‘Biggest losers’ win in city competition

By Bob Otto, Fontana Herald News

Victoria Zendejas winces when she drives by a Starbucks, longing for her flavored coffees.

So giving up her daily habit wasn’t easy. But, it paid off in a big way, as she was the female winner in the Healthy Fontana “Biggest Loser” competition.

“That was really hard,” said Zendejas, a Community Services Coordinator II for the City of Fontana. “I love the Hazel Nut Latte’s and the Carmel Fraicinnos. Gbut they have about 800 calories in them. I had to give them up.”

Way too many calories for Zendejas, who had set her sights on winning the competition, coordinated through the city’s Healthy Fontana program, and started by Carmen Fleming, who came up with the idea.

“I needed to lose some weight, and I thought why not raise some money for the library (new library fund) at the same time,” said Fleming, secretary of the Fontana Library and Resource/Technology Center. “We raised $910 for the library through donations from the city employees.”

The eight-week “Biggest Loser” competition ended on March 7 with a final weigh-in with Zendejas and Chris Ulreich of the Fontana Police Department losing the greatest percentage of weight since their first weigh-in on Jan. 10. The two winners were among 91 city employees from all departments who participated.

Zendejas lost 13.22 percent of her weight from her first weigh in, and lost a total of 27.4 pounds. Ulreich lost 18.68 percent of his initial weigh-in weight, and 38 pounds in all. The two winners pocketed $455 each from the female and male pools set up when the competition started.

Now that the weight is off, will it stay off? Zendejas thinks so.

She changed her diet, cutting out most foods loaded with carbohydrates, and eating fruits and vegetables. “No candy, no soda, and no Starbucks,” said Zendejas. “I cut out the sugar, too, and walked my three dogs two to three times a week, walking about 7,000 steps a day, and I played dodge ball with the kids here at the Teen Center.”

The employees embraced the program, and Fleming said that even for those who didn’t lose a lot of weight, “many were motivated to start a healthier lifestyle with diet and exercise because of the competition.”

Liz Huerta claimed second place in the women’s side by losing 12.68 percent of her initial weight, and 29.5 pounds. Letica Ortiz was third at 11.99 percent and 19.7 pounds.

Mark DeLeon finished second with 16.4 percent and 34.8 pounds lost, while Jordan Russell at 14.87 percent and 38.7 pounds finished third in the men’s pool.

Fleming admits that she didn’t lose much weight in the competition. But she has a good reason. Soon after the competition started, Fleming learned she was pregnant with her second child, she said while beaming with a radiant smile.

Victoria Zendejas was elated to be the female winner in the Healthy Fontana “Biggest Loser” competition, which was held for City of Fontana employees earlier this year.