O-R fielding team in competition
Will 2017 be a winning year for you?
Sixty contestants in the sixth annual Biggest Winner program believe it will be for them.
The Observer-Reporter is once again teaming up with the Washington Health System Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center for the Biggest Winner competition. The O-R will field a team of six readers to compete with nine other teams of six contestants each.
The hard work gets underway Jan. 9 starting with workouts with a certified personal trainer four days each week. But before the sweating begins, contestants will meet with a registered dietitian and have their cholesterol and glucose levels measured along with weight, body fat percentage and total inches. Then, a fitness test will measure how quickly they can walk or run one mile and how many sit-ups and push-ups they can do. Contestants will receive a seven-week membership to the Wellness Center during the contest and will be measured again when the contest ends Feb. 24. Winners will be based on who made the most progress in comparison to his or her starting numbers.
This year, the program will focus on four pillars: mindset, nutrition, movement and recovery. Kendra Boni, fitness manager at the wellness center, says mindset is crucial.
“We’re trying mindset a little bit differently this year,” she explains. “The approach is to have the trainer be their wellness coach. In the past, we’ve tried to have a psychologist from outside the program do the wellness coaching, and it was also optional. We made it within the program this year.”
Wellness center Executive Director Debbie Roytas says mandatory wellness coaching is the key. “Last year, the people who attended had kind of an ‘ah-ha!’ moment,” she said. “They may work out here all year, but there’s something preventing them from keeping on this healthy lifestyle path so they’re not making healthy eating choices. It’s a mindset of adopting this and becoming a lifestyle and not just doing this for seven weeks.”
The program has been extended from six to seven weeks this year, and contestants also get to choose an add-on of either a group cooking demonstration or grocery store tour, metabolic testing or gear for home workouts. Each member of the winning team will receive a one-month membership to the Wellness Center and a $100 gift card to the center. The overall grand prize winner will receive a full one-year membership to the wellness center. The winning member of the O-R team with the best results will also receive a one-year wellness center membership.
Read Sunday’s O-R to meet the team. We’ll be providing updates throughout the next seven weeks to see who emerges the Biggest Winner.