For retired wrestler "Big" Dan Vinal, the comeback is about his health

By ADAM DRAPCHO, LACONIA DAILY SUN

TILTON — Dan Vinal was born to be big. By the time he graduated from Winnisquam Regional High School, he was 300 pounds, and athletic, claiming the state wrestling championship in 1985. His success attracted the attention of Walter "Killer" Kowalski, who recruited him to train at his wrestling academy in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, he also started a restaurant, Big Dan's Family Pizza, in his hometown.

His wrestling career took off. And so did his weight.

"I owned a restaurant," he said. "I just got bigger and bigger."

His size was part of his cultivated identity in the professional wrestling marketplace. He traveled the world "like a rock star," earning several titles along the way, such as International Wrestling Federation's heavyweight champion. After 25 years, though, his body had had enough of jumping off of ladders and crashing through tables, so he retired from wrestling and found equal success selling cars.

And he kept eating. Now, he looks back on something his dad had told him many years ago.

"My father used to tell me, Danny, you don't eat to live. You live to eat. I took me years to understand what he meant."

His eating habits were unchecked. He said he was drinking a gallon of Mountain Dew every day. The result was inevitable, he grew to 700 pounds and was diagnosed with diabetes. He gave the disease little heed, though.

"I had the attitude that it wouldn't happen to me because I was a super hero," he said. But, several years ago, he came face to face with his own mortality.

"All of a sudden, parts of me started to fail."

He could no longer keep up with his kids, was getting tired earlier in the evening, and his eyesight was starting to go. He's since had three surgeries to correct detached retinas, a side effect of diabetes, but his vision remains compromised.

So, there he was, his body battered by a quarter-century of professional wrestling and in the throes of diabetes. And with his 50th birthday coming up on Feb. 17, he knew his youth was well in his past. But, Vinal has a phrase he keeps in mind.

"The comeback is stronger than the setback." And he started to change. Now, he doesn't drink anything but water, he is careful about what he eats, and he makes a point to eat his meals slowly and deliberately. "I'm actually tasting food differently now," he said.

The scale started to move in the other direction.

Around the beginning of the year, he decided to take his weight loss game to a new level. He started a program where he replaces two meals a day with nutrition shakes, he partnered with a coach, and he has added walking to his daily routine. He is now down to 355 pounds, "and it's coming off," he said. His blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol statistics have also seen a dramatic improvement.

His first walk was 200 yards, and it wasn't easy. But, he made it back to his home on East Main Street. His second walk was longer, and now he has the confidence to head out for two miles. Sometimes he walks downtown, but if he can get a ride, he prefers to walk at the Tanger Outlet Mall.

One of his tools, he has found, is his social network. He often posts on Facebook about his ups and downs, and he enjoys having people walk with him. He thinks he can help others, too, by his example. He said his weight loss journey has simultaneously been one of the easiest and most difficult things he's done. It's hard to make the first step, but the next one is easy, and the benefits start soon thereafter. It took him decades to get to 700 pounds, but just a few short years to lose half of that weight.

"It's one step at a time," he said. "The main thing is, I've been able to do all these great things in a very short amount of time."

Vinal invited anyone who wants to join him, just for a walk or to help him for the rest of his journey, to "like" him on Facebook or call him at 293-3007.

"I'm not starving. It's easy to do. It starts with getting off the couch and taking one step," he said. "If I can do it, after the abuse my body has taken ... Why can't I take some people with me, and walk."