That changed two years ago when he got a wake-up call at Kalama School on Maui. "The kids presented me with a school T-shirt in size XXL and it was too tight. So I told the kids: 'OK, you guys. In two years, when I come back, I'll be fitting this shirt.' Last fall I put on the shirt for the kids and it was too loose."

Thus began DeLima's transformation from a plate-lunch-eating couch potato to a fitter, more streamlined lover of brown rice. He jump-started his weight-loss program with one month on the Atkins Diet, "But I love pasta and rice, so I switched to the small-meals diet and that's working for me."

Name: Frank DeLima.

Age: 55.

Profession: Entertainer, president of the Frank DeLima Student Enrichment Program.

Height: 5 feet 11 inches tall.

Weight: 245 pounds, down from 320 two years ago.

Target weight: "I'll keep losing weight until my doctor says I'm at an OK weight."

Frank DeLima, 75 pounds lighter than he used to be, aims to get slimmer by working out at the gym and eating more carefully. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

When and why I started working out: "I got too fat, and my doctor said diabetes was knocking at my door."

My good foods/bad foods: "I've tried every kine diet, from the cabbage soup diet to the Atkins Diet. What works for me is the small-meal diet. You cannot eat plenny; you gotta eat small meals. That way, your brain gets used to the idea that it will always have some food, so it doesn't get cravings or go crazy letting you eat too much."

His fast food and plate lunches have been replaced with brown rice and vegetables. He eats more fish and only the leanest of meats. He has figured out how to make some of his favorite foods, such as fried rice and oatmeal cookies, with fat-free, sugar-free ingredients. He swears by Splenda, especially in his favorite oatmeal raisin cookies.

He keeps two healthy snacks in his car: apples and whole-wheat crackers. He's begging Diamond Crackers to come up with a whole-grain cracker.

When traveling, he bypasses the fast-food outlets and looks for menus that include brown rice and vegetables. "It's a little more expensive, but it's so worth it."

My biggest motivator: "To continue my health. My body is a gift, and I'm supposed to care for it."

My biggest roadblock to fitness: "Pain — especially my leg — and laziness. Since turning 50, it's gotten much harder — it seems my whole metabolism changed."

My next challenge: "To lose enough weight that my blood pressure is down where I want it and I can stop taking medicines."