Competitor loses weight, gains an education
It’s the nights that are going to be different for Jayne Nothnagel.
Nothnagel, a 52-year-old customer service representative from Bloomingdale, lost 42 pounds over three months as a contestant in the Fittest Loser Challenge, held by the Daily Herald and sponsored by Push Fitness of Schaumburg. While losing the weight, she gained an education on what to eat and what not to eat, as she continues her quest to lose weight.
“I will watch my salt,’’ Nothnagel said. “I will not have carbs at night. I also will try not to have fruit at night. I learned stuff that I will keep with me about nutrition, things that my sisters already knew but didn’t tell me.”
Nothnagel said the educational part of the competition, which came with a very strict diet demanded by Push Fitness for each of the five contestants, was the aspect that will stay with her the longest. Mark Trapp, co-owner of Push Fitness and Nothnagel’s personal trainer through the contest, said Nothnagel was a blank slate when it came to nutritional information.
“I take it very serious that she takes what she learned and goes forward with it,’’ Trapp said. “Jayne had never worked out before, and if she wanted to do it on her own, she wouldn’t know how. But everything has opened her eyes, from the grocery tour we did at the beginning, to the journaling she did with her food; she has learned so much about nutrition that she would otherwise have never learned. From a nutrition standpoint, she has that locked down.”
Motivations for losing weight vary. For some, it is purely a health issue. Others lose weight for upcoming events like weddings and reunions. For Nothnagel, it has become a budgetary issue.
“I have invested in a new wardrobe, so I will have to keep this weight off,’’ Nothnagel said. “I am going to start to put away my clothes that no longer fit.”
Nothnagel is an extremely upbeat woman, and she was the only contestant who had no qualms about any aspect of the event. But she is also a pragmatist when it comes to the future.
“I am going to maintain the diet on most days but not all days,’’ she said. “I have had pizza, in small quantities. But I am going to lose five pounds and then lose another five pounds, concentrating on smaller segments because it is harder to lose now that I have already lost 40 pounds.”
“If I had another two months with her, she would lose about 20 pounds,’’ Trapp said. “I knew she would do a great job, because she is a stubborn lady, with an A-type personality. When she decides to do something, she does it all the way. I could not have asked for a better competitor.”
Nothnagel added some fun to the competition for all five contestants. She started an email chain of communication with the others, and they “spoke’’ that way a number of times during the week, besides seeing each other at an exercise ‘boot camp’ on Saturdays for an hour each week.
Trapp and co-owner Josh Steckler interviewed all of the applicants, and Trapp said Nothnagel’s demeanor made her an easy selection. Although she did not win the competition, she won over everybody who dealt with her, and she won her own personal battle over her weight.
“I loved every minute of it,” Nothnagel said. “I was very motivated and my trainer was great at motivating me.”
Jayne Nothnagel
52, customer service representative, Bloomingdale
Height: 5 feet, 6 inches
Starting weight: 213
Final weight: 171
Pounds lost: 42
Percent lost: 19.7
Starting body fat: 37 percent
Final body fat: 28 percent
Waistline inches lost: 11
Starting body age: 61
Final body age: 49