48 Hours

Cold Turkey (16x11)

Air date: Nov 29, 2002

48 Hours Investigates weight loss with some interesting new information for anyone who's ever thought about losing weight, which has to be just about all of us. Right? We'll be offering up diet alternatives including lap band surgery endorsed by Ann Wilson of the rock group Heart; the hot new fitness craze of pole dancing (hold onto your seats for this piece!) and the story of one entire town – Dubuque, Iowa - that decided enough's enough. They lost close to a ton of weight in just 10 weeks! This is a program we can all identify with — directly or indirectly. Even well-known New York restaurateur Drew Nieporent, who hit 335 on the scales, decided he had to do something drastic, is featured. Correspondent Richard Schlesinger talks to Nieporent about how he has lost more than 100 pounds, the old-fashioned way. Richard and his team spent several days with Drew, who wanders from one restaurant to the next, equipped with a cell phone and his magic elixir, a bottomless container of green tea. Although fattening temptations are everywhere – we discovered that Drew has the best low-cal lunches of anyone we know. On any given day he's having sushi from Nobu, grilled salmon from Tribeca Grill or grilled chicken from Icon. And in all Drew's restaurants, his chefs keep a supply of tomatoes on hand for him to snack on.