Month
April
Client
Ann-Marie Eaton
Bio
As a child I was a very picky eater and my parents never really pushed me to try new foods. I ate a lot of carbohydrates and sugars (cereals, sandwiches, soda, etc) and ate very little fruits and vegetables, but because I was very active in dance, sports, and riding my bike I remained of normal weight. It wasn't until I was a teenager and I stopped dancing and playing sports that I began to gain weight. The majority of the weight I put on started when I was 16 and got my first job at Pizza Hut. At 18 years old I weighed almost 300 pounds. Then things began to change. When I was 19, I moved out on my own and I didn't have a car so I had to walk everywhere, plus, as most college students know, I could barely afford to eat. The weight began to come off. Through out my 20's I yo-yoed up and down between 250 and 200 and then back again. I tried every concievable diet plan out there: South Beach, Atkins, LA Weight Loss, and just doing it myself. I also tried going to gyms and just using random cardio equipment. Nothing really helped me keep the weight off.
I weighed 250 pounds in 2009 when I began to work at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Virginia Mason offered a Weight Watchers at Work program and I decided to join it in April of 2010. I lost 75 pounds in about 9 months and have managed to keep most of it off. The rigors of the Seattle University College of Nursing got to me during the 2012 Fall Quarter and I put on 15 pounds, weighing in at 190 pounds. This was unacceptable to me. In January of 2013, I re-joined Weight Watchers and discovered the Biggest Loser contest at the William F. Eisiminger Fitness Center so I decided to compete. I entered the contest with the mind set that I WAS going to win. After losing almost 11 pounds and 5% body fat, I DID win.
Month
May
Client
Jonathon Nichols
Bio
As a full time law student here at Seattle U, I am always stressed with school work, internship applications, or legal research. I have always enjoyed sports and exercise. I used to compete in triathlons when I was younger, and even played intramural sports in college. Now, I am more of a spectator when I have time. After last semester, I noticed I was eating more of the foods I knew were unhealthy – pastries, pizza, fried foods – and not much of what I knew I should be eating. This habit was more out of convenience and to deal with stress. After finals I realized I was getting a little too soft around the midsection and was feeling really tired, so I decided I would start working out again.
When I first hit the gym I didn’t feel too out of place since I knew a bit about fitness. However, that feeling changed when I could not push nearly as much weight as I thought a 30 year old man who is my size should be able to push. I decided to get a trainer to help me. I chose to workout with Brandon Holt because one of his listed interests was helping others build a routine. He was challenging and got me started with some easy moves to start building some strength. I was getting really angry at him when my rest time was only 45 seconds, but I started noticing improvements in a matter of weeks. I think he noticed that I have a competitive spirit and encouraged me to sign up for the “Biggest Gainer” competition.
I did not think I was overweight, but when I saw how much body fat I had, I really got motivated and started working out four days a week – one day with Brandon, and three on my own. I even started going to some of the nutrition classes the other trainers were conducting. I learned a lot from Chloe and Troy about what to eat and realized that my exercise alone would not get me the results I wanted. I started eating more protein along with better carbs and fat. When I made this change in my diet, and cut out the sugar and soda, I started seeing rapid improvements when I was in the gym. I also started drinking some quality protein shakes after workouts and in the evening. I started to notice that all of the little changes I was making were improving my energy and I was more motivated to hit the gym hard.
The best day of the competition was when I looked back at how little weight I was able to push when I started and see myself pushing more than double that amount now. I didn’t even care if I won because I was feeling so good already. I am really glad Seattle U had this competition and excited to see what’s next in my fitness goals.