve last July, he weighed in at 188 pounds.

And the weight kept falling off. Evans now weighs 165 pounds, and he’s a private training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to become a combat medic.

“I couldn’t walk 15 to 20 steps without sitting down,” Evans said. “I got sick of being sick and tired. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Evans got serious about losing weight after a Navy recruiter visited his home in Detroit three years ago to sign up Evans’ son.

Evans, who was 36 at the time, asked about the military’s age limit.

The recruiter said, “You’re just too big,” Evans recalled. “From there, I just went on a crusade.”

Evans grew up in Detroit with his mom and three younger siblings. Even then, he was a big boy.

After high school, Evans attended Grambling State University in Louisiana, where he earned a music degree. He stayed on after graduation, playing the trombone with the university’s band and traveling to all its performances.

“After I got a comfort level teaching, we would do things with the band where you didn’t have to stay physically fit,” Evans said. “I got comfortable, and we ate with the football team. When the football team eats, they eat like kings.

“People have their drugs. My drug was food. I just enjoyed eating,” he said. So the weight slowly piled on.

Evans moved back to Detroit about four years ago with his wife of 19 years, LaTanya. Not long afterward, the Navy recruiter came looking for Evans’ son, Teslin, who is 21 and now a petty officer third class.

On Oct. 21, 2002, Evans started his life-changing diet and exercise plan with help from his wife. The couple joined a gym and started to exercise together.

“I couldn’t run at the time. Now, I run five to six miles a day and swim a mile a day,” Evans said.

He cut back on food, eating five small meals a day instead of one or two big ones.

Evans used to eat “anything fried. I would make gravy sandwiches, butter sandwiches, it didn’t make a difference,” he said. “It didn’t matter as long as there was bread.”

Now, he eats fruit instead of candy. His food is baked or broiled, and he drinks plenty of water and juice.

In July, Evans had another encounter with a recruiter. The Army recruiter was calling for Evans’ daughter, Alana, 22. His daughter didn’t join the military, but Evans again asked about the age limit. This time, the recruiter invited him to visit the recruiting station.

“I took the physical test on the spot,” Evans said. “He said, ‘You’re good.’ ”

Evans became a soldier July 8, and he’s maintaining his new lifestyle, especially as he trains to become a combat medic.

“It never stops,” he said. “We run every day.”

Evans will finish combat medic school Jan. 27. In the meantime, he’s busy being “Pops” to the younger soldiers in his unit, Charlie Company, 232nd Medical Battalion, at Fort Sam Houston.

Michelle Tan covers the Army.

Ellie