Appetite for health

WASILLA — While the adage “you win some, you lose some” generally rings true, John Brown of Wasilla lost some, then won.

Brown, 53, took center stage at the AT&T Sports Center last night, pumping his fists in the air when he was announced the first-place winner of the Trim to Win community weight loss challenge, an event sponsored by the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, AT&T Sports Center, Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and Mat-Su Health Foundation. Over the course of the contest’s three months, Brown lost about 60 pounds (21.03 percent of his starting body weight) and gained $3,000.

“I was just really surprised, because I know there are a lot of people that worked really hard,” Brown said. “All of these people went through a lot during this process, so you’ve got to give everybody big applause.”

So how did the winner of Trim to Win lose all that weight?

“It’s just a lot of hard work,” he said.

Brown exercised three times a day for about 45 minutes each session. Every morning he visits the AT&T Sports Center at 5 a.m. At lunch he returns for an additional workout and then he travels back to the sports center in the evening for one last push.

“Basically, I tried to burn more calories than I ate, and it seemed to work out,” he said.

Trim to Win began in January when 740 Valley residents hopped off their couches and onto the scale with the goal of losing the greatest percentage of weight among contestants during the three-month competition. Overall, 179 participants followed through and weighed in again last week, a 24-percent completion rate. Those 179 who weighed back in lost a combined 2,835.1 pounds — that’s nearly a ton and a half.

Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Publisher Kari Sleight conceived the idea of a local weight loss competition and said she was inspired by a desire to help the community and shed a few pounds.

“We wanted to put together some kind of community service event that we felt could benefit everybody in the community, and the statistics that are out there [show] that the Mat-Su Valley is one of the heaviest boroughs in the state of Alaska,” Sleight said. “So, we thought, what better way to change the lives of people in our community?”

In addition organizing the event, Sleight was active throughout Trim to Win, maintaining a regular blog on the contest’s Web page at www.frontiersman.com. She also responded to comments and observations sent in by those in Trim to Win. Sleight said she set a goal of losing 30 pounds and came close by losing 29.2 pounds — a result with which she is pleased.

When it comes to determining the success of the first Trim to Win weight loss challenge, Sleight said the overall results are spectacular.

“I was absolutely amazed,” she said. “The only word that sticks in my mind is ‘wow.’ When we went into this we felt we would consider this a success if we had 100 people register at the beginning and we had 740 people register at the start of the program.”

Bill Hawkins, general manager of the AT&T Sports Center, said the club signed on as a sponsor after learning of the sincerity of the competition. That the winner is a dedicated member of the club is a bonus.

“It’s great,” Hawkins said. “I didn’t train him personally, but every day you could see him melting away. I know he felt great about himself and now it’s a life-long change for him.”

In addition to a hefty first-place prize, the contest included a nice chunk of change for those finishing second and third. Jennifer Nininger ended the competition with a total weight loss of 20.77 percent. With more than 20 percent of her body weight gone, she captured second place and a $2,000 prize. Rounding out the top three was Michelle Bernstine, who lost 19.43 percent of her body weight and won $1,000.

“I just feel so much better,” Bernstine said. “I got all that weight off and I feel great. I didn’t do it for the money. I just did it to get healthier and I want to be around 50 more years so I can run around with my children.”

Keep looking online at www.frontiersman.com for a complete list of Trim to Win results.