Oct 17, 2002 By Cindy Ekas-Brown/ 8 min read

Chris Romeo Bilek spent months confined to her Uniontown home in 1993 after an eight-pound bag of ice toppled from a grocery store freezer during a freak accident, crushing her left foot. After the accident, Bilek was unable to return to work in her job as a hospital X-ray technician or perform daily household chores. She spent day after day lying in her bed or sitting in a chair as she patiently waited for the shattered bones in her seriously injured foot to heal.

But the recovery process seemed to move at a snail’s pace, and excruciating pain overwhelmed the now-49-year-old woman on a daily basis.

The results of the accident were catastrophic for Bilek’s physical and mental health. She watched in despair as her normal body weight of 125 pounds gradually began to climb. Overcome by frustration, depression and low self-esteem, she felt helpless to break the weight-gain cycle that controlled her body and mind.

Bilek’s depression about the accident and her inability to move caused her to eat out of stress and frustration.

The more she ate, the more weight she gained.

The more weight she gained, the more depressed and stressed out she would become.

The more depressed she would become, the more she ate.

Her self-esteem plummeted to an all-time low.

The 1971 graduate of Uniontown Area Senior High School hit rock-bottom several years later when her weight skyrocketed to 248 pounds. This meant she was more than 120 pounds overweight for her small 5-foot, 1-inch frame.

“I was so disgusted with myself, but I didn’t know what to do or where to turn,” Bilek said during a recent interview. “I knew that I had to do something to change my life, but nothing I tried seemed to work for me. I tried so many diets, it was unbelievable.”

Bilek experimented with almost every weight-loss program imaginable, including Weight Watchers, diet pills and even medically supervised injections that were supposed to lead to weight loss.

But despite her courageous efforts, her story always ended the same way. Bilek would enjoy some short-term success with weight loss, but eventually she would gain the weight back. Sometimes, she ended up weighing more than she did before she began the particular diet program.

Even though she was considered obese, Bilek said she never worried about health issues. Her obesity put her at greater risk for a variety of health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.

“I really never thought about what my weight was doing to my health,” she said. “I never worried about all of the health problems that are associated with obesity. Even though I had gained so much weight, I never did suffer from any health problems.”

But Bilek was very concerned about her appearance and her lack of energy caused by the weight gain. Feeling frustrated and disgusted as she gradually watched her options slip away, Bilek began to consider something that she had never been willing to try – exercise.

“Every time that I went on a diet program, I always gained the weight back,” she said. “But then I began to realize that I never tried exercising and dieting to lose weight. I thought it was time to give that option a try.”

Because she was about 120 pounds overweight, Bilek realized that it was going to be extremely difficult for her to begin an exercise program and stick with it long enough to begin to see significant results.

While she was considering the possibility of beginning an exercise program, Bilek suffered a back injury. Dr. Robert Baker, a Uniontown chiropractor, treated her. During an appointment, Bilek asked him for advice about how to deal with her ongoing weight problem.

“Since I tried everything else and it had failed, Dr. Baker told me that he thought I should try a personal trainer,” she said.

Realizing that she needed help and motivation to keep her headed on the right track, Bilek decided to follow the chiropractor’s advice instead of trying to begin an exercise program on her own.

Bilek turned to Mod Giachetti, a nationally ranked body builder for 25 years who works as a board-certified fitness trainer at the Hopwood Fitness Center, owned by George Wilhelm.

Bilek and Giachetti already knew each other because they were the same age, and they were high school classmates in Uniontown during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In November 2000, Bilek began working out three days a week with Giachetti, who was then employed as a fitness trainer at the former Gym on Penn Street.

At first, Bilek could only use the treadmill for five minutes at a time because of the extra weight she was carrying and her body’s poor physical condition. Eventually, her physical condition began to improve, and her weight started to drop.

Since she was more than 120 pounds overweight, Bilek said it took her about six months before she began to notice results.

After working out for two years, Bilek has lost more than 100 pounds. She now weighs about 140 pounds, and her dress size dropped from an 18 to an 8.

Bilek’s goal is to lose another 15 to 20 pounds. She wants to return to her normal weight of about 125 pounds, which she had maintained for years before her foot injury.

“This whole place has changed my life,” said Bilek, pointing to the weight machines, treadmills, stair climbers and free weights scattered throughout the Hopwood Fitness Center, where she now works out with Giachetti for as long as two hours a day, five days a week. Bilek and Giachetti also ride bicycles about 20 to 25 miles a day through the Hopwood and Hutchinson areas.

“I laugh at him because he always tells me, ‘I’m Mod … not God’ when we’re working out,” Bilek said. “It’s a humbling experience to walk into a gym where most of the people are in pretty good physical condition. I was wearing big baggy sweat clothes because none of my clothes even fit me, at that point.”

When she first started working with Giachetti, Bilek asked him if he thought he could help her.

“Mod told me, ‘If you listen to what I tell you to do and work with me, you can accomplish your goals,'” said Bilek, explaining that Giachetti’s motivational skills inspired her to strive to reach her weight-loss and fitness goals.

In addition to the exercise program, Giachetti also instructed Bilek to begin a strict low-fat diet, which includes mostly protein, vegetables and fruits. Bilek restricts the carbohydrates in her diet.

“I can eat some carbohydrates and fruits, but I have to eat them before noon so my body has a chance to burn them up,” she said. “Your body will turn carbohydrates into sugar and then store it as fat, so you really have to be careful not to eat too many carbs when you’re trying to lose weight.”

On a typical day, Bilek eats substitute eggs, which have no fat, and oatmeal with skim milk for breakfast.

Her lunch includes a small amount of meat with vegetables. She eats skinless grilled chicken, tuna or lean beef with brown rice and grilled vegetables for dinner.

She also eats low-fat snacks and protein drinks in the morning and afternoon.

Sometimes, Bilek makes a wheat-crust pizza topped with no-fat cheeses, fresh tomatoes and pineapple for dinner.

“At first, I wasn’t really crazy about this diet because I had always been a gourmet cook, and I liked to eat a lot of pasta,” she said. “But now, I like eating this food better because I feel so much better, and I have so much more energy. I try not to cheat because if you cheat one day, it can set you back for the whole week.”

Giachetti, who has trained other people who have lost more than 100 pounds, said he is very pleased with the progress that Bilek has made.

“I do what I can to make sure Chris maintains a positive attitude. I use motivational skills to keep her on track and to make sure that she reaches her goal,” Giachetti said. “I had confidence in her and confidence in me.”

Even though Bilek has recently been dealing with stressful situations in her life, Giachetti said he is impressed because she has not lost sight of her goals.

“Chris has done an excellent job of losing the weight and keeping it off,” he said. “It’s hard work to come to the gym every day. If you’re depressed or injured, you can lose sight of your goals. Chris has managed to stay focused on her goals during difficult times.”

Bilek said the diet and exercise program has restored her self-confidence, changed her attitude and forced her to think about what’s important in life.

“All of the fancy stuff in life like big houses, expensive cars and nice clothes isn’t important,” Bilek said.

“The only thing that matters is if you’re happy. And I’m happier with myself than I’ve ever been, right now. I think that change in attitude has really helped me to stick with the program and turn my life around.”