Going natural: Fittest Loser contestants focus on clean eating
If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it.
Any product with a long ingredient list is probably not healthy. It's one of the many lessons that contestants in the Fittest Loser Challenge have learned.
In the past 10 weeks, the five contestants have drastically altered their eating habits.
They consume smaller portion sizes and focus on clean eating. That means cutting out processed and refined foods like white flour, sugar, bread and pasta. They also eat three meals and two to three small snacks per day. Each meal should include a lean protein, plenty of fresh fruit or vegetables and a healthy fat.
“One of the hardest parts about eating healthy is planning for it,” says Jessica Hochman, marketing and community outreach specialist at Whole Foods Market.
The Fittest Loser contestants recently took a tour of Whole Foods in Schaumburg. Hochman talked about the benefits of eating food in its most essential and pure form, adding more plant-based foods and healthy fats into a diet and choosing foods rich in nutrients.
“Eat the rainbow to get more nutrients,” says Hochman, meaning that eating foods in a variety of colors is one sure method to consuming vitamins and minerals. “Don't be intimidated by new foods.”
The challenge, organized by the Daily Herald and Push Fitness in Schaumburg, has forced many of the contestants to try new foods. They've found themselves experimenting with new recipes and getting extremely creative in the kitchen.
Here's a look at how each of the contestants has changed their dietary habits.
Deanna Bec
Soda is her kryptonite. Deanna Bec gets weak at the knees just thinking about it.
“I haven't had soda in almost three months,” she says. “But I don't want to have even a sip of it because one sip turns into two, and two turns into a can, and a can turns into a case.”
Cutting out soda is just one change that Bec has made to her diet in the past 10 weeks of the challenge. She's also added lots of fresh produce into her diet, eats more consistently and doesn't skip breakfast.
“When I find myself in need of a snack, I'm grabbing fresh fruits and vegetables. Before I would grab something salty or sweet like chips or cookies,” says Bec of Berwyn.
She's also done a lot of experimenting in the kitchen. Because her diet doesn't allow classic pasta, she made spaghetti out of squash — and it turned out pretty good. Another time, she made some tasty “mashed potatoes” out of boiled cauliflower, almond milk, garlic and seasoning. But not everything always turned out great.
Once, overcome by a taste for pizza, she tried making the crust out of rice flour. For toppings, she used a seasoned low-sodium tomato sauce and vegan cheese made out of cashews.
“It tasted like melted cashews on a piece of cardboard,” she says, laughing. “And it could have killed you if you threw it. It was super hard.”
Bob Coniglio
Bob Coniglio has discovered seeds.
Flaxseeds, chia seeds and even hemp seeds are now a part of his diet. He puts them in his salad, sprinkles them on food and adds them to his spinach.
Besides seeds, Coniglio has added a lot of vegetables and beans into his diet, switched to cooking with coconut oil and makes smoothies with spinach and fruit.
“I'm eating a lot of foods that I never thought I would,” says Coniglio of Arlington Heights. “I've tried buffalo steak and ostrich. Believe it or not, ostrich is like a steak — but it's more of a blander taste.”
One of his new favorite dishes to make is squash spaghetti. He makes the “pasta” out of squash and tops it with his own Thai peanut sauce made out of peanut butter, coconut milk, ginger, lime juice, crushed red pepper flakes and garlic.
“You mix it all together and pour it over the spaghetti squash and add steamed broccoli or another vegetable on it. It's excellent. I've made that a few times,” he says.
He's also added a lot of seafood into his diet. This includes grilled octopus, salmon and cod.
While most of his culinary creations have turned out well, there have been a few mishaps. He recently tried making a “detox smoothie.” The recipe called for blackberries, avocado, spinach, cinnamon and a few other things that he can't remember.
“It sounded good,” he says. “But it was just awful.”
Robert Patterson
When it comes to diet, Robert Patterson is more about subtraction than addition.
“I haven't added that much new stuff into my diet,” says Patterson of North Aurora. “It's more about what I don't eat.”
He's definitely subtracted Portillo's chocolate cake from his dietary plan — among other things. Though fruits and vegetables are not new to his diet, he eats much more of them now. Some other changes includes eating at least five times a day, smaller portion sizes and making lunch his largest meal (it used to be dinner).
“This has changed my lifestyle,” Patterson says. “It has changed how I eat and how I will eat in the future.”
Then there are more subtle changes. He's switched over to cooking with coconut oil and started drinking protein shakes with whey powder.
“That's new. I've never really done that before,” he says. “I'll add blueberries into it and it's pretty good.”
One of Patterson's new favorite recipes during the course of the challenge has become scrambled eggs with pork and sauerkraut. He often eats it for breakfast. A big fan of pancakes, he's found a recipe that calls for making the batter out of bananas and eggs.
“One banana and two eggs makes eight little pancakes,” he says. “We'll put cinnamon on it or almond extract. It's really good.”
Cindy Uribe
When it comes to experimenting in the kitchen, Cindy Uribe is a pro. She's not afraid to try new things — like adding raw broccoli into her yogurt.
“That was really bad,” she says, laughing. “But I needed to add some carbs into my meal.”
She's also experimented with making a variety of smoothies. Once, she combined vanilla protein, spinach, kale mix, half an apple and some carrots.
“It was just horrible,” she says. Another time, she baked tuna with sliced tomatoes and mushrooms — “another horrible combination.”
But not all of her concoctions have turned out bad. In fact, she's discovered a few really great recipes.
Her “go-to recipe” during the challenge has been stuffed peppers. Instead of rice, she stuffs them with ground beef and cabbage — a combination that she really enjoys. She also likes to sauté mushrooms, zucchini, cabbage and then trickles some balsamic vinaigrette on it. To satisfy her craving for pizza, she got really creative.
“I made a cauliflower crust pizza,” says Uribe of Hoffman Estates. “It was a lot of work but really good. I topped it with spinach and mushrooms and a homemade tomato sauce.”
As for new eating habits, she buys grass-fed beef and has added more chicken and fish into her diet. Like the other contestants, she's switched to cooking with coconut oil and added protein shakes and smoothies into her daily routine. She also eats a lot of ham, turkey and lettuce wraps loaded with veggies. On occasion, she'll make taco salad — minus the shell.
Heidi Wiltse
In the beginning of the challenge, Heidi Wiltse would set her alarm clock for every three hours. It was her reminder to eat. Today, eating five to six times a day has become second nature to her.
That's just one way that her dietary habits have changed. The other is what she eats. Wiltse has added organic meats and vegetables into her diet. She consumes more fish — especially wild caught salmon and cod — and started adding new veggies to her plate.
“I normally wouldn't eat tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini,” she says. “Now I choose to have them as a part of my dish.”
She also drinks at least 160 ounces of water daily and enjoys club soda with either a lemon or lime. During the course of the competition, she's also discovered new foods and recipes. One of her favorite dishes is a type of Mexican salad with lots of organic greens, ground chicken, avocados and fresh salsa. She's also become a fan of sweet potatoes.
“At Whole Foods, they have six different types of sweet potatoes,” she says. “So I tried all of them.”
Smoothies are another new addition, especially those made with organic greens. One of her favorites features spinach, kale, an organic spring mix, coconut butter, protein powder and water.
Last but not least, Wiltse has become very aware of portion control. “I think my appetite has changed in that I'm more in tune to what it feels like when I'm hungry and when I'm full,” she says. “Before, I would eat everything on my plate. I never really thought about portion control.”
By the numbers
<h3 class="briefHead"><span class="fact box text bold">Deanna Bec, 30, Berwyn </span></h3>
<span class="fact box text bold">Starting weight:</span> 207
<span class="fact box text bold">Current weight:</span> 190
<span class="fact box text bold">Weight lost this week:</span> 0 pounds
<span class="fact box text bold">Total weight loss:</span> 17 pounds, 8.2 percent
<h3 class="briefHead"><span class="fact box text bold">Bob Coniglio, 51, Arlington Heights </span></h3>
<span class="fact box text bold">Starting weight:</span> 304
<span class="fact box text bold">Current weight:</span> 257
<span class="fact box text bold">Weight lost this week:</span> 2 pounds
<span class="fact box text bold">Total weight loss:</span> 47 pounds, 15.5 percent
<h3 class="briefHead"><span class="fact box text bold">Robert Patterson, 56, North Aurora </span></h3>
<span class="fact box text bold">Starting weight:</span> 255
<span class="fact box text bold">Current weight:</span> 215
<span class="fact box text bold">Weight lost this week:</span> 5 pounds
<span class="fact box text bold">Total weight loss:</span> 40 pounds, 15.7 percent
<h3 class="briefHead"><span class="fact box text bold">Cindy Uribe, 33, Hoffman Estates </span></h3>
<span class="fact box text bold">Starting weight: </span>280
<span class="fact box text bold">Current weight:</span> 251
<span class="fact box text bold">Weight lost this week</span>: 3 pounds
<span class="fact box text bold">Total weight loss:</span> 29 pounds, 10.4 percent
<h3 class="briefHead"><span class="fact box text bold">Heidi Wiltse, 43, Arlington Heights </span></h3>
<span class="fact box text bold">Starting weight:</span> 286
<span class="fact box text bold">Current weight:</span> 246
<span class="fact box text bold">Weight lost this week:</span> 2 pounds
<span class="fact box text bold">Total weight loss:</span> 40 pounds, 14 percent