Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Philadelphia Police Officer Meets Weight Loss Challenge
Aired July 03, 2001 - 09:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Today is weigh-in day in Philadelphia as thousands of people responded to the mayor's challenge to slim down and shape up.
And one of those who answered the call is Police Officer Juan "Ace" Delgado. He once weighed in at 212 pounds. Now you can see he is a slender and lovely, handsome 148 pounds, and he's joining us to share his success story.
Officer Delgado, good morning and thanks for joining us.
JUAN "ACE" DELGADO, MAYOR'S CHALLENGE PARTICIPANT: Good morning, Daryn, how you doing?
KAGAN: I'm doing great.
Now, I know you're a part of this citywide effort to lose weight, but when did you know, personally, it was time?
DELGADO: Well, one day I was driving my patrol vehicle and I realized that when I had my shirt and tie my - was hurting me a little bit around the neck area and I told myself, you know what, it's time to lose weight. It's time to work out, time to feel good about myself.
KAGAN: And we have a picture of you with an old pair of pants. What size did you start at and what size are you in now?
DELGADO: Well, I started out at a size 38 and now I'm a size 32.
KAGAN: Really. Very - now, how did you do it?
DELGADO: Well, basically the beginning I started doing basically something like a protein diet for a few weeks and then I started eating right and feeling good because I noticed that just the protein diet is not going to do it. You have to exercise, you have to eat right and you have to watch what you're basically eating. You know, eat a lot of vegetables, have a lot of fruits, drink a lot of water and you have to do some cardio. You don't do any cardio exercises, you're not going to lose this weight just on eating.
KAGAN: That's kind of the kicker, isn't it, Officer Delgado, that there's no shortcut?
DELGADO: There is no shortcut.
KAGAN: You have to put in the work and the exercise and also eat right as well.
Have you inspired some of your other officers?
DELGADO: Yes, I have, and a lot of the officers look up to me basically in reference to how they feel. Sometimes they see me in the gym everyday and they're like, Ace, you're in the gym again. I said it's the only way to stay in shape. You have to stay in shape. You know just like the mayor says, you have to - you know you have to work out, you have to feel good about yourself, have a lot of energy. It's not just about losing weight. It's about feeling good about yourself.
KAGAN: And have you noticed how it's helped you do your job better being smaller?
DELGADO: Yes, it has. Yes, it has. I have a clear mind. I feel better about myself. My self-esteem is much better and I have a lot of energy.
KAGAN: You know it's one thing to lose it. We've all kind of been able to do that, but what about keeping it off? Are you concerned about that?
DELGADO: I think that's the most important thing. I know how sometimes they say you can't have it -- you know like fatty foods and stuff like that, I - you know I can't disagree or not, but you know, it's OK to have a cheese steak or a sandwich. Yes, we all miss that but it's when you pile the other things next to it like the French- fries, a lot of cheese and a regular soda. If you had a diet coke and a cheese steak, you know, you'd be cutting down on some of the fat and that's where I think a lot of people make the mistakes. They eat at the wrong times, they don't work out when they're supposed to or, you know, they eat certain things that they're not supposed to eat. But I think it's OK to have a cheese steak once in a while.
KAGAN: So you haven't denied yourself all the good stuff?
DELGADO: Oh no. You - I mean you should never deny yourself. You should - in other words, you should give yourself a reward for losing that one or two pounds and just look at it that way and realize that, you know, you don't want to get to that same weight again.
KAGAN: Well, this is an example of a shrinking police force is a good thing, I would say. You're celebrating that in Philadelphia.
Officer Juan Delgado, congratulations on the weight loss, good luck with keeping it off and thanks for joining us this morning.
DELGADO: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
