Nwobiara Kalu and Harry Fanning II, the winners of The Times and Democrat's 2007 "Lose to Win" contest, say competing with others in the community to lose weight was a great incentive to get healthy and improve their lives.

Fanning said he's feeling great these days. Not only did he lose weight, Fanning has reaped the added health benefits of having more energy and the ability to think more clearly, he said.

Fanning said his fiance encouraged him to join this year's contest so that she would have someone to support her. That, and the fact that his doctor told him he needed to lose 20 pounds, convinced Fanning to give the challenge a try.

Beginning his diet and exercise program with the intent of dropping down to his ideal weight of 160 pounds, Fanning has made a good start, losing a total of 32.5 pounds over the contest period of 13 weeks.

"It was really hard at first," he said.

Fanning went from skipping breakfast and eating a large lunch and dinner to eating a good breakfast and a sensible lunch and going without his dinner. He went from little to no exercise to taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes to an hour every evening.

"I eat breakfast every morning, have a sandwich for lunch, and at night, I don't eat," said Fanning, who bought an old truck to work on in the evenings to keep him outside, away from the television and the refrigerator.

"If you sit in front of the TV, and food is available; if it's there in front of me, I'm going to eat it," Fanning said. "Experts used to say that cigarettes were the number one killer. Now they say it's obesity."

While television can be a problem, Fanning said the medium can also be helpful -- if you're watching the right programs in moderation, that is. He admitted to learning a lot from the health and fitness channel.

For others wanting to lose weight, Fanning suggested they get support, drink plenty of water, stay away from sodas and eat less. He said he knows it can be tough to get started, and it helped him to be in a group of others with similar goals.

"When you are in a competition, you want to stay in it. It gives you more drive," he said. "It was a struggle, but it was fun to weigh in and see how I was doing."

After completing the contest, Fanning said his mind is sharper, he has more energy, and he's more motivated to continue to eat healthier and exercise.

"Now when I walk, I can walk farther," he said. "I wanted to see if I could do it, and, yes, I did it. If I can do it, you can too."

As the female winner of "Lose to Win" for the second time around, Nwobiara Kalu said she was happy to lose the weight but her main goal in entering the contest was to support the community.

"The main purpose for me joining was to support my community. I wasn't in it to win. I just wanted to be an encouragement to others," said Kalu, who lost 34 pounds this year and also saw a reduction in her blood pressure.

After coming out on top of last year's event by losing more than 50 pounds, Kalu said she was disappointed when results from a screening test showed she was still obese and her fat levels remained high.

"I did not want to be considered as obese," she said.

Kalu, who had a goal of weighing 145 pounds, wanted to join the group again this year to continue on her journey to better health and to have the support of knowing others were striving for similar goals.

"Doing it with others is more encouraging than when you try to do it on your own. You tend to slack (off)," she said, adding that she saw many of last year's participants who came back again this year. "I think many of them came back to support others."

Although she felt the challenge was harder for her this time than the first time, Kalu followed her plan daily. Her secrets to weight loss and better health were walking in the morning and in the evenings, eating lots of fruits and vegetables and drinking water.

"In July, before school began, I was walking eight to 10 miles every morning, but when school began, I only walked five miles in the morning and three in the afternoon," she said.

"It is easier to lose the weight than to keep it off," Kalu said, adding that she gained back a bit of what she had lost last year when she returned home to her native Africa.

Nonetheless, she said she met her goal and is proud of herself and the other participants.

"I feel really, really good. I'm just waiting to go back to the doctor so he can tell me I am not obese anymore," she said. "I want to congratulate all the others who hung in there and wish everyone the best as they work to keep off the weight.

"This is a wonderful community event, and I hope that it will continue."

T&D Correspondent Donna L. Holman can be reached by e-mail at ladyflyer7@msn.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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