losing to win

One area restaurant sta is shaping up, participating in their own weight loss challenge.

By Bonnie Kretchik

The battle of the bulge a ects millions across the globe. Whether it’s those few extra pounds that refuse to budge or a lifelong weight problem seemingly spiraling out of control, most people know what it’s like to be bogged down by extra weight. Yet, although millions have a love-hate relationship with their bathroom scales, most fight their flab alone.

“It beats you up on the inside,” says Becky Johns, who has worked at Mojo Grill & Catering for over six years. “I’ve tried to lose weight in the past but never succeeded; it was so frustrating.” Becky knew she wasn’t alone in her battle, though, and when Rondo Fernandez, owner of Mojo Grill, approached the sta about taking part in a weight loss challenge, she jumped on board.

“We had over 20 employees sign on. It has been an incredible experience,” says Becky. The overwhelming sta response inspired Rondo to host a mini challenge inside of the larger Shape Up Ocala weight loss challenge.

“It can be hard in big companies to keep a team atmosphere, but this has really boosted our company’s morale,” says Becky. She explains that Rondo paid the entry fee into the Shape Up Ocala challenge for any employee willing to step on the scale for the first weigh-in in January.

“The weight-loss challenges have taken o over the last three years,” says Tyla Kennedy, owner of Shape up Ocala. What started as a New Year’s challenge with 12 participants three years ago has grown into a city-wide competition with 117 individuals signing on to exercise and share diet tips and recipes—all in an e ort to improve their health. The challenges are six weeks long with two weeks o in between. Tyla explains the six-weeks-on and two-weekso schedule helps people ease into the lifestyle change a bit easier than other systems.

“Two weeks o allows people to go back to their old habits and realize how bad they start feeling again. Most people sign on for two challenges before they fully adapt to the changes and can maintain their motivation to stay committed to a healthy lifestyle,” says

Tyla. The challenge participants all receive a coach as well as access to free workouts and nutritional counseling. Along with the Shape Up Ocala Facebook page, the Mojo Grill group also logs on to their own personal Facebook page to keep each other motivated.

“It has really changed all of our lives,” says Becky. She explains that many of the sta members started running, with 15 taking part in the January Sneakers & S’mores run. While the challenge prizes are definitely motivation, the way Becky and her fellow participants feel about themselves is the true reward.

Her words of wisdom for those fighting their own weighty issues: “It’s not always easy, but just embrace the challenge and believe you can do it.”

A Family A Air

“I weighed more in January than I did the day I gave birth to my daughter three years ago,” recalls Courtney Danetz. Both she and her husband work in the restaurant business, and over the years, the weight just crept up on both of them.

“Being around delicious food all of the time just breaks you. It’s too convenient not to give in to temptation when it’s staring you in the face pretty much all hours of the day,” she says, noting both her and her husband’s prior failed attempts to diet together. “We’d stick with it for two weeks and just give up,” she says. Courtney admits that even with the help of a personal trainer, the two just couldn’t find their dieting groove.

“When Rondo o ered to pay for our entry into the challenge, we thought maybe this would be the time we would actually stick with it,” she says. And stick with it they did. She describes the challenge as “life-changing,” adding that she and her husband dropped 15 and 20 pounds respectively in the first four weeks.

“We cook at home now, and aside from losing weight and improving our energy, we are saving so much money by not eating out all the time,” she says.

Her words of wisdom: “Find what drives you, and just do it. Stop making excuses, and make the time to be healthy.”

The Coach With The Most

She Found Her Stride

Alexis Brown has been tending bar at Mojo Grill for close to four years. At 33 years old, Alexis is no stranger to yo-yo dieting.

“I’d start a diet and then lose my inspiration and stop, and that’s pretty much how it’s been for the past three years,” she says.

When Rondo approached the restaurant sta about taking part in a team challenge, she hoped the camaraderie would be the inspiration she would need to stay on track.

“I honestly didn’t think I’d get nearly as much out of it as I did,” she says. Until just a few short months ago, Alexis would hardly have considered herself a runner, let alone think she would sign up for a 5K. Yet that’s exactly what she did with a number of other Mojo Grill participants this past January.

No one can say Jennifer Schissler doesn’t understand a thing or two about weight loss. A coach in the challenge, Jennifer relates 100 percent to her clients’ struggles.

“My journey began three years and 186 pounds ago,” she says. Jennifer joined a nutrition club and quickly went from a size 24/26 to a 20/22. Although she was dropping inches, the number on the scale was slow to reflect her body’s transformation.

“I was frustrated and wanted to give up because I put so much value on that number,” she says, noting many of her clients experience similar frustrations. But Jennifer didn’t give up, and the pounds soon started coming o .

“I lost 130 pounds the first year and 50 the second year, I’m now down 186 pounds from where I started,” she says. And although her accomplishment is truly tremendous, she isn’t done yet. “I have about 50 more pounds to go,” she explains.

As someone who has been on both sides, Jennifer believes her story isn’t unique and that the same results can be obtained by others.

“I was so impressed that I did it,” she says excitedly. She now has more 5Ks on her radar in the upcoming months as well as a personal goal of completing a 5-mile run.

Her words of wisdom: “It takes time, but it is so worth it in the end, so just keep going,” she says.

“It’s awesome to lose the weight, but the lifestyle change is what is truly remarkable,” she says. Jennifer strives to teach the participants to improve their relationship with food and make sustainable changes they can live with.

“Life without pizza is not sustainable for me, so I had to learn to enjoy it but not live on it every day,” she says. Teaching this approach to others has helped her take hundreds of pounds o di erent people over the past few years.

Her words of wisdom: “Find something that pulls you along. It’s hard and you’ll want to stop, but find what keeps you going and you will succeed.”