Campaigning for a Healthier America

President Clinton called me three weeks ago out of the blue. I was stunned. We have a good relationship, but I'm not expecting him to pop in and say howdy. He said the AHA had approached him and he said that what I was doing in Arkansas with the Health Initiative and what I'd done personally was impressive, and he asked me to serve with him as co-chair of this campaign. I thought it really fit with what I am immersed in myself.

You recently said that two years ago you would have been "about the worst role model you could have had." What changed?

There were actually several factors. There was [good friend] Gov. Frank White's death from a heart attack, my own diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and a heart catheterization, which scared the daylights out of me--though [the test came out] clear, thank God. I was at my heaviest in the spring of 2003, at least 280 pounds at the time. I knew I was unhealthy and I didn't want to be this way. I'd tried all those [weight-loss] programs and they hadn't worked for me. It's not that any are bad; they can all be incorporated into a lifestyle. But I looked at it like I just needed that one program, just needed to lose weight. Then I realized it was more about what went on in my mind than what went into my mouth.

You've lost more than 100 pounds. How long did it take to lose the weight?

About a year. And I don't take any medication for diabetes now. I was able to completely reverse that.

Your book about the experience comes out this month. What makes it different than other weight-loss books?