Biggest Winner competition kicks off this week
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Members of the Observer-Reporter’s Biggest Winner team are, from left, Joe and Lynn Manning, Ashley Subasic and Megan Lindley, and Nikki and John Popielarcheck. Kneeling is team trainer Kortlyn Carr.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Best friends and co-workers Ashley Subasic, left, and Megan Lindley will compete on the Observer-Reporter’s team in the Biggest Winner contest at the Cameron Wellness Center.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
John and Nikki Popielarcheck will compete on the Observer-Reporter’s Biggest Winner team.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Joe and Lynn Manning of Washington are members of the Observer-Reporter’s Biggest Winner team.
The seventh annual Biggest Winner competition kicks off this week with 15 teams competing for the title. This year’s competition sees the most teams ever competing in the annual weight-loss and fitness contest, and the Observer-Reporter is proud to again field a team.
Starting Monday, exercise physiologist and personal trainer Kortlyn Carr of Washington Health System Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center will lead the team on its seven-week journey with 6 a.m. workouts and a change in eating habits. This is her first time coaching a Biggest Winner team, and she’s excited to evaluate the members and get started on their program. The team will meet four mornings a week.
“First day will be weigh-in, baseline and fitness testing,” says Carr. “I want them to be comfortable not only with me but with each other. Get through those measurements, do a little ice breaking and make everyone feel like a team.”
This year’s team is composed of six members competing as couples. Lynn Manning, WJPA radio news director and co-anchor, and husband Joe, a Washington councilman, signed up at Lynn’s urging.
“I go to the gym three times a week, and Joe always says he’s going to join,” says Lynn, 58. “He used to work out religiously. You know how time flies and one thing leads to another, and he stopped doing it. I thought if we are obligated to be here at a certain time and answer to people, this might be the perfect answer.”
Joe, 56, says, “Lynn wanted to do it and kept saying I needed to get back in shape. I used to work out and life got in the way, and I needed the motivation. Once you’re obligated, it makes it easier to do.”
While Lynn jokes that the routine will probably be “brutal,” Joe expects them to do very well and to get a lot out of the experience. Lynn says she’s naturally a very anxious person, “so I’m hoping this will help reduce my stress and anxiety.” Joe admits he’s gotten “a little soft in the middle,” while Lynn says she’d like to lose some weight. Both added they’re excited to see just how much they can achieve.
Husband and wife teammates John and Nikki Popielarcheck, both 46, of Washington, signed up after Nikki read about the contest in the O-R. John is a restaurant inspector, and Nikki is assistant director of graduate recruitment and admissions at California University of Pennsylvania.{/span}
“What a great time to do something,” says Nikki. “Public shaming is going to keep us in shape! It’s easier to cheat when no one knows what you’re doing. This is all on us, and it’s an exciting year with two children graduating from school.” John adds, “I thought it’s great as long as I don’t have to get up early.” After seeing the 6 a.m. workout regimen, he laughed. “Now, that’s exactly the part of the schedule I’m fearing the most!”
Both John and Nikki have tried exercising and successfully shed pounds. The trouble, they say, is maintaining the weight loss.
“Every time we joined a gym we fell off because we’d get home in the evening, and there just doesn’t seem to be enough time,” explained John, who said it’s harder to drop weight as he ages. Nikki lost 40 pounds a few year ago but found it difficult to keep off the pounds. She believes the accountability of being on the O-R team will work for them. “This is great because it’s going to force us to get up early and get to work,” she says. “I think it’s gonna be good. No excuses. We know we want to eat right and exercise. It’s time.”
Ashley Subasic and Megan Lindley, friends and co-workers {span}at Penn Commercial Business/Technical School in Washington{/span}, teamed up for the competition after reading about it in the newspaper.
Subasic, 33, is a newlywed and hopes to start a family in the near future. “We’ve being going back and forth sharing our stories about wanting to lose weight and not being able to,” explained Subasic. “I didn’t struggle with my weight until my 30s. I was trying to do the same things and my metabolism slowed down. I started to do half marathons, but I’ve noticed the last two years I’ve exercised less and I’ve struggled more and more.”
Lindley, 22, is a recent college graduate who wants to be healthy. “The fitness challenge goes until March and my 23rd birthday is Feb. 28, so I’m hoping to be in a good state by then.” She has dieted for the past year, but her weight has plateaued, and she hopes this contest will give her the nudge she needs. As for committing to the early morning workouts, Subasic says she’s actually excited to get started.
“The fact that it’s early in the morning will help a lot because when I hit the brick wall at the end of the day, I can’t find my way to the gym.” Lindley added, “I’m not a morning person, but I’ll have some coffee on the drive in to psych myself up!”