Weight-loss guru Harvey Brooker ‘saved lives’
Harvey Brooker, the Toronto weight-loss guru whose radio ads said “If you could do it alone, you would have done it already,” died Thursday. He was 74.
Since 1985, Brooker held weightloss classes that focused on healthy eating habits for men and how to keep weight off.
Hundreds of Torontonians have attended his classes, where Brooker and other attendees told their success stories and shared their tips in a “Power Hour” talk.
Participants in his classes included columnist Robert Fulford, CBC Radio host Michael Enright and Toronto Mayor John Tory, who lost 34 pounds when he joined in 2010.
Brooker is survived by his wife of 53 years, Helen, and their two children.
Tory offered his condolences to Brooker’s family on Thursday.
“Harvey Brooker inspired hundreds of men, including me, to lose weight and thus improve their health and longevity. He literally saved lives and he did so through his acquired knowledge and the power of his personality,” Tory said.
Brooker started his weight-loss program after losing 50 pounds at the age of 27 in 1971. He kept the weight off by following a philosophy that weight loss wasn’t just about food, but about self-confidence and having a support system.
The Brooker Weight Loss for Men program ran on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for men of all ages and professions. At the classes, Brooker would speak on a range of topics about healthy eating.
“It’s like an AA meeting except you’re addicted to food not alcohol,” said Michael Yaneff.
After hearing Brooker’s radio ads, Yaneff signed up for the yearlong weight loss program in December 2015. At the time, he weighed 350 pounds, had sleep apnea and took cholesterol pills.
Yaneff said he lost 160 pounds on Brooker’s program.
“Harvey saved my life,” he said. “I’ve tried so many other weight-loss programs but nothing worked. If I didn’t meet Harvey, I would be dead by the time I turn 40.”
After members reach their weightloss goal, they started their “maintenance” where they continued to live healthier lifestyles to keep the weight off.
Some were then asked by Brooker to be speakers at the weekly meetings, including Yaneff. Yaneff gave his first talk last week. “The city will deeply miss him, but the classes will go on,” he said.