By Katie Scarvey
Salisbury Post
At some point in the Biggest Loser fitness competition at The Forum, the competition turned into a three-way race.
Some of the original eight contestants, who began their weight-loss journey the second week in October, simply fell off the competitive radar, not finding the time in busy holiday schedules ó or the motivation ó to get to The Forum very often.
Others took advantage of some of what The Forum offered them but chose to work out on their own, with varying results. Most did not show up for a final weigh-in.
Fitness industry professionals know from experience that commitment levels vary tremendously from person to person.
Forum co-owner Matt Marsh says that no amount of external support can replace inner motivation.
“It has to be your decision,” he says. “You have to move forward with it and decide if it’s really what you want. If you’re not self-motivated, it’s not going to work.”
Barrett McLendon, Ricky Hess and Joy Briggs emerged as the three contestants who were sweaty fixtures at The Forum. They were frequent and visible presences, working out with their personal trainers and on their own.
Their energetic devotion paid off.
Over the 12-week period the three lost a combined weight of 122 pounds, as of Dec. 29.
McLendon took first-place honors, losing 51.2 pounds.
To determine the winner, Marsh said, “we took the percentage of weight loss and added it to the difference in the percentage of bodyfat loss.” Using this formula, McLendon, 46, received 24.6 points.
McLendon, who owns his own business, Creative Cyber Consultants Corporation, wrote in his Biggest Loser application essay that while he solves problems for a living, he had been unable to solve his own most persistent problem: his weight.
As the biggest loser, he certainly seems to be on the path to mastering that area of his life ó and leaving the 3X and 4X shirts behind.
McLendon says the experience has been a transformative one for him. It’s also prompted a positive lifestyle change for his whole family. His wife, Kim, he says, lost about 15 pounds.
McLendon says he’s been amazed and humbled by the outpouring of support he’s gotten, some from people he doesn’t even know. He gives particular thanks to his trainer, Jody Hall, who’s “like gold,” he says, and to his karate instructor, Joe Girdler.
McLendon says he intends to “thoroughly use” the gym membership he won, working out three to five times a week. He will continue to be conscientious about what he eats. He doesn’t think in terms of a target weight, but he does have a goal of reaching about 15 percent body fat.
Hess came in second, with a 30.8-pound loss and a score of 19.7; Briggs was third with a 40-pound weight loss and a score of 16.9. 
In addition to a year’s membership to The Forum as the winner, McLendon received $400 in cash, as well as several other prizes. Runner-up Hess received $150 and a 6-month membership; Briggs received $50 and a 6-month membership.
For Briggs, however, who has written several columns in the Post about what a life-changing experience the competition has been for her, the final days of the competition brought something unexpected and unwelcome: a horrific car crash that left her with severe injuries.
Matt Marsh, Briggs’ trainer and co-owner of The Forum, went to visit her at Wake Forest University’s Baptist Medical Center and was impressed that even after undergoing such a painful and traumatic experience, Briggs was so concerned with eating well that she requested diabetic meals instead of the regular cafeteria fare.
Shortly after she returned home from the hospital, Briggs spoke of her Biggest Loser experience and of her two biggest competitors, McLendon and Hess.
The winner, she said, could have been “any or all of us.”
“I’m so proud of them,” she said. “I see them in there all the time, and I know how hard they’re working.”
(See more about Joy’s experience in her column on page 1E.)
Hess would certainly agree that he’s worked hard: “I’ve come a long way this year.”
His whole physique has changed, Hess says, with his upper body much leaner. “I really started to develop muscles where I never knew I had muscles,” he says.
Hess says that he always wanted to lift weights but had always been self-conscious about lifting in public. “I didn’t want to look stupid in front of other people,” he says, but added that he’s learned “it’s not as hard as people may think.”
He’s been surprised at how quickly he’s turned his health around. When he works out on the treadmill now, he can run and not be out of breath. He finds he has to work at a high incline at almost a jogging speed in order to get his heart rate up.
Hess’ wife also lost weight ó about 15 pounds, he thinks, even though she’s not as strict with her diet as he is.
Hess starts every day now with oatmeal and skimmed milk and eats healthier carbohydrates these days ó whole wheat bread and wheat pasta instead of regular. He drinks mostly water.
“I’ve cut down a lot on how much I eat,” he says. “I don’t see how I was eating like I did before. If I went to a fast food place, I had two burgers instead of one.”
Now, he says, he’s trained his body to take in smaller portions of food ó and has discovered that he’s not as hungry as he used to be when he ate more.
“I’ve really enjoyed my whole experience,” Hess says of the Biggest Loser competition. The Forum is “a very friendly environment,” he adds, where he’s gotten to know a lot of people.
Although Cheree McDaniel did not make the final weigh-in, she says she “lost inches everywhere” and has dropped close to two dress sizes.
Because she is a florist and had lots of weddings to work over the holidays, she said couldn’t get to the gym as much as she wanted.
She realized, however, that even if she couldn’t work in a trip to the gym every day, she could walk at home.
She says she learned how important water is.
“I’ve been cooking with more fresh vegetables and leaner meats,” she says.
A gratifying benefit of the family’s change in eating habits was that her daughter Bekah, a fourth-grader, also improved her fitness. During a doctor’s visit, she realized she’d not only gotten taller but had lost weight.
The change is the result of Bekah making better food choices, McDaniel says. “Instead of eating the cookies at Subway, she eats yogurt now, or has lowfat milk instead of soft drinks.”
McDaniel also believes that the family’s healthier diet has even affected Bekah’s ADHD in a positive way, with Bekah doing better in school.
While McDaniel hasn’t dropped weight as quickly as some, she’s “happy to lose it slower and steadier.”
nnn
“I’m glad to have been a part,” says Marsh. “I feel real blessed to have had an opportunity to work with these people.”
Overall, he’s pleased with the way the competition turned out: “It’s definitely changed people’s lives,” he says.
“A lot of those who have stuck with the program ó this is not just a competition for them; it’s really changed their lives for the long run.”
Marsh says that the Forum will definitely continue the Biggest Loser program in some fashion, although the details haven’t been worked out yet.
The sponsors for the 2007 competition included Wilco/ Hess, Cut Up and Dye Salon, Windsong Bicycle Shop, Queen’s Gifts, FrostBites, Sharpe Transit and Creative Graphics, Woodleaf Lanes and Just the Thing.
Contact Katie Scarvey at 704-797-4270 or kscarvey@salisburypost.com.