Daily Trips to Chick-fil-A Helped This Man Lose 132 Pounds
Typically, fast food isn't part of a weight-loss plan—but for one Rhode Island man, daily trips to Chick-fil-A became the unexpected key to shedding pounds and turning his health around. Of course, there’s a twist. The story involves a man in his 30s named Tom Carroll, who works in New England as a sports radio host and who had ballooned to 360 pounds in the summer of 2023, wearing the largest clothes of his life while trudging through each day in misery and fearing a heart attack could strike at any moment, he explained on his Substack.
“I liked being the big guy that had a good time, that could go out and eat pizza whenever, and go have a beer and not think about it,” Carroll told WBZ in Boston.
Discouraged by his weight and appearance, Carroll decided it was time to shed some pounds. He didn’t want to make a big show of it. He didn’t want to tell friends. And he definitely didn’t want to exercise. Still, he wasn’t fully committed—at least, not yet.
“Some weeks saw me opting for the salad at the family cookout instead of my normal two Saugys and a cheeseburger,” he wrote. “Some weeks saw me sneaking out after my wife fell asleep for three tacos and a burrito with a large Mountain Dew a little after midnight.”
His diet was on again, off again—that is until he had an idea involving Chick-fil-A. He and his wife had long been fans of the chicken chain, consuming “shakes, sides, sandwiches—you name it, we ate it,” he wrote. The key to his diet, though, was staying away from the famous sandwiches. Instead, Carroll’s go-to was Chick-fil-A’s Spicy Southwest Salad. It was, he wrote, the “perfect blend of veggies mixed with the tortilla strips for an incredibly rich crunch.” He always topped it with cold spicy grilled filet and creamy salsa dressing.
“It all just danced on the taste buds in a way that nothing else had throughout my journey,” he wrote. “After years of dieting here-and-there, always finding myself ‘relapsing’ out of sheer boredom from the mundane lifestyle of cutting out fun foods, I had found something that checked all the boxes.”
Here’s a sentence I didn’t think I’d ever write:
— Tom Carroll (@yaboiTCfresh) January 22, 2025
I lost 132 pounds eating @ChickfilA every single day for lunch, and in the process saved my own life
Stepped waaay outside my comfort zone and wrote an essay about my up-and-down journey to get healthy
✍️ https://t.co/dZP55gqySx pic.twitter.com/62AN8KdsO9
Carroll made a commitment to eating the tasty salad each day at his local Chick-fil-A in South Attleboro, Mass.
“I knew right then and there, I needed to make this salad a regular part of my routine. I knew that if I could make eating healthy that enjoyable, I’d be able to stay on track,” he wrote.
A few weeks later, after a health scare that landed him in the hospital, Carroll was shocked to learn he had lost 60 pounds.
“My daily trips to Chick-fil-A for the Spicy Southwest Salad were working, and weren’t going to stop any time soon,” he wrote.
Spicy Southwest Salads aren’t the only part of his new diet. He also gave up alcohol. Still, Chick-fil-A’s salads have been at the heart of his transformation. The 6-foot-2 Carroll dropped from 360 pounds to 228, marking 132 pounds lost. Chick-fil-A employees grow excited when he enters. He hopes his story helps others.
“Chick-fil-A saved my life, and I can’t wait to be a loyal customer for many years to come. I know this diet works for me, and I can’t wait to keep it rolling as the years unfold.”
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Brandon Bell/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published March 27, 2025.
