VW crowns its 'Biggest Loser'

AN international weight- loss reality TV series inspired a group of Uitenhage workers to go from flab to fab in six months. Not to be outdone by The Biggest Loser, the 21 Volkswagen SA workers embarked on their own weight-loss programme, the Biggest Loser Challenge.

Each contributed R100 towards prize money. The 19 men and two women, aged between the mid-30s and late-40s, vied for a R2300 prize. The challenge's participants lost a combined 135kg, an average of 6.4kg per person. Initially 23 entered, but two dropped out for personal reasons.

Peter Prinsloo, 43, was the biggest loser at the final weigh-in last month, having lost 20.5kg. He weighs 75kg.

Charles Wait, who lost 18.56kg, was first runner-up, with Creswelle Slotto, who lost 14.14kg, taking third place.

Father-of-four Prinsloo said his wife, Aneesa, 43, and children had supported him during the challenge. "My wife bought me the food I needed to eat. She even joined me on walks," he said.

Prinsloo, a maintenance fitter, said two colleagues encouraged him to join their Corporate Triathlon Challenge for a 380m swim leg of the event.

"I soon started swimming about five days a week to prepare for the triathlon. On the alternate days, I started walking and slowly built up enough confidence to start running.

"I am now participating in 10km and 15km races and have my sights set on doing a half marathon soon," he said.

"This experience has made me fit, healthy and strong."

Despatch father-of-two Wait, 39, was the second biggest loser despite only joining the challenge, which ran from February to last month, mid-March.

His only stumbling block was that his "stomach got in the way", he quipped.

"Joining was a challenge but the guys motivated me more to lose weight," Wait, a maintenance technician, said.

Wait, who started off on the challenge at nearly 90kg, has exceeded his goal of 80kg and weighs a healthy 69.7kg.

Thirty-nine-year-old Slotto, who started the challenge weighing 113kg, now weighs 97kg. He said the weight loss had improved his health.

"I had problems with my lower back and heart burn and often visited the doctor. I haven't been to the doctor for heartburn or back problems," he said.

"I now have lots of energy. Peter and I were actually in a Corporate Triathlon Challenge team together.

"After I did the running leg, I became so passionate about running that I joined the VW Athletics Club."

Slotto said his family had also joined him in fun runs and he participated in 10km runs.

"My ultimate goal is to run the Comrades Marathon," he said.

The weight-loss challenge was the brainchild of Dominic Christoffels, 47. Christoffels came up with the idea at a lunch break, during which staff complained about wanting to shed a few kilograms but bemoaned their lack of discipline to stick to a diet.

"We introduced a Biggest Loser Challenge to help each other lose weight. We still sit together [during] lunch but the lunch portions got smaller," Christoffels said.

Christoffels is planning a follow-up, the Biggest Loser Group Challenge.

"We want to include our families as well," he said.