TOLEDO, Ohio — Our Super Fitness Weight Loss Challenge competitors are less than three months away from crowning their next champion. Fourteen of this year's competitors each have already lost more than 20 since we started this season.
The 20 Club includes: Shawn Beaverson, Mary Billiard, Kim Blausey, Nick Cisneros, Jodi Johns, Larry Large, Gary Reno, Eric Richardson, Chris Siegel, Beth Thornton, Shane Thornton, Andy Tucker, Matthew Tucker and Dorothy Yates.
Mary Billiard said the secret to her success is finding a trainer.
“I do all my prepping at the beginning of the week and stay in caloric deficit and drink lots of water,” she said.
Billiard has been in the challenge for five years and has learned more about nutrition and exercise this year by working with a trainer.
“One of the biggest things my trainer tells me is to eat a lot of protein," she said. "Protein keeps me from getting hungry and it helps me build my muscle mass, so I’m not losing any muscle, and losing inches, all the fun stuff.”
Gary Reno’s secret to dropping more than 20 pounds is to just keep walking, he said.
“I try to get in at least three miles a day,” Reno said.
He said this contest gives him something to look forward to.
“I think a lot of it is just the contest itself, the people," he said. "You know, it gives me a reason to come and do it and I’m more accountable to myself. And learning how to behave a little bit more on my eating.”
The next challenge is the firefighter challenge that had to be rescheduled because of bad weather. The challengers will head to Owens Community College on April 1.
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