Fatty foods and alcohol were a way of life for restaurateur Rick Olson.

On any given Friday you could find him propped up at a bar, drinking for hours. On Saturday mornings he’d ease his hangover with a cheeseburger or some other greasy treat. No more.

The 53-year-old owner of Red Steakhouse & Bar and Bermuda Bistro is working to get his body back in shape after years of abuse.

He’s cut out all alcohol, is exercising, and is on a strict diet with hopes of losing 50lbs over the coming months.

“I got a wake-up call when I hit an all-time high of 310 pounds,” he said. “I’m one of those guys who never really goes to the doctor. I went last year for the first time in ten years and got read the riot act. I was borderline diabetic and had high blood pressure. I was prescribed pills.”

He ignored everything the doctor said. It wasn’t until about a year later that “the penny finally dropped”.

“I was finding it very difficult to do such routine tasks as putting on my shoes, walking up steps,” he said. “I felt so bad I thought I could have just dropped dead. I was 53 years old. I figured I’d better get my stuff together if I wanted to stick around for another 20 years.”

The former soccer player was fit, and weighed 185lb when he moved to Bermuda in the early 1980s. He decided a change of lifestyle was necessary but then a health scare sent him into a tailspin.

“While I waited to hear whether it was definitely cancer or not I was in a state of limbo. I drank like a fool for two months,” he said. “I would always get up early and go to work and eat too much of the wrong foods [which is easy when] you have two restaurants. I’d sneak an extra meal in and I would have to go home at 2.30 most afternoons because I was exhausted.

“After my nap I’d come back to work and go to happy hour.”

He’s lost 20lbs over the past month. And although he’d like to lose another 30lbs, he’s not making any promises.

“I’m just taking it one weekend at a time,” Mr Olson said. “I did the 100-day challenge four years ago and weighed in at 294. I got to 249 and then stopped. The interesting thing with the 100-day challenge is I put most of it back on over the next 100 days because I stopped cold. I stopped exercising, I stopped eating right.

“I tried this year to go through January without drinking. I didn’t even make ten days.

“But one of the reasons why I think I got so fat is that I was travelling half the year. I like to eat and drink. I like to try new restaurants. But I think I also want to set a better example for my sons. I haven’t committed myself to a time period but check on me in six months’ time and it will be interesting to see if I’m 50lbs lighter than I am now.”

At the moment, pasta and bread are a no-no for Mr Olson. He tries to walk twice a day, a minimum of three miles each time.

His efforts are being supported by his wife Gillian, and friend Mark Sterns.

“I’m taking a nutrition class and I read a lot but at the end of the day it’s up to me to get myself motivated if it’s to be a lifestyle change. My wife has seen it all before. It took about two weeks [before she came on board] but she believes in me now and has been really helpful with meals.

“Mark is the one who’s been getting me moving; trying to keep me motivated. Before, my recovery time was minutes; now it’s about 15 seconds. In just a short period of time I feel so much better. I have more energy; I sleep better.”

Although he feels great, Mr Olson admits he’s still tempted to backslide.

“It’s very tough to watch food come out of the kitchen. I saw a beer commercial the other day and I was physically salivating,” he said. “But to me, drinking breeds bad eating habits. There was a time when I would have 15 drinks in two hours because I was doing shots with seven or eight guys and there was someone buying all the time.

“On a Saturday morning I’d wake up and want something greasy. Now when I wake up I’m going for a four-mile walk instead.”

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