Whiteman's Biggest Loser

  • Published
  • By the Health and Wellness Center
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  More than 216 Whiteman Warriors lost more than 578 pounds -- the equivalent of more than 2,300, quarter-pound cheeseburgers -- during the 2008 Whiteman Air Force Base 'Biggest Loser' contest. More important than the pounds lost during the competition were the many success stories across the 509th Bomb Wing.

Bryan Addis of 509th Services Squadron was the 'biggest loser' with a total weight losing 44 pounds since the contest started Feb. 1. That equals 21 percent of his total body weight. Yvonnie Hoover was the female first place winner with an 11.4 percent weight loss.

The squadron with the most weight loss was 72nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, with a 5.5 percent weight loss cumulatively. Congratulations to all the winners! Bryan has summarized his action plan, which is a testimony to hard work, perseverance, and motivation. Congratulations again!

He lost 44 pounds, which was a 21 percent weight loss!
His original goal was to lose 15 percent of his body weight with a balance of nutrition and exercise; a true change that he can hopefully sustain.

His diet was to reduced calorie intake by taking a closer look at the high calorie, high fat content in his diet and finding a better source of nutrients.

He halted the grab-n-go breakfast of Pop Tarts and junk food and replaced with fresh fruit and juices. He also took excessive fast foods high in fat (fried food, value meals, etc.) and replaced with lean turkey sandwiches, fresh fruit, salad and yogurt.

He decreased fat/calorie content in dinner meals and did so by eating salads, fish, chicken, vegetables. He furthered his efforts by decreasing calories/fat from creamy dressing, sour cream and replaced or significantly cut back.

He decreased junk food intake significantly. He resisted the urge for late night ice cream late at night and replaced with sherbet if desired.

His primary source of cardio was the treadmill and elliptical cardio/fat burn workouts.

He started with one to two daily 30 minute workouts; advanced to one, 35 minute and one, 45 minute workouts daily, most days. Ended with two 60 minute workouts daily, most days.

The calories burned based on monitoring equipment was 46,000 that he burned over the course of 500 miles.

He reduced his caloric intake by an estimated 90,000 calories.

"Bottom line: I worked hard and balanced diet with exercise," he said. "This was only accomplished by support from family giving me the time and helping with nutrition control/balance."

"I continue to watch nutrition and have backed off on the workouts to a more realistic four to five times weekly and hope to maintain most of the weight loss," Addis said.


Physical fitness is the ability to function effectively throughout your workday, perform your usual other activities and still have enough energy left over to handle any extra stresses or emergencies which may arise. With the reality of war, fitness training as a member of the United States Air Force has become the focus with a 'fit to fight' mission. Balancing your training through the 5 components of fitness is crucial for performance and success at home and in deployed locations.

The five components of fitness include:
-- Cardiorespiratory endurance - the efficiency with which the body delivers oxygen and nutrients needed for muscular activity and transports waste products from the cells.
-- Muscular strength - the greatest amount of force a muscle or muscle group can exert in a single effort.
-- Muscular endurance - the ability of a muscle or muscle group to perform repeated movements with a sub-maximal force for extended periods of times.
-- Flexibility - the ability to move the joints or any group of joints through an entire, normal range of motion.
-- Body composition - the percentage of body fat a person has in comparison to his or her total body mass.

The one component of fitness that will affect the other four is the cardiorespiratory or 'aerobic' component. As you become more aerobically fit, you will improve your muscular strength, and muscular endurance. Improving all three of those components will have a positive impact on body composition and will result in less fat. Excessive body fat detracts from the other fitness components, reduces performance, detracts from appearance, and negatively affects your health. As a beginner, conditioning the aerobic component will prepare you to hone in on your muscular strength/endurance components.

Factors such as speed, agility, muscle power, are classified as components of "motor" fitness. These factors most affect your athletic ability. Core training can improve these factors within the limits of your potential. A sensible weight loss and fitness program seeks to improve or maintain all the components of physical and motor fitness through sound, progressive, mission specific physical training.

The American College of Sports Medicine is the governing body for Fitness and Health Research. ACSM provides the FITT principles as guidance for fitness/health goals. Frequency: four to five days/week, Intensity: 65 percent to 85 percent of maximal heart rate, Time: 30-60 minutes in target heart Rate, Type: Any rhythmic activity that utilizes large muscle groups and is endurance in nature, i.e. running, cycling, elliptical, etc.