2009 Fittest Loser winner: 'Keep plugging away'

Lisa Notarnicola not only lost 42 pounds in the 2009 Fittest Loser competition, she found herself a new career.

Notarnicola, a Hoffman Estates police officer, now work as a personal trainer for a group of female friends and, when she retires from the police force in a few years, plans to get certified as a trainer.

She credits the Fittest Loser competition for helping her become a new person.

"It changed my life," Notarnicola said. "I have kept the weight off."

Notarnicola lost 23 percent of her body weight in the competition, dropping to 142 pounds in the three months she worked with Steve Amsden at Push Fitness, the sponsoring firm for Fittest Loser, which just began its second year of competition. Notarnicola offered words of advice and encouragement for the five new competitors, who underwent their first weigh-in at Push Fitness in Schaumburg on Feb. 15.

"Let everybody in, your family and friends, but do it for yourself," Notarnicola said. "Keep plugging away. You are going to have your ups and downs, obstacles in your way, but having a trainer to work with is huge."

Notarnicola still does many of the training exercises Amsden taught her, and she is using the same techniques to help her friends, including one woman who has lost 30 pounds working with Notarnicola.

"I'm doing it for me, to keep the weight off, but I want to keep giving back," Notarnicola said. "It keeps me honest."

Notarnicola said the workouts were only a part of the education she received in Fittest Loser 2009.

"Seventy percent is the diet, what you put in your mouth," Notarnicola said. "I was the queen of yo-yo dieting. But Steve's drive and positive attitude toward me gave me the confidence I could succeed."

One of the 2010 competitors said her children are excited that mommy is going to be in the newspaper, and Notarnicola said that notoriety turned out to be a powerful result of last year's competition.

"I didn't sign any autographs, but I have had people I don't know mention it," Notarnicola said. "I have had people in the neighborhood I don't even know stopping me and saying 'You look great!' That really makes it worthwhile."