Bryan Grossman
Well, Resolution: Mass Control fans, it’s time for an update.
About six weeks ago, three Courier readers bared their souls in
order to be selected for eight weeks of personal-training
heaven.
Under the guidance of Courier fitness pro Cord Prettyman of
Absolute Workout (see page 7A) and Ann Bunge at Woodland Fitness,
the three contestants have lost a combined 55.25 pounds heading
into the home stretch.
Prettymand said the results could be seen both inside and
out.
“You can see the results in their faces. Their faces are
thinner,” Prettyman said. “But you can also see it in the way they
present themselves. They have more self-confidence now, they are
able to do the exercises with more confidence and they are a heck
of a lot more flexible.”
Prettyman said his end of the bargain has been easy.
“They are dreams to work with,” Prettyman said. “They are
compliant — whether it’s the amount of time you ask them to spend
on the treadmill or what their caloric intake is. They’re just fun
to be around.”
Carl Ross said he is more than happy to comply, and it’s been an
easier road than he expected. When Ross applied to be a part of
Resolution: Mass Control, he expected to lose about 6-8 pounds
during the eight-week period. He has more than met his
expectations, losing 14 pounds with two weeks of training left to
go.
“It’s always work to lose [weight], but I’m also surprised at
how easy it has been. I’ve cut out some of my higher calorie foods;
olives, cashews and mayonnaise — I don’t miss them at all.”
Ross said, while he won’t be able to keep up the current pace —
and his trainers said he shouldn’t — he’ll be in the gym even when
the contest ends.
“Anybody can do this,” Ross said.
First-place participant Todd Dreiling leads the pack following a
loss of 25 pounds, 8.8 percent of his total body weight.
“I was trying to be optimistic when this started,” Dreiling
said. “But I was nervous that the weight loss wouldn’t be quite as
fast as it’s been. But I’ve been real pleased so far.”
Dreiling will admit the majority of his motivation
has been the public eye.
“For me, there’s a lot of accountability when you do something
public like this,” he said. But the accountability and expertise of
Cord and Ann working hand-in-hand has made this successful for
me.”
Dieting has been close behind seeing his results in the paper as
a key to his weight loss.
Dreiling is eating more snacks of fruits and vegetables
throughout the day; he used to eat a small breakfast and then
“gorge” during lunch and dinner.
“The hard thing is planning and taking snacks for morning and
afternoon. if I leave my lunch pale with fruit and carrot sticks on
the kitchen counter, that’s setting me up to fail.”
Dreiling is now running 4 miles two to three times a week. When
asked if he ever thought he would enjoy going for a run, his answer
was simple.
“No.
“I’m a big boy. That’s a lot of weight to put on your legs and
ankles.”
Despite the friendliness between contestants and trainers,
Dreiling has developed a deep sense of hatred during the
competition.
“The Stairmaster and myself aren’t friends,” Dreiling said. “We
don’t like each other. I will conquer the Stairmaster before this
is over. I will dominate it.”
For Cori Freed, the lifelong changes have already begun. Before
a recent outing for dinner, Freed went online to look up the
calories for one of her favorite meals. When she saw 2,000 calories
for a single serving, saying she was shocked is an
understatement.
“It was a huge eye-opener,” she said, adding her weakness is
fast food, and there are days she has had to swing by the
drive-thru for a quick meal, but now she has a plan and sticks to
it.
“I look everything up online and see what the calories are
beforehand and make healthy choices,” Freed said. “I don’t want to
sabotage myself.
“My eating habits have changed and I get full a lot quicker,”
she said.
Her plan the last two weeks: “I’m gong full-force, working out
as much as I can with the guidance of Cord and Ann and really watch
what I eat,” she said. “I’m really jazzed.”
The best part, however, is yet to come.
“My husband said my clothes are getting a little big. We’ve
already talked about needing to go shopping when this is over.”
Todd Dreiling
Start weight: 283 pounds
Current weight: 258 pounds
Weight lost: 25 pounds
Percentage weight loss: 8.8
Contest rank: 1st
Cori Freed
Start weight: 252 pounds
Current weight: 235.75 pounds
Weight lost: 16.25 pounds
Percentage weight loss: 6.4
Contest rank: 2nd
Carl Ross
Start weight: 264 pounds
Current weight: 250 pounds
Weight lost: 14 pounds
Percentage weight loss: 5.3
Contest rank: 3rd