Mark Gorbett has spent four decades in public service, one-third of that time in high-profile positions.
He is certainly a recognizable Bartholomew County figure, but I did a double-take when catching a glimpse of the former sheriff. The facial features looked familiar. The smaller body frame did not.
Soon afterward, the retired sheriff shared how he dropped nearly 100 pounds in a year’s time by adopting a healthier lifestyle.
Gorbett had been down this path before. He experienced a similar weight loss when he graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2002.
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“I was addicted to running,” Gorbett said, putting in 5 to 10 miles a day at the time. “It was euphoric.”
But the steady pounding from long-distance running took a toll on Gorbett’s knees.
With no comparable activity to burn off the calories when he stopped running, the pounds returned.
Gorbett’s wake-up call was delivered 15 years later with a frank health prognosis by Dr. Steve Kinsey, who was about to retire from his practice.
“It was the look he gave me,” Gorbett said. “I was on a path to die young.”
Gorbett committed to significant life changes on Oct. 23, 2018. It was the day after his first appointment with Dr. Robert Kavelman, who took over Kinsey’s practice.
At 61, Gorbett was pre-diabetic and facing a lifetime of using insulin to control his sugar level.
The 6-1 Gorbett weighed 280.5 pounds and had a Body Mass Index of 37.01, which labeled him severely obese.
But in a mere three months, Gorbett lost 47 pounds. His weight dropped to 233.9 and his BMI was down to 30.86, just outside the overweight limit.
By Oct. 3 of last year, about 12 months after committing to a healthier lifestyle, Gorbett had dropped to 186.2 pounds. A BMI of 24.57 put him in the healthy/normal range.
“This time, Mark chose life,” said Renee Gorbett, his wife of 32 years.
Gorbett launched into a daily walking regimen and committed to consuming healthier food and drinks, in contrast to apple pie and M&Ms with peanuts that were go-to sources of energy during nearly 36 years in law enforcement.
“People joke about cops and donuts. It’s from stress,” he said. “I was an addict when it comes to sugar.”
Gorbett gave up sugar and no longer drinks milk or soda. Red meat is out, and he won’t eat anything fried.
He uses food as fuel rather than to find comfort.
Instead of beef, he eats chicken, turkey and seafood — and a lot of peanut butter. He has replaced sugar with salads and vegetables. Gorbett primarily drinks water, five to seven large glasses a day.
The family bought him a Charge 2 Fitbit to count his steps. Gorbett uses the cellphone pacer app to chart his steps, weight and sugar readings.
His goal was 10,000 steps a day, but he has averaged 12,185, which is equal to six miles. The day before our interview, Gorbett took 25,507 steps, or 12 miles.
Not far from his home, Menard’s is a favorite haunt. He’ll walk every aisle inside the big-box store.
Gorbett will purchase items for home projects, but more importantly he’s bought into a commitment of daily exercise.
After losing 94 pounds and nine inches around his waist the first year, Gorbett now focuses on weight maintenance and stays between 182 and 187 pounds.
“It’s a defining moment when you clean out your closet,” he said.
Gorbett is no longer pre-diabetic, and he’s off cholesterol medicine. He gets more sleep at night and has discovered an inner calm.
A turning point came while mowing his back yard, noticing two deer on the wooded property.
“I stopped and watched those deer,” he said, compared to previously when he would have kept mowing.
Gorbett’s family is proud of the substantive life changes he has made.
Wife Renee had given Mark a walking stick to take along his new journey, and he has grasped it tightly.
“His dedication to what he puts his mind to is incredible,” Renee said. “It’s his new life.”
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Mark Gorbett
Age: 62
Family: Wife Renee Gorbett, an executive with First Financial Bank; daughter Laura Gorbett, a teacher for Center Grove Community Schools; and son Christopher Gorbett, a manager with The National Bank of Indianapolis.
Residence: Native of Columbus, lives on west side
Education: Columbus North High School, 1975 graduate. Criminal justice major at Ball State University, but left college 20 credit hours short of graduation when he got a job offer to join the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
Profession: Nearly 36 years with the department, including eight as chief deputy and eight as sheriff from 2007 to 2014, when he was elected to the county council — now serving his second four-year term.
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Retired editor Tom Jekel writes a weekly column that appears each Sunday on The Republic’s Opinion page. Contact him by email through [email protected]
