Fittest Loser finale a night of celebration at Chandler's

After an intense and demanding 12-week training program, the eighth Daily Herald Fittest Loser Challenge winner was crowned in front of an enthusiastic and supportive crowd at Chandler's in Schaumburg. Mel Boldt lost 73 pounds to walk away with this year's Fittest Loser title.

"The whole time until we were sitting on stage, I didn't even know what the winner got, because all of us were kind of in the same boat - we all won by getting accepted into this contest," said Boldt, whose prizes included a gift certificate to Seasons 52 and a two-night stay and spa package at Le Meridian in Oak Brook.

A second component of Fittest Loser, the At Work Challenge, brought many supporters and participants to the finale. The Hanover Park Police Pounds for Blue team was met with rousing applause when it was announced winner of the team challenge by losing 10.33 percent of members' starting weight. The team's $2,000 prize will be split among two charities: Illinois Special Olympics and a "war dog" statue in Hanover Park that will honor military working dogs.

Before the winners were announced, guests enjoyed healthy appetizers, socializing and vying for raffle prizes donated by sponsors.

Many of the organizations that helped contestants throughout their 12-week challenge were on hand on May 10 to celebrate everyone's hard work, watch the contestant reveal and connect with the community.

Faith Wade, manager of the Kildeer Pure Barre location, was excited to see the participants' final results. The Kildeer location and other Pure Barre studios visited the At Work Challenge teams at their businesses and led contestants through more than 20 classes during the competition.

"It was so much fun to go and introduce a bunch of people to a new kind of workout and just see how excited they were to be a part of the challenge," Wade said.

Also at the finale were Unfold Yoga + Wellness co-owners Nicole Elipas Doherty and Katie Rowe Mitchell, who provided meditation and desk and chair yoga webinars, as well as free classes, to participants.

Doherty said the best part of participating in the challenge was getting people to move and become more mindful of their activities. "Whether it's what they eat, or how they sit, or how they react to things," Doherty said.

For Nick Hurley, manager of the Hoffman Estates Dick Pond Athletics store, seeing the hard work pay off for contestants made the finale evening exciting.

"It didn't seem like that long ago, but they've come a long way in a short time, so it's really nice to see the contestants," said Hurley, who wrote weekly tips in Couch to 5K Corner, a column published in the Daily Herald's Health and Fitness section.

Since the Fittest Loser's inception eight years ago, finalists have lost a total of 2,349 pounds combined, but weight loss isn't the only end-goal of the contest. The challenge, sponsored by the Daily Herald and Push Fitness of Schaumburg, is also about teaching participants how to live a healthier lifestyle that incorporates physical fitness, nutrition and emotional well-being long after the contest is over.

"When you focus away from just weight and you focus on healing your body from the inside out by making these lifestyle changes, that's sustainable change. That's change that will last," said Dr. Aimee Harris-Newon, psychologist and owner of sponsor Dr. Aimee and Associates.

As contestants were cheered and surrounded by loved ones and supporters, it was clear the event wasn't about who placed first or who lost the most weight. It was about each contestant celebrating their journey and accomplishing their goals.

"Even though I wasn't the winner or even second place, for me to lose 28 pounds total is like a miracle," said contestant Janet Ford.

Ford didn't think it was possible to fit working out into her busy and unpredictable schedule as a certified nurse midwife, but the challenge has showed her that fitting fitness into her life is attainable and doesn't have to interfere with work and family time.

"I never thought I could find the time to do seven-day-a-week workouts and I've been able to do it," Ford said. "So I can do this. It's not impossible."