Six readers ready for Fittest Loser challenge
It's a new year — and for six out-of-shape Daily Herald readers, it's a new life, as well.
The Daily Herald's 2012 Fittest Loser competition kicked off in February, and this year's contestants — who range in age from 25 to 64 and in pounds from 266 to 372 — are tackling what could be the toughest challenge they've ever faced.
Over the next three months, they'll learn to eat healthy, work out regularly and change their mindset from “not now” and “I can't” to “right now” and “I will.”
But only one of the four men and two women — all of whom are paired with a personal trainer from contest sponsor Push Fitness in Schaumburg — will win the title of the Fittest Loser, having shed the most weight percentage-wise over a 12-week period.
The Daily Herald's Fittest Loser contest is now in its fourth year, with 2012 being the first to feature six, rather than five, contestants. Last year, Bob Pearson, a 38-year-old painter from Hampshire, was crowned the winner after a 78-pound weight loss, the most significant loss by any competitor in the program's history.
These are the six new contestants hoping to follow in his footsteps as the 2012 Fittest Loser.
Brian Corrigan
As coach of his daughter's travel softball team, Brian Corrigan got stuck with a less-than-flattering nickname — “Snack Bar.”
“One of the managers for the team said to me, ‘Every place we go, I see you at the snack bar,” says the systems engineering manager from Carol Stream. “Really? Do I want to be remembered as ‘Snack Bar'? It's time for a new nickname.”
The 44-year-old Corrigan, at 5 feet, 9 inches and 275 pounds, is ready for a lifestyle change. A Navy veteran, Corrigan and his Army nurse wife were once “gym rats,” he says, and he played every sport in high school. In the Navy, he was into bodybuilding and carefully watched what he ate. Then life happened.
The weight crept on slowly over the years, thanks to too much fast food and Guinness — and not enough discipline. “I've always found a reason or excuse to blame work or the kids' sporting activities,” he says. “It's my fault. There's no pushing the responsibility. I've been a knucklehead.”
This competition, he says, will help him to finally “do what's right.” And set a positive example for his children. His college-age daughter is, like him, a natural athlete with a muscular build — and poor eating habits. And his high school son, a football player, has always had a bigger build. Corrigan says he hopes his participation will encourage both to eat better. “I want to demonstrate willpower, the results from managing nutrition and working out,” he says.
As for himself, he'd love to once again participate in favorite activities, like skiing, with his wife.
Because he was chosen as a contestant, Corrigan says he can only benefit from the education in nutrition and exercise that he'll gain. “There is no loser in this, really. If you don't win — so what. I got my life back,” he says, and pauses. “But I still want to win, too.”
Brian's stats
Height: 5 feet, 9 inches
Starting weight: 275 pounds
Body fat: 42 percent
BMI: 40.6
Body age: 54
Week 1 weight loss: 14 pounds, 4.3 percent
Tom Hampson
Hearing that you're prediabetic is as good a wake-up call as any.
The results from a recent blood test during a routine checkup were enough to motivate Tom Hampson, 64, to finally make his health a priority. “It was the final thing,” the Hoffman Estates investigator says. “I had for a long time been concerned about my weight. I'm a procrastinator — tomorrow I'll take care of it. I can't procrastinate anymore.”
At 6 feet, 2 inches and 316 pounds, Hampson is the contest's oldest competitor. And in thinking about how he wants to spend the rest of his life, he says his current lifestyle isn't exactly what he pictured. He wants to play with his future grandchildren. And he misses doing outdoor activities with his wife, such as golf, skiing and biking. “I'm reduced to watching other people do it on TV,” he says.
Hampson's weight gain has come about slowly in the last decade, most of it after he quit smoking eight years ago, thanks to inactivity and too much fast food — particularly McDonald's. Now, he just wants his old energy and endurance back. “It's easy to say it's because I'm getting old, but the fact is, that's just not true,” he says.
He's approaching the challenges of the contest as a spiritual exercise, to care equally for his mind, body and spirit. “I've neglected the body,” he says. “I haven't given it a nice home.”
Tom's stats
Height: 6 feet, 2 inches
Starting weight: 316 pounds
Body fat: 40.6 percent
BMI: 41.2
Body age: 75
Week 1 weight loss: 3 pounds, 0.95 percent
Matt Kramer
It wasn't until he attended a Chicago Blackhawks game with his nephew that Matt Kramer, 47, began to really think about his health. The next day, his brother called to thank him.
“He said my nephew had a great time, but his concern was that I looked really heavy. He asked his dad, ‘Is Uncle Matt going to die?'” the Elk Grove Village man says. “I took that to heart. It makes you think your health doesn't affect only yourself.”
It spurred Kramer, at 6 feet, 1 inch and 372 pounds, to commit to change. A sucker for pizza, soda and beer, Kramer says he began gaining weight when he moved to the suburbs from the city. Add in a stressful job as a branch manager at Hershey's Ice Cream in Chicago, and the pounds piled on.
Over the years, he also developed sleep apnea, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Being chosen for the contest feels like “winning the lottery,” Kramer says. For the first time in his life, he'll have a chance to learn about nutrition and he'll have a personal trainer to show him the ropes in the gym. “There's a big room with a heck of a lot of machines, but unless you really understand what they can do for your body and how to use them properly, it doesn't make a lot of sense,” he says.
Along with a new job as vice president of sales with a different company, and the support of his wife and extended family — including 25 nieces and nephews — Kramer says he's ready to change his life for good. “Yes, I want to win, but most importantly I'm in it for the health benefits,” he says. “This will be an incredible learning curve for me.”
Matt's stats
Height: 6 feet, 1 inch
Starting weight: 372 pounds
Body fat: 41 percent
BMI: 48.3
Body age: 60
Week 1 weight loss: 12 pounds, 3.2 percent
Karen Maranto
Karen Maranto spends her days helping to save the lives of others. As a 911 communications supervisor in Bloomingdale, she's helped rescue people from bad situations for the past 24 years.
Now, she's the one in need of a little saving.
At 5 feet, 8 inches and 288 pounds, the 47-year-old Bloomingdale mom becomes emotional when talking about having to stay behind while her family went zip-lining during a family trip to Mexico. On another trip, to Europe, she had trouble fitting in a small car.
“I feel like I've lost out on a lot of opportunities in life,” she says. “I want to go on an airplane ride and sit in the chair. I want to go to a Hawks game and not worry about who's sitting next to me. I want to participate in things with my kids — going on a boat and not worrying about where I sit.”
In between raising her family — including three athletic sons — and a stressful job, “everything comes before me,” she says.
Now she's ready to put herself first. An upbeat person who has always been supportive of heavier people, Maranto says her goals are realistic. She doesn't need to be skinny, she just wants to be healthy. “I don't think this whole challenge is to turn me into a thin person,” she says. “It's to give me guidance on a way to live and what you have to do to be healthy.”
She wants fitness to help her “allow my outside to reflect the person I am on the inside,” she says. “I know it'll be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but I'm ready for it.”
Karen's stats
Height: 5 feet, 7 inches
Starting weight: 288 pounds
Body fat: 38.5 percent
BMI: 44.9
Body age: 56
Week 1 weight loss: 7 pounds, 2.4 percent
Katie Przyslak
Katie Przyszlak doesn't mess around. Come May, she plans to run a half marathon in Wisconsin.
The Schaumburg woman wants to lose about 60 pounds in the next three months — and she couldn't be more ready for the challenge. “When I have something I want, I definitely go after it, and I do whatever it takes to win,” she says. “I'm ready for them to kick my butt.”
At 5 feet, 7 inches and 266 pounds, the 32-year-old middle school teacher says she's fallen off track health-wise after getting married two years ago and having her first baby six months ago. After her maternity leave, she found it hard to adjust to working full time and making fitness a priority. She was too busy to eat during the day and would return home, starving. “Ever since I had my daughter, I've really struggled to get back on track,” she says. “I know I need to be there. This will be the perfect motivation, and there won't be any excuses as to why I won't be there.”
The former high school and college athlete says she has always struggled with her weight and knows it's time for a new approach. “I need someone else to hold me accountable,” she says.
While nervous about her ability to manage work, family and the challenge, she has no doubt the juggling act will ultimately be worth it — particularly because she and her husband hope to someday expand their family. “In the long run, I know it's best for my whole family for me to be healthy,” she says.
Katie's stats
Height: 5 feet, 7 inches
Starting weight: 266 pounds
Body fat: 41.2 percent
BMI: 41.7
Body age: 42
Week 1 weight loss: 14 pounds, 5.2 percent
Michael White
At 5 feet, 11 inches and 320 pounds, Michael White believes he's a “marathon runner at heart.” Now, he just needs the body to match.
The 25-year-old West Dundee resident has been overweight most of his life but until recently, he never saw his weight as a barrier.
After all, it had helped him in sports — he played football in high school and semipro ball afterward — and, unlike women, guys usually aren't publicly criticized for their weight, he says. Sure, there were things he couldn't do, like go sky diving with his buddies or go on the rides at Great America, but it wasn't enough to be a cause for concern.
At a routine health checkup a year ago, his doctor even warned him about his health. But he still wasn't ready to change. “The 300 (pound) number came and went,” says White, who works in mail operations at Elgin Community College. He got married in October, ignoring his wife's pleas to get in shape with her.
Then his best friend of 20 years sat him down. He warned White about heart disease and said, “I don't want to lose you.” And finally, something clicked. White began to evaluate his lifestyle. “I'm sad it took my friend to tell me,” he says. “I'm sad I never realized it before.”
Now committed to becoming healthier, he says he wants to lose 70 pounds and become active again. “2012,” he vows, “will be a great year.”
Michael's stats
Height: 5 feet, 9 inches
Starting weight: 320 pounds
Body fat: 33.4 percent
BMI: 46.7
Body age: 38
Week 1 weight loss: 16 pounds, 5 percent
Advice for our Fittest Losers?
Do you have words of encouragement for our Fittest Losers? Can you offer a practical tip to aid their weight-loss journey? If so, we'd like to hear from you.
Email your thoughts and ideas to fittestloser@dailyherald.com. Each week we'll select one reader's submission for publication. If yours is chosen, you'll receive a prize.
<b>For Subscriber Total Access members</b>
The Fittest Loser finale is set for 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at the Doubletree Hotel, 75 W. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights. Watch for you email invitation coming soon.