5 contestants vie to become this year's Fittest Loser
A recent college grad focused on looking his best for the job hunt. A mom eager to keep up with her young kids. A man looking forward to walking his daughter down the aisle. A woman whose very busy life got in the way of her diet, and another ready to take on the twin demons of smoking and overeating.
They are the Fittest Loser contestants - five Daily Herald readers chosen to join a three-month competition sponsored by Push Fitness of Schaumburg.
More than 100 readers applied to participate in the contest, which is in its second year. That number was whittled to 15, interviews were conducted and Push Fitness chose the five finalists. On Feb. 15, the five contestants gathered at Push Fitness to meet their personal trainers, measure their initial weight and discuss their training regimen.
The contestants will work out three times a week with their trainers, free of charge. They all agreed to work out a minimum of twice a week on their own and follow diet regimens provided by their trainers. The winner of the competition will be the one who loses the most weight, as a percentage of starting weight.
He or she will receive an assortment of prizes, but the real payoff is a new look and a new lifestyle. Last year's five participants lost a combined 200 pounds and kept it off, and said they are more active and healthier as a result.
This year's Fittest Loser competitors are:
Mike Anderson, 23, PalatineAnderson recently graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in business management, but worries that he will be discriminated against in his search for a full-time job because of his size.Anderson, who is 6 feet, 5 inches tall, weighed in at 378 pounds. He says he put on a lot of weight in the five years since high school graduation and topped out at 410 pounds before a recent bout of mononucleosis caused him to lose weight. Anderson has tried weight-loss programs before, but was never able to sustain the effort necessary to succeed. This time, he has trainer Joshua Steckler, a co-owner of Push Fitness, to help him."I am going to teach him the value of holding himself accountable," said Steckler, who uses functional training, which works the body as a whole rather than isolating individual muscles. "I am going to teach him what he needs to know to turn his life around."Anderson said he wants to be able to play basketball and football again with his friends, but he has a more family-oriented goal to reach as well."I want to be able to keep up with my grandma," Anderson said. "She moves pretty fast. She always has to turn around to see where I'm at."Wendy Kreiser, 25, StreamwoodKreiser has three small children and wants to be able to participate fully in their lives, but feels limited by her weight, which was measured at 337 pounds."I feel like I'm cheating my children and husband," Kreiser said in her application.At the meeting with her trainer, Michelle Amsden, Kreiser admitted she is uncertain whether she can see the process through."I wonder if I can give it my all," said Kreiser, who is 5 feet, 9 inches. "I know it is going to hurt."Kreiser said she has already started a workout program at the YMCA and has "cut out a lot of bad stuff already."Amsden said she was going to put Kreiser through "high intensity circuit training" to help Kreiser reach her goal."I'd like to be able to buckle my seat belt and ride bikes with my kids," Kreiser said.Deb Mirabelli, 44, Berwyn Mirabelli, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, wants to run a 5K to benefit GiGi's Playhouse, a resource center in Hoffman Estates and McHenry for families affected by the disorder.She also earned her master's degree in special education, but in the process of changing her life, she gained weight. The 5-foot-9-inch Mirabelli was measured at 236 pounds.Mirabelli said she has received support from her friends, including one who told her that she was an inspiration. "I said, 'Me? You are my inspiration.'"Mirabelli is working with trainer Steve Amsden, who trained last year's contest winner, policewoman Lisa Notarnicola. Amsden said he was going to "run her into the ground" with a varied training program that would include dumbbells and stair training.Mirabelli has two other children, and wants to be able to do everything they do as they grow older."I need to drop the added weight to build my confidence," Mirabelli said.Frank Valenti, 54, Bartlett Valenti is a retired baker who weighed in at 295 pounds on his 5-foot, 9-inch frame. His goal is to look good in July when he walks down the aisle with his daughter at her wedding.Valenti has high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol, giving a particular challenge to his trainer, Push Fitness co-owner Mark Trapp."Starting out, we are going to look at his ability to move his body," Trapp said. "We want to change his lifestyle more than change his diet."Valenti has already tried that. He has been using his family's basement treadmill, hoping to build up his stamina for the upcoming three-month workout program."The biggest obstacles with my weight loss is feeling hungry and thinking about food," Valenti said. "I'm always craving something and can't feel satisfied unless it is fulfilled."Jan Vitullo, 50, Lombard The Fittest Loser competition came to Vitullo just as she was celebrating her 50th birthday. She had a revelation when she found herself watching TV's "Biggest Loser" while sitting on the couch rather than walking on the treadmill, as she had done in previous seasons of the show."I need to be 50 and fabulous, not 50 and fat," Vitullo said. "I work from home and have the time to dedicate to myself. I just need a big fat push."Vitullo weighed in at 232 pounds, the lightest of the competitors. Her trainer is Ryan LeBreux."I am going to keep her sweating the entire time she is here," LeBreux said. "I believe in beneficial punishment. Whenever she has a craving, she has to do push-ups."Vitullo has two cravings to deal with, food and smoking. She calls them the "two demons in my life."Vitullo said she has been working out regularly since January, and declared herself ready "to get control of my life."Her concern about the process was not the workouts, it was the time away from Push Fitness."The diet is going to be difficult," Vitullo said. "I am worried about portion control."True13432000Fittest Loser contestants, from left, Mike Anderson, Jan Vitullo, Wendy Kreiser, Deb Mirabelli and Frank Valenti at Push Fitness in Schaumburg.Bill Zars | Staff PhotographerTrue <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Stories</h2><ul class="links"><li><a href="/story/?id=361338">2009 Fittest Loser winner: 'Keep plugging away'<span class="date">[3/1/10]</span></a></li></ul><h2>Video</h2><ul class="video"><!-- Start of Brightcove Player --><div style="display:none"></div><!--By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and Cfound at http://corp.brightcove.com/legal/terms_publisher.cfm.--><script type="text/javascript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js"></script><object id="myExperience69074254001" class="BrightcoveExperience"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="width" value="300" /><param name="height" value="255" /><param name="playerID" value="18011347001" /><param name="publisherID" value="1659832549"/><param name="isVid" value="true" /><param name="optimizedContentLoad" value="true" /><param name="@videoPlayer" value="69074254001" /></object><!--This script tag will cause the Brightcove Players defined above it to be created as soonas the line is read by the browser. 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