Choosing to lose with no excuses

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Oak Brook residents Lynda Klazura ( from left) lost 11.6 pounds or 7.33 percent of her body weight, Sandra Wittrock lost 19.9 pounds or 12.16 percent, Maria Polin Afzal lost 27.4 pounds or 16.35 percent, and Deb Effrein lost 14.7 pounds or 6.4 percent.

Updated: June 6, 2011 12:16PM

Despite a trip to Disney, the doldrums of early spring and the obstacles of daily routine, four dedicated friends from Oak Brook decided to commit to improving their overall health and joined the Oak Brook Park District 2011 Choose To Lose program as team “No Excuses.” Through lots of sweat, laughter and a little motivation, these four ladies dropped over 73 pounds and found themselves in first place.

Even though Maria Polin Afzal, Deb Effrein and sisters Sandra Wittrock and Lynda Klazura have been friends for over five years, they were thrilled to discover how beneficial the support they received from each other was in not only achieving weight loss, but improving their overall athleticism.

The program was designed to provide a supportive environment for improving fitness with a little friendly competition. The program, directed by Clay Manley, fitness and membership coordinator at the Oak Brook Park District, featured weekly challenges, weigh-ins and the option to work with a certified personal trainer. Weekly challenges were created to help participants learn how to challenge, test and improve their own fitness levels and included a shoulder stability test, plank test and speed step-ups, just to name a few.

Teams could receive 1-4 pounds deducted from their weekly weigh-in, depending on how they placed in the challenge.

“It was a huge testament to the dedication of this team that they came in first place by such a large margin when they didn’t win any large weigh-in deductions through the team challenges,” said Manley. “They really are one of the most committed teams I’ve seen.”

“We were able to call each other for support and encouragement,” said Afzal, who by the end of the program had lost over 27 pounds or 16.3 percent of her total body weight and was the overall winner of the Choose to Lose Program.

Effrein and Afzal had a scheduled trip to Disney World during the seventh week of the program and were able to lean on each other for support.

“We bought a huge tray of apples from Costco,” said Effrein, “and we snacked on that. We also were able to remind each other to make healthier choices when we went to dinner, but also let each other know it was okay to treat ourselves every once in a while.”

Both lost weight during their vacation.

According to Sandra Wittrock, none of the teammates had ever had fitness memberships before.

“We worked out almost every day,” said Wittrock laughing, “I used to hate to sweat, but now I love the feeling after working out, especially after I wash my face.”

All the teammates agreed that they enjoyed increased motivation and energy during the program. “I did go to bed early,” said Klazura, “but I’m pretty sure that’s because I had so much energy after working out in the morning that I’d get home and want to keep going, so I’d clean. My house is the cleanest it’s ever been!

No Excuses lost over 11.48 percent of their total combined body weight leading the second place team Complete Package by over 4.5 percent.

For more information on the program, visit www.obparks.org.