David Wysong is the individual winner with a 16.67% weight loss.

The winning team was Georgette Yarber, Tammy Troutt, Ofelia Tan Un Teck and Gary Yarber with a 10.36% overall team weight loss.

Pana and Surrounding Areas Lose 3,335 Pounds!

After 10 weeks of eating healthy, counting calories and a lot of hard work and sacrifice, the Pana Community Hospital Weight Loss Contest has come to a conclusion.  The individual who lost the largest percentage was David Wysong of Pana losing 30 pounds and achieving a 16.67% weight loss.  The winning team lost a total of 83 pounds and had a 10.36% weight loss.  The winning team members were Georgette Yarber, Gary Yarber, Tammy Troutt, and Ofelia Tan Un Teck. 

David Wysong won $100 and a year-long membership to the new Pana Community Hospital Rehab/Wellness Center currently under construction.  The winning team won $500; $125 to each team member.

The statistics from the contest demonstrated that the contest was an overwhelming success.  Ten weeks ago, 460 people “weighed in” at 94,401 pounds.  On Thursday, March 19^th, 77% or 352 of those people, returned to “weigh out” for a total at 91,066 pounds-that’s 3,335 pounds or 1.6675 tons lost!!!   “I thought that only half of the people who started the program would actually finish,” stated Melissa Rybolt, Marketing Coordinator at the hospital and Weight Loss coordinator.  “If I could sum up the weigh out in two words, it would be ‘baggy pants’!  “You wouldn’t believe the incredible results many of these participants achieved in 10 weeks!”

How did they do it?  Wysong lost the weight by making healthier food choices, reading nutrition labels, reducing portion sizes, cutting back on fast food and keeping a food journal.  “A typical day would be a few doughnuts and soda for breakfast, fast food lunch and a snack of cookies,” stated Wysong.  He works in construction and is always on the go.  “I started making my own lunch, drinking lots of water and getting in a dairy portion each day.”  Wysong saw not only results on the scale, but in his health as well.  His total cholesterol went from 200 down to 156.  Wysong also saw his blood pressure go down, body fat percentage drop from 25% to 19.8% and a BMI reduction of 28.2 to 23.5.  These numbers took him from a medium to low risk category for cardiovascular disease!  Another benefit from the weight loss for Wysong was the stopping of his snoring.  “I guess I had a touch of sleep apnea, because my wife said I snored a lot,” Wysong stated.  “I went to bed tired and woke up tired.”  Now the snoring has stopped and Wysong wakes up feeling rested instead of tired.

The winning team also lost weight by making healthier food choices.  “We all watched our calorie and fat intake and worked very well as a team,” stated Georgette Yarber.  The winning team weighed each week and kept track of their results, helping the team stay on focused.  Georgette Yarber lost 20 pounds (10.93%), Gary Yarber lost 32 pounds (12.08%), Tammy Troutt lost 20 pounds (10.42%) and Ofelia Tan Un Teck lost 11 pounds (6.83%) for a winning total of 10.36%. 

Second place individual went to Rich Gibson of Pana with a 16.30% weight loss.  The individual losing the most pounds in the contest was Rod Carls of Pana.  He lost 41 pounds and had a 14.4% weight loss percentage.  The second place team was Myra Mathias, Faye Adams, Tony Adams, Hal Lamb, and Patsy Lamb with a percentage of 9.80%. 

Pana Community Hospital will send all team captains the results of the contest including the overall team percentage and individual percentages of each member.  Teams will also see how they compared to the winners including the place in which the team came in. 

Pana Community Hospital has implemented a health maintenance program for all individuals who participated in the weight loss contest to help in keeping the pounds off!  Pana Community Hospital plans to conduct another weight loss contest when the Rehab/Wellness Center opens.