Rhode Island man Tom Carroll loses 132 pounds eating Chick-fil-A every day

A Rhode Island man credited Chick-fil-A for saving his life as he shed 132 pounds eating the popular fast-food chain’s Spicy Southwest Salad for lunch every day for over a year.

Tom Carroll, a 6′ 2” digital content producer for a local radio station in Boston, started the journey in July 2023 when he stepped on a scale after a wedding in Syracuse and weighed in at 360 pounds.

“I had never seen it so high,” Carroll wrote in an essay called “Chick-fil-A Saved My Life.” But if I’m being completely honest with myself, it had probably been higher at various points that summer. I never would have known, because that was the first time I had stepped on a scale since the fall of 2019.

Before that, the 34-year-old said the last time he stepped on a scale was at a doctor’s office when a nurse implied he had health problems.

“The nurse at my new doctor’s office told me I was 346 pounds,” Carroll wrote. “‘That’s good eatin’!’ I joked with her.”

“Until it ain’t,” the nurse allegedly responded.

“I didn’t ask for a clarification, obviously – had internally died on impact as soon as she said it,” Carroll confessed.

The creative producer didn’t want to see a doctor again after that embarrassing visit in 2019, so he decided to make dietary changes.

However, he didn’t go all-in on the Chick-fil-A route until Black Friday 2023, when he thought he was having a heart attack while having Thanksgiving leftovers with his wife and friends.

“I had never felt anything like it before, and I hope to never feel anything like it again,” Carroll wrote. “This was the closest I have ever felt to death.”

According to Today, Carrol’s daily lunch consists of mixed greens, tomatoes, roasted corn, black beans, chiles, red bell peppers, cheese and grilled chicken.

The meal amounts to 680 calories and includes tortilla strips, pepitas and a creamy salsa dressing.

“It was awful,” Carroll told the outlet about his weight before the meal change. “Going up and down stairs was an issue. … Sitting on an airplane and getting a seat belt put on was an absolute challenge. Finding clothes that fit and feeling good when you dress up wasn’t fun.”

The content creator would recreate the dish at home for dinner and order multiple salads when the restaurant was closed on Sunday.

“This has been the pillar meal for me each and every day and is what I attribute the bulk of my success to,” Carroll wrote.

Carroll’s only other meals would be yogurt and fruit for breakfast if he didn’t skip them.

He made other lifestyle changes in addition to his new diet, such as going to the gym and cutting out sports drinks and soda.

The sports buff even quit drinking alcohol because, aside from the calories, it made him want to eat more junk food.

By Dec. 2023, Carroll was able to drop his weight to just under 300 pounds and then he shrank to 228 pounds by July 2024.

The media professional has not regained any weight.