Congratulations to our Biggest Loser and Biggest Gainer
Competitors!
An average of 3.1% body fat was lost among all competitors
in the Biggest Loser category, and an average lean mass of 8.5lbs was gained
among the Biggest Loser competitors. Thank you to everyone who competed in our
first competition, making it incredibly successful and memorable for both the
Trainers and Clientele. Stay tuned for future announcements regarding
continuing challenges, and good luck pursuing your individual goals.
Biggest Loser Winner:
Ann-Marie Eaton Trainer:
Ryan Weinman
"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."
Biggest Gainer Winner:
Jonathon Nichols Trainer:
Brandon Holt
"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."