mike takes control

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By Doug Donaldson and Jeanne Ambrose;
Photos by Ashley Inman and courtesy of Mike Huckabee

A type 2 diabetes diagnosis scared former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee into making positive lifestyle changes that resulted in a weight loss of more than 100 pounds. Here’s how he did it.

From his childhood straight into politics, where he served as governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, Mike Huckabee enjoyed eating. He enjoyed eating a lot.

Like many people, he found comfort in food. He also relied on his taste buds to tap into sweet childhood memories. “I was a foodaholic,” he tells Heart-Healthy Living™ magazine in an exclusive interview.

And climbing the political ladder doesn’t burn many calories. By the time he was 47, the 5-foot-11-inch politician weighed a hefty 300 pounds.

Diabetes Diagnosis

It was a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 2003 that startled Huckabee into taking action to save his life. “That was a harsh wake-up call,” he says. “The doctor said that without drastic lifestyle changes I was in the last decade of my life.”

That 10-year death sentence frightened Huckabee into making changes. “I decided that wasn’t the exit strategy I wanted, so I needed to learn how to balance nutrition and exercise,” he says.

Huckabee knew he had to look within for such changes. He examined his history to find out what led him to make bad food choices, and he realized his overeating was connected to growing up in a household where food was not abundant. As an adult he tended to eat beyond fullness, because as a child he wasn’t confident about getting another opportunity to eat well. Also, food had been used as a reward.

“We didn’t have much when I was growing up,” he says. “When I’d get an A in school, I’d get an extra piece of cake at dinner. If I made a bad grade, no dessert. And I can remember to this day the vivid texture and taste of a birthday cake from a bakery that we’d get once a year. It was such a treat to get a store-bought cake.”

The Turnaround
Finding the roots of his unhealthy behaviors enabled Huckabee to change his eating habits and begin a full-fledged fitness plan. “The key is learning what it is that draws us like a magnet to our old behaviors,” he says. “Until you can identify what’s causing these cravings, you can’t really change. In moments of weakness, you’re drawn to what’s comfortable. Understanding that helps.”

Within a year of his diabetes diagnosis, Huckabee lost 110 pounds. Since then he’s run four marathons, including the 2005 and 2006 Little Rock Marathons, the Marine Corps Marathon, and the ING New York City Marathon. “I’m healthier now at 51 than I was at 18,” he says.