Tom Turnbull of Latrobe is thrilled to be a "big loser."
Turnbull, a sixth-grade teacher at Baggaley Elementary School in Unity, lost 53 pounds and 16.8 percent of his body weight in an eight-week weight loss challenge among 110 faculty and staff at the Greater Latrobe, Derry Area and Ligonier Valley school districts.
"This is so much fun. It is easier with the competition. It's been a battle for eight weeks," said Turnbull, who worked out twice a day for 10 days to drop pounds before the final weigh-in on Friday. He had been losing weight since the contest started in January -- timed perfectly for those who made New Year's resolutions to lose weight and eat healthier.
Although Turnbull's weight loss was impressive, he did not win the "Diet Between the Districts Weight Loss Competition." Those honors, based on the percentage of weight loss, went to Lou Keyser, a Greater Latrobe Junior High School teacher who dropped 25.1 percent of his body weight.
Celebrating at the Chick-Fil-A restaurant in Hempfield last week, the participants said the program motivated them to lose weight. Collectively, the 110 contestants lost more than 1,700 pounds, said Tim Evans, a Greater Latrobe School District health and physical education teacher who organized the competition.
"The main reason that we run the contest is due to the fact that as teachers, we need to be good role models. Our students look up to us," Evans said.
The competition provides an opportunity to open up a conversation between teachers and students about healthy eating and exercise, Evans said.
"If they see us eating healthy, exercising and maintaining a healthy body composition, then it will make them want to pick up these habits as well," said Evans, who came in second in the contest, dropping 24.9 percent of his weight. Evans, who shed 51 pounds during the challenge, said he would have won had he lost one more pound.
In order for the contestants to reach their goal, Evans, a personal fitness trainer for 11 years, promoted a dual approach of metabolic exercise and a diet that called for eating five small meals a day, no more than 300 calories a meal. Many of the contestants joined fitness clubs to get in shape.
One contestant, Kristine Lynch, a substitute personal assistant at Baggaley Elementary School, joined the competition because she wanted to loss weight "in a way to keep it off," she said.
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Diet Between the Districts: Teachers, school staff gain by losing
