Biggest Winner contestants reach halfway mark
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Taylor Crouse, left, and Deana Wheeler work out as part of the Biggest Winner competition.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Deana Wheeler works out with a kettlebell.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Jody Fleming exercises with a weighted ball.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Jody Fleming works out with a kettlebell.
Regina Stefan pushes the sled during a recent workout with the Observer-Reporter team.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Trista Thurston, left, walks with a kettlebell while April Crouse talks with Observer-Reporter team trainer Tyler Weyers.
They’ve been working out together four days a week for several weeks and have made big changes in their diets. At the midway point of this year’s Biggest Winner weight loss program at the Washington Health System Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center, members of the Observer-Reporter reader team are going strong and remain committed to success.
O-R team trainer Tyler Weyers said the group is doing great.
“I’m very happy with where their movement quality has gone in three short weeks,” says Weyers. “You can see that they’re becoming more confident in the exercises they’re tasked with and that they’re developing positive behaviors outside of the gym, which is what really matters.”
The mother-daughter duo of April and Taylor Crouse of Claysville was already on a weight-loss and fitness journey before the contest began. Now they’re seeing even more results.
“It’s much different from what I was doing,” said April, who had not worked much with weights before.
Noted daughter Taylor: “Some days are easier than others. At first, all the exercises were challenging, but as we all grew stronger, they got easier.”
As for dietary changes, both are keeping on track. “The diet part is easy,” said Taylor, “because I didn’t have to change much from before, and with working out every day, I’m motivated to stay healthy.”
April had been following a diet program and said the Biggest Winner challenge bolstered that commitment. She admits to being a little more tired from working out but feeling good. “I feel more motivated to do my best to not let my team down,” April said, “to show my daughter I am the strong woman she thinks I am, and I am proving to myself I can do more than I ever thought with my body.”
Deana Wheeler of the South Hills said the workouts have been exactly what she needed. “Tyler is very knowledgeable and gives us a lot of variety,” she said. “He has provided challenges that have gradually increased each week. I have completed exercises I didn’t think I could.”
Wheeler is maintaining her diet and has adopted healthy new habits. “I know what I have to do to make long-term changes,” she said. “I have no interest in eating something that is not to my body’s benefit.”
She’s already noticed a change in her mood and energy. “It did not take long and I started feeling like a new person,” said Wheeler. “I feel lighter and more clear headed. I am sleeping better.
“The most difficult challenge is not focusing too much on the scale. I am working too hard for my body not to change. Patiently waiting for results to show up on the scale can be frustrating.”
Jody Fleming of Fredericktown said the workouts have been pretty much been what he expected. “I like the HIIT (high intensity interval training) style of the routines,” he said. “I know that they will ramp up in difficulty in the next few weeks.”
As for diet, he’s said the nutritional changes haven’t been that tough, but the evening workout schedule is. “The only thing that is really tough is that every Friday I would get lunch out at a restaurant, but I have stopped doing that,” he said. “I still do allow myself a cheat meal, usually on Saturdays.”
O-R team member and employee Trista Thurston of North Strabane said she’s not seeing results on the scale yet, but that doesn’t worry her.
“That wasn’t what I set out to accomplish during this competition,” Thurston said. “I knew weight loss would be a poor indicator of success in my specific set of circumstances.”
She said the workouts have been challenging. “I will not sugar coat it – the exercises have been hard. I’ve never done anything like this, and it’s been draining and exhausting. Thankfully, we have Tyler. His instruction, support, tips and motivation have been invaluable through these past few weeks.”
She knew going in that she would struggle with her eating habits but is doing well. “Before the Biggest Winner, I wouldn’t typically pay attention to my diet,” she says. “Now, I am incorporating so many more fruits and veggies into my day. A healthy diet isn’t about salads and starving yourself. It’s fueling your body to perform and recover. That’s one of the most critical shifts in my mindset I’ve had through this experience.”
Regina Stefan of Charleroi is also an O-R employee and said the exercise routines have been challenging but not impossible.
“I have been able to push myself a little harder each time,” Stefan says, “but my body tells me when I have reached the max for that day.”
She, too, has made changes to her diet and is drinking much more water. “I’m trying to cut out the unhealthy snacking in between,” she said. “My go-to snacks now are carrots, fruits and other veggies instead of chips, crackers and candy. Tyler has shared some great recipes with us for better meal suggestions, and I hope to start incorporating some of them in my daily meal routines.”
Although the scale has not shown much of a change, she feels it in the way her clothes fit. “My jeans and pants are looser and not cutting off my circulation,” says Stefan. “I think the training has enabled me to tone up muscle and lose inches.”