A Quirky Diet Won Fame for ‘Subway Guy’

A quirky diet won fame for ‘Subway guy’

By FELIX CARROLL, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Now serving as the nation’s most famous seller of submarine sandwiches—the trim symbol of hope to millions of overweight Americans who sweat and diet in boundless pursuit of the lithe life—Jared Fogle was once, in his own words, a “big, big, big, big guy.”

To prove it, he pulls out an old pair of jeans he used to wear that now serves as a prop in his public speaking engagements. The waist is nearly a yard wide. He holds the pants up to his svelte self. They are really big, big, big, big pants.

“I had become a complete mess. Food had truly taken over my life,” says Fogle, 26, known by millions as the “Subway guy” for his appearance in Subway Restaurant commercials.

He was 20, a fast-food junkie weighing in at more than 425 pounds when his health had deteriorated. He couldn’t go to the movies anymore because he couldn’t fit in the seat.

He vowed to lose weight. And he did, 245 pounds in less than a year on a self-styled diet of two low-fat Subway sandwiches a day—a turkey sub for lunch and a veggie sub for dinner, with baked chips (not fried) and bottled water or a diet soft drink. In tandem with his changed eating habits, Fogle began walking a lot.

He never intended to be a famous dieter. But fame came fast. He was a senior at the University of Indiana when the college newspaper wrote about his weight-loss success. The Subway Restaurant chain soon got wind of it. Then Oprah. Then stardom.

“I never thought in a million years anyone would care what I had done,” says Fogle, who was in town last week, promoting healthful eating and exercise as spokesman for Subway.

Where did you get those pants anyway?

I got them at a big and tall store, and I had to dig deep.

Before changing your eating habits, just how bad did it get?

It got so bad that I would actually start to order two soft drinks just to make the person at the drive-through window think that all this food I was ordering couldn’t possibly all be for me.

What is it about your story that you think is so inspiring?

People see me and they realize that I’m no different than they are. And I think people get a kick out of the fact that (my diet) was a pretty unique idea.

What is the best thing about being Jared Fogle?

For me, I think it’s truly getting to inspire other people these days, especially the kids. I really enjoy it and get a lot of it, and hopefully they do, too.

There are a lot of famous dieters who haven’t been able to keep the weight off. How have you been able to maintain your weight of 190?

By truly changing my lifestyle and keeping in the back of my mind the fact that the weight can always come back on. Not over-obsessing about it, but not forgetting how I got here in the first place. It doesn’t hurt that I do this for a living now—that I get to talk about my story every day and show those pants and say, “Hey, this is what I used to look like.”

How has your diet changed from the two subs a day?

These days I eat pretty much what I want. I just don’t eat the quantities. For me, it’s just a matter of portion control.

And how do you exercise?

Walking. As briskly as I can, whenever I can. Usually in airport terminals, since I travel a lot.

What happens if you’re caught eating a McDonald’s Big Mac?

I would not want to put myself in that position. That would not be good. The funny thing is I don’t even crave that food anymore. I haven’t had it in years, whereas I used to be really addicted to it.

What question do you get asked most frequently?

How didn’t I get sick of eating Subway sandwiches for the year? I always say, “Yes, I love Subway, but to eat it that much you obviously have to have another purpose. And my purpose was to get the weight off. I was a man on a mission.”

If you weren’t the “Subway Guy,” what guy would you be?

I studied marketing and management in college. I could be working on an ad campaign, who knows? Life is sort of crazy. That’s what’s so great about this country is that things like this can happen, especially if you work hard and sacrifice and set goals and stay focused. It’s a great country.

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