Nutritionist shares great results

One of the benefits of participation in the Daily Herald's Fittest Loser contest is the opportunity to consult with Paul Mikulski, a chiropractor and nutritionist.

Mikulski, whose practice is located in Schaumburg, administers a blood test and other examinations to look for markers in their blood that need to be watched carefully during the three months of intense workouts and a significantly altered diet. He also offers his advice on nutrients they might use to improve their health.

Mikulski met with the competitors at the start of the contest and at the end, and reported to the Daily Herald the changes he witnessed during their training period.

Bob Pearson, 38, a painter from Hampshire, lost 78 pounds — or 26.4 percent of his body weight — and won the competition.

“Bob had mentioned that he had gained and lost 1,000 pounds in his lifetime with a whole bunch of different types of dieting,'' Mikulski said. “He had concerns of high blood pressure and suffered from asthma and allergies.

“I gave him nutrients (provided by Metagenics) to support the pathways that are involved with asthma and allergies,'' he said. “His resting heart rate began at 80 and when we were done it was 56. His triglycerides dropped 127 points, from 225 to 98. That tells me he is doing much better with his blood sugar.”

Pearson won the contest because of a strong competitive spirit, and admits his concern is he will just regain the weight as he has done time and time again.

“His success is ultimately going to depend on his lifestyle after this,'' Mikulski said. “If he returns, it will get him in trouble again.”

John Novak, 47, an assistant principal at Arlington Heights' Hersey High School who lives Mount Prospect, lost 77 pounds, or 23.8 percent of his body weight.

Novak was prediabetic as well as overweight,' Mikulski said. “He was medicated for cholesterol, and his oxygen saturation of tissues was at 94 percent, which is supposed to be at 98, 99 or 100. His body was not delivering oxygen to his tissues well at all.”

After the weight loss, Mikulski said Novak's blood sugar measurement went from 113 to 93, out of the prediabetic range. His oxygen saturation went up to 97 percent, and he is off the cholesterol medication.

“He is far healthier because he lost all that fat,'' Mikulski said.

Jayne Nothnagel, a 52-year-old customer service representative from Bloomingdale, lost 42 pounds, or 19.7 percent of her body weight.

“Jayne had a family history of cardiovascular disease, and she was medicated for both high blood pressure and high cholesterol,'' Mikulski. “I told her to watch her cholesterol and pay attention to it.”

By the end of the competition, her blood sugar went from 103 to 90, so from prediabetic to nearly ideal, and her total cholesterol dropped to 143,'' he said. “Also, her resting heart rate dropped from 60 to 48. Her need for medications has decreased.”

Kristen Kessinger is a 28-year-old public relations professional from Volo who lost 47 pounds, or 17.9 percent of her body weight.

“At the start, Kristen's blood pressure was 138 over 92, and she was concerned about sugar and anxiety,'' Mikulski said. “There is a correlation there. A fluctuation in blood sugar creates a more anxious person. That's basic biochemistry.”

Mikulski said he saw numerous red flags for food allergies in Kessinger and said she needed to investigate those and get them under control.

“But her blood pressure dropped to 112 over 90, and her cholesterol dropped 92 points,'' he said. “”There was a lot of talk about Kristen's self-confidence going in, and one of the things she has learned going through this was a greater self-confidence; it really did seem like we were dealing with a different person.”

Dee Levine, a 59-year-old nurse from Hoffman Estates, lost 43 pounds, or 17.3 percent of her body weight.

“Dee was a smoker long-term, and she discontinued that before the contest, which took a major stressor off her system,'' Mikulski said. However, she was overweight, had high cholesterol and markers of heavy oxidative stress, which are common pathways of all disease, he said.

Levine was concerned her age would be a negative when it came to significant weight loss, but Mikulski said it just became a factor in her amazing success story.

“Her cholesterol dropped from 231 to 200, and her resting heart rate dropped about 10 points, from 61 to 52,'' Mikulski said. “She is 59 years old, and her body composition analysis showed she lost 32 pounds of straight fat. That doesn't really happen to a female over 50 years old in three months. That shows a solid nutritional regimen.”

Mikulski issued a warning to all the contestants and to Daily Herald readers that weight loss is more than just a battle to burn more calories than you take in. Food allergies are a stressor that are too often ignored.

“If you eat food that your body does not like, you can sabotage your metabolism for a couple of weeks,'' he said. “The foods that you are eating are as important as the amount, the timing and the frequency.”