In July 2023, Tom Carroll, a 34-year-old content creator from Lincoln, Rhode Island, weighed himself after a long time. The figure that greeted his eyes, 360 pounds, left him “numb with disbelief.” While Tom was always a “big kid,” it was a wedding photo that reflected his weight gain. In his own words, “I looked bad,” he wrote in an essay titled “Chick-fil-A Saved My Life.”
He realized at that point that he was in a critical condition. Not only was his weight affecting his appearance, but it was also giving him health issues, such as persistent pain in the chest area, and making him heat up even on relatively warm summer days. He knew that something had to happen if he was going to do better in his life.
Carroll’s response to his health issues was a surprise; it happened on a visit to a fast-food drive-thru. Following Thanksgiving leftovers and again feeling chest pain, Tom Carroll resolved on New Year’s 2023 to quit booze and eat more mindfully. His favorite meal? Chick-fil-A Spicy Southwest Salad with grilled chicken.
My new love… Chick-fil-A Spicy Southwest Salad. Yeah it’s $10 bucks but damn it’s delicious and 400 calories sans dressing ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/0rMfIkKHH8
— FBI Crimes (@Mag48_FBICrimes) January 30, 2023
He found it surprisingly enjoyable, saying, “It felt like a real treat while also being healthy,” This salad, packed with greens, black beans, corn and grilled chicken, was a game-changer. It had just the right kick with 680 calories that kept him on the straight and narrow path of healthy eating. So much so that he’d often make the four-mile trip twice a day to pick up a pair of these salads—one to savor for lunch and another to look forward to at dinner.
What began as a desperate attempt to change his life turned into a deeply ingrained habit of behavior for Carroll. He would often skip the first meal of the day or eat a light snack of some yogurt with fruit. Subsequently, at lunch, he would eat the same Chick-fil-A salad, and after that, he would prepare his variation of it for dinner.
He decided to ditch sugary sodas and instead started to consume water and seltzer. He also committed to joining a gym. By December 11, 2023, he had managed to shed some serious weight and was down to 298 pounds.
Rhode Island man lost 132 pounds by eating Chick-fil-A every day for more than a year https://t.co/0XHYF3vI1H pic.twitter.com/7hV6mfrtPc
— New York Post (@nypost) April 6, 2025
Fast forward a year, and on December 12, 2024, he had reached his goal of 228 pounds, having lost an incredible 132 pounds in total.
When Carroll spoke to TODAY.com on April 1, 2025, he said with a smile, “Once you find your routine, it’s the thing you can always go back to.”
Experts in the field of nutrition think Carroll’s approach had a lot of sense to it. Dr. Lisa Young, who is both a registered dietitian and an adjunct professor at NYU, shared her insights in that very same TODAY interview. She pointed out, “He made a change by choosing a much healthier option than he had been eating previously.”
The salad’s high protein content, which stands at 33 grams, was also instrumental in making him feel full. Nevertheless, Young did point out the sodium content of the salad, which is rather high at 1,570 milligrams. She suggested a small tweak, like having the dressing on the side to help manage that.
Most notably, Carroll’s decision to eliminate alcohol was a huge step, as it often leads to those pesky late-night cravings. According to Young, the fact that he didn’t feel like he was missing out on anything was a major plus. “He did not feel deprived, and that worked in his favour,” she said. “It didn’t have to be Chick-fil-A, but it was fun food that worked for him.”
Carroll is not receiving any payment from Chick-fil-A; however, the encouragement from the local workers and his growing belief in himself is what kept him motivated. He penned down his thoughts, expressing, “I am filled with regret for not being selfish and choosing myself earlier than I did.”
His journey isn’t about some magic diet that promises the moon. It’s about finding long-term happiness in the everyday things, the routine. He advises people to “Give yourself the opportunity to be the life of the party for a very long time.”
Tom Carroll’s experience might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Still, it certainly shows that real, lasting transformation can begin with something as simple as choosing to have a salad and making a single choice on an otherwise regular day.
