Fat Loss Contest Results

From February 1st to April 30th, 2010, The Jersey Shore Health and Wellness Group ran its first “Fat Loss Contest”. As the title implies, this contest was geared toward losing fat, not just bodyweight, which required the participants to not only tailor their eating habits but to also engage in a strength training program so as not to lose muscle tissue.

First, the contestants met with our Clinical Nutritionist, Tom Mantos. Tom handled the nutritional/diet portion of the program and placed the contestants on a modified Mediterranean, low glycemic diet. He measured body weight and composition by using bioelectrical impedance and structured a custom vitamin/mineral supplementation program based on each individual’s specific health profile.

Fred Fornicola was the Fitness Professional who administered the physical training for the individuals. The contestants exercise program was based primarily on high intensity strength training done one to two times per week for 30 minutes or less. Very little if any additional cardiovascular exercise was done throughout the program other than what was gleaned from the high intensity strength training sessions.

The results that were encountered were amazing. As a group of 8 (with a median age of 43), the total pounds in body fat that was lost was 137.9 pounds (an average of 17.24 lbs. of fat per person). There was also an increase in muscle tissue that totaled 8.1 pounds (an average of 1 lb. per person). Our winner (a 55 year old male), lost 25.8 pounds of fat and gained 2.4 pounds of lean muscle tissue!

Congratulations to all 8 contestants for doing so well.