YOU HEAR IT on the streets of Forks a lot these days: “Hey, Loser” or “There goes a Loser.”
It is never nice to call someone a loser, right? Not true; sometimes a loser is a winner.
Last January, Charlotte Wedrick of Health First Fitness, 711 S. Forks Ave., decided to organize her own version of the popular television show, “Biggest Loser.”
The first three Forks’ Biggest Loser programs were each 12 weeks long.
Biggest Loser winners for program 1 were Nellie Baysinger, Sarah Soha, Shawna Peters and Rhonda Prose.
Biggest Loser 2 was a team competition, and the winning Losers were Bob Stark and Lee Moore on one team and Linda Cortani and Kathy Hjelmeseth on the other.
Biggest Loser 3 team winners were Michelle Klepps and Candice Germeau.
Individual female Loser was Klepps, who lost 44 pounds, and individual male Loser was Ron Kerschner who lost 36.
A special “trainers choice” award was bestowed by Wedrick on Dee Wahlgren and Sarah Attwood, who lost a total of 102 combined.
The most inspirational Loser was awarded to Christi Peterson.
Wedrick’s program goal is to create a long-term commitment to lifestyle change.
All participants receive an orientation, so they know what they are in for.
Some of the basics of the program are no deep-fried food, pop, processed carbohydrates or processed meats, and no chemical-based foods.
All participants create a time management plan and keep a journal. They are encouraged to journal each day regarding their nutrition and exercise.
Each Loser’s plan is individually tailored. Physical activity and work schedules are factored in to the workout and eating schedule.
Wedrick encourages Losers to eat five times a day using portion control and firing up their metabolisms.
One person complained that she was actually eating all the time.
Since so much overeating has psychological overtones, Wedrick tells participants to ask themselves, “Why am I eating?”
They they’re to identify the emotion — are they bored, mad, depressed?
Recognize the emotion and then change the energy with alternate activity, change the pattern, change the eating.
Wedrick even facilitates field trips to the grocery store, retraining participants to shop for the right foods. Many have noticed changes with their entire families eating healthier.
Wedrick’s goal is for Losers to maintain what they have accomplished, and previous Losers are free to come back anytime to talk and work out.
The fourth installment of Forks’ Biggest Loser will start Saturday, with 50 people already signed up — the enrollment is full.
This Biggest Loser program will be four months long.
Also partnering with Wedrick are Forks Outfitters and Evergreen 76-Subway. Each business donated gift cards for prizes and Subway plans to post pictures of successful Losers.
While it is a contest and there are prizes, Wedrick is quick to point out it is not about winning a prize; this is a credible program that changes eating habits and lives.
Wedrick recalls one woman who sent a letter after completing the program. She wrote she had overcome every other obstacle in her life but her weight. Nothing had ever worked until this.
Wedrick said the letter made her cry.
By now I am not sure if one should use the word Loser when one uses winner, or the other way around.
As far as the biggest loser-winner goes, one might say the winners are losers or even the losers are winners.
But one thing can be said for certain: Losing never felt so good.
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Christi Baron is a longtime West End resident who is the office and property manager for Lunsford & Associates real estate.
She lives with her husband, Howard, in Forks.
Phone her at 360-374-3141 or 360-374-2244 with items for this column, or e-mail her at hbaron@centurytel.net.
West End Neighbor appears on the PDN’s Commentary page every other Tuesday.
Her next column appears Jan. 18.
