MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va -- Sixty teams chose to accept the mission on Jan. 22, to participate in SlimPossible, an eight-week weight loss challenge hosted by Semper Fit, and two months later, four winners received awards.
For winning the top spots in the challenge, two individual awards and two team awards were given at the Barber Physical Activities Center on March 26, 2014 which include t-shirts, coupons, mugs and fitness bags as rewards for their hard work.
“SlimPossible officially began on the January 22, and ended March 14,” said Lauren King, registered dietitian. “Participants competed by earning points for losing weight, doing physical activity, turning in food logs and coming to special events, like group exercise or nutrition class. We incorporate more than just the pounds lost, but also tried to adopt healthier lifestyles.”
Winning first place as a team, Angel and his wife, Christine Arroyo, were excited to find they won and were motivated by the whole SlimPossible experience.
“We both wanted to lose a few pounds,” said Christine. “I knew I needed to get a little better at my diet and become more consistent with my exercise. I learned a lot during the program and it helped me.”
Although Angel had a different motivation for starting, he agreed that the program was a success.
“I got hurt at the end of last year, and my physical training program was nonexistent,” said Angel. “I needed something that was regimented and structured so I could get back into a working program. This did it for me.”
Team Arroyo credits the structured nutrition schedule, trainers and classes for their success.
“The trainers, the dietician, the training, they are all available right here on Quantico,” said Angel. “Why not use them?”
The others who were recognized were Mike Ahnen and Crystal Silva for second place in the team competition, William Nash for the 1st place male and Sheana Tolbert for the 1st place female.
According to Lisa Vice, health promotion & group exercise coordinator, the next SlimPossible program is scheduled to start in January 2015.
For information on other health promotions and programs, visit http://www.quantico.usmc-mccs.org.
Correspondent: samuel.l.ellis@usmc.mil