By: Shallin Squire
Near the end of 2010, 10 Basinites were selected to participate in Ashley Regional Medical Center's weight loss challenge "Let's Lose It". The contestants were given 6 months to healthfully lose as much weight as possible with the aid of nutrition counseling from Registered Dietician Joyce Buhler and exercise support from Uintah Recreation District. The Fox 98.5 also sponsored the competition and gave continuous moral support to the contenders both on and off air. "Winning" was based on percentage of body weight lost, not on total pounds lost.
The participants, chosen based on a short essay each wrote about his/her desire to lose weight and become healthier, were Clint Goodman, Debra Richards, Jennifer Rook, Jitney Sawyer, Sue Sawyer, Sarah Schurz, Kendall Tomlinson, Stan Wagner, Anne Williams, and Marcie Young.
In 6 months, you could say that one of the 10 contestants was lost—not literally, but the equivalent of approximately one of them in pounds (the total isn't in yet, but I calculated between 270 and 300 pounds!).
On June 20, 2011, the contestants met for a final weigh in and the announcement of the winner of the grand prize: a 4-day Mexican Riviera cruise courtesy of Evans Broadcasting. The Edge was present for the announcement and to take the long-anticipated "after" pictures.
Anne Williams, a.k.a. The Incredible Shrinking Woman, lost approximately 45 pounds during the competition and considers herself the "slow but steady" competitor. Once weighing at 320 pounds, Anne has lost a total of more than 100 pounds and is within 70 pounds of her goal weight. The really impressive part, though, is that this 60 year old is nearly 3 times the age of the youngest competitor yet came in 3rd in the "Let's Lose It" competition.
The hardest part of the competition for Anne was facing "disasters" in life. She said, "I realized, though, that no one in their sixties has a life free of disasters, so I wasn't going to let that be an excuse any more. I kept telling myself, 'I am doing this. I am The Incredible Shrinking Woman!' And you know what? The more I thought it and said it and believed it, the more I realized how true it was. When I tell people I'm The Incredible Shrinking Woman, they believe me!"
Anne won a $1,000 gift certificate from Altitude Cycle as a top monthly finisher and is now the proud owner of a tricked-out, two-wheeled, pastel-green beach cruiser, which she named Daisy. "I still have some money left on my gift card," Anne said, "so I'm always going in there and asking, 'Can you fit just one more thing on my handlebars?' and they always do!" Altitude Cycle couldn't have found a more appreciative recipient of the gift certificate. Anne had her eye on that prize from day one of the competition, and just to motivate herself, she went looking at bikes several times. A week before the winner was announced that month, Anne went into Altitude Cycle and actually chose her bike; to prove his confidence in Anne, owner Troy Lupcho put a "sold" sign on the bicycle and kept it in the back for her. Meanwhile, one of the family "disasters" Anne speaks of occurred, and she found herself in Salt Lake desiring and being offered fatty comfort foods, but Anne stuck to her new way of life and lost the weight she needed to lose to earn her coveted prize. "I kept telling myself, 'I will never be able to afford that bike. I'm going to be good. I will not cheat on my diet just because this is hard.'"
Sarah Schurz is a true competitor. "I love being competitive," she stated. Sarah won a BodyBugg for losing the most weight in a month, and she led the competition for most of its final weeks. In 6 months, she lost 22.53% of her body weight and gained improved health, energy, and muscle strength.
In spite of thriving on competition itself, Sarah acknowledged that she needed support when she became discouraged at times. Her husband, Dustin, was always there to provide that support. "There were some nights that I really just wanted to sit down and relax with Dustin instead of going to the gym, but he would always say something kind to motivate me to get out the door." Dustin took care of the Schurz' adorable, curly-headed, energetic two-year-old son while Sarah worked out. "I couldn't have done this without him," Sarah said. "And, he [Dustin] is healthier now, too. He actually gained weight, but he needed to. He gained good weight."
Sarah finished 2nd in Let's Lose It and is well on her way to her goal of 140 pounds. She loves working out on the elliptical, biking, and Zumba dance. Her advice to others striving to lose weight is to build up their support system. "Always have a friend who has the same goal. You can lift each other up when you're down and give each other advice." Sarah's exercise and weight-loss buddy is her friend Christa Smith.
Mr. Schurz says that he plans to take Sarah on a cruise to celebrate her success. "She worked her butt off!" he said.
Debra Richards literally ran to the "Let's Lose It" finish line. A former college runner, Deb wanted to lose weight so she could run and to run so she could lose weight, and that proved to be a winning conundrum.
Deb was jumping up and down, screaming for joy, and hugging her sponsors before the winner was announced. That's because in the final days of the competition, she lost 10 pounds and actually weighed in at less than her goal of 140 pounds. I could tell you that she looks AMAZING, but the before and after pictures speak for themselves.
Deb was all smiles as she accepted Mexican Riviera cruise vouchers from Evans Broadcasting's owner Joe Evans. As monthly prizes, Deb also won a treadmill from Basin Sports and two $300-loaded Visa cards donated by Ashley Regional Medical Center. She plans to use the $600 to buy a new wardrobe. She said, "My friends keep telling me to buy new clothes. They say, 'That looks terrible on you. It's way too big.'"
Deb has never been on a cruise, so she's elated about the grand prize, and the way she feels will outlast her 4-day vacation. "It was so worth it! It feels so good to be thin again!" she declared.
Deb and her 9 new friends wish to thank their sponsors for the prizes, support, and a wonderful, life-changing experience.
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