Round One of family weight loss competition ends
BY LAYLA FARMfcR
THE CHRONICLE
Four months ago, the Rev.
Paul Hart couldn't pass the
cookie aisle in the grocery
store without picking some
thing up for the road.
"We need to call it what it
is," said Hart, the pastor of
Pilgrim Rest Baptist
Church. "It was an addiction
for me."
But the days of being a
slave to the sweets are gone
for good now. Hart says, and
he credits his faith for helping
him to meet the challenge.
"God did this; I didn't do
this," he declared. "It is so
true that if you make one
step, He'll make two."
Hart was one of 14
Winston-Salem and
Greensboro residents who
took part in a weight loss
competition inspired by the
hit TV-show "The Biggest
Loser." Hart's sister, Linda
Lindsay, rallied her family
members and friends tp join
the weight loss effort when
she started it earlier this
year. Each competitor con
tributed a $25 entry fee to the
winner-takes-all race.
"It has been incredible,"
Family Photos
A before photo of winner Rev. Hart with his niece, second
place finisher Kim McKenzie-Banks.
Lindsay said of the competi
tion, which began in
August. "What it has done for
me mostly is to teach me . . .
healthy eating. It has taught
me how to stay focused; it's
taught me how to eat to live
and not live to eat."
After four long months of
dieting, exercising and
restructuring their lifestyles
to reflect their new, healthier
choices, Lindsay and the 13
other competitors showed off
their new bods at the final
weigh-in celebration, held at
the Village Tavern restaurant
Dec. 5. Hart took home the
$350 pot, after dropping a
whopping 41
pounds. Lindsay's daughter,
Kim McKenzie-Banks, came
in second, with a loss of 29
pounds, and Lindsay rounded
out the top three with a loss
of 25.
"I'm gonna need the
$350; I've got to buy new
clothes," quipped Hart, who
went from a size 56-waist
pants to a size 48.
All jokes aside. Hart and
Lindsay say they feel good
knowing they are healthier.
"(Before losing weight) I
was going about my everyday
things, but I was still huffing
and puffing doing it," Hart
said. "1 feel so much better
now."
Though Thanksgiving
brings its own set of chal
lenges when it comes to food,
both Hart and Lindsay say
they remained steadfast in
A slimmer Kim McKenzie
Banks poses for the camera.
their quests for weight loss.
"This was the first
Thanksgiving that I can
remember in my life that I
didn't go back for seconds,"
Hart said.
The competition will
resume January 15, when
Lindsay says another 35 peo
ple will be adding their
names to the list, in addition
to the original group.
"We're going to have a
pot almost as big as $1000,"
she declared. "...I'm truly
excited; 1 can't wait to start
back up."
Lindsay has set her
weight loss goal at 23-pounds
this time around, while Hart
is gunning for more than SO.
"You know what? 1
haven't done anything yet,"
Hart declared. "...I'm gonna
weigh 250 (pounds) when I
hit the scale (at the end of the
competition on) April 15. Tax
Day is gonna be my day."
Hart says taking control
of his eating has boosted his
self esteem.
"I've always been a happy
person, always put Christ
first in my life," he relat
ed. "But what has really
changed for me is I think I'm
more motivated. (I learned)
you can achieve a goal, but
first you have to set a goal."
The competition has had a
positive impact on all the
competitors, Lindsay said.
"It brought a stronger
camaraderie in my family.
It's just bringing us closer,"
she reported. "We're able to
connect more now, I think."
Mason
from page A1
days after his chemo ended.
He was supposed to be at his
lowest point, but he was run
ning around the house ...
like any other kid."
Unfortunately, things
have not gone so smoothly
for LaVack and Mason's,
mother, Stacy Stout.
"It's been difficult," said
LaVack, a native of San
Diego, Calif. "...I'm proba
bly 25 pounds lighter than 1
was six months ago "
The financial burden of
Mason's illness continues to
mount as well, as hospital
visits and treatments accu
mulate.
"We weren't financially
ready for this," LaVack said.
Mason faces six more
day rounds of chemotheradnj
at a cost of $14,000 each. So
far, LaVack says his health
insurance has picked up the
tab, but he is unsure whether
that will continue, because
the medication Mason needs
has not been approved by the
Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) for
use in children,
LaVack started a Web
site, www.migisiman.org, as
a way to allow family mem
bers and friends to keep up
with Mason's progress and
donate to his cause. The site
is named in honor of the
Migisi Tribe Mason was a
member of at Eagle's Nest
experiential learning camp
in Brevard, NC.
"The happiest he's ever
been in his life was this sum
mer when he went to Eagle's
Nest Camp," LaVack relat
ed. "1 don't think a week
goes by when he doesn't
mention Eagle's I)Jest and
how he wants to go back."
& j&LaVack enlisted thejjplp
%ftis neighbor. Eddie mgle,
with the fundraising portion
of the effort. Ingle founded
the Seeds of Love nonprofit
Dave LaVack
earlier this year to help
another young boy in the
Washington Park area whose
parents were also grappling
with medical bills. The
ogpn^ation will eventually
dents in a variety of ways,
Ingle says, by hosting
fundraiser events to create
scholarships and other
resources for community
members.
"We have a very strong
Washington Park
Neighborhood
Association, but it
involves protect
ing the neighbor
hood, as opposed
to looking after
the people in the
neighborhood,"
Ingle explained.
"...There's a real
need out there for
people who fall
through the
cracks."
Seeds of Love volunteers
have lent their support to the ?
LaVack family in a variety
of ways, from helping to set
up a Paypal account where
people can donate to
Mason's cause online; to
helping to organize" - and
Ingle
even participating in -
Mason's first fundraiser, a
"Shave-Off' slated for Dec.
12 at Swaim's Grocery.
LaVack says he is hum
bled by the out
pouring of support
for his family.
"There are a lot
of times when I
feel like ... I'm in
this by myself," he
said. "It definitely
helps to know that
there are people
out there thinking
about us."
Roughly 15
neighbors, family
members and triends have
signed on to participate in
the Shave-Off, where donors
can donate to either "shave"
or "save" volunteers' hair.
Mason's father, grandfather,
stepfather and big brother^
Evan, 10, are among those
who are going bald as an act
of solidarity with the young
ster. LaVack has said he will
let Mason do the honors for
him.
"1 do not want to shave
my head at all," he admitted,
"but neither did he. He did
n't have a choice."
While the road to
Mason's recovery will be
long, LaVack says his young
son has inspired him to keep
his eye on the prize.
"Now I compare every
thing to what he goes
through, and I'm thinking,
'This is easy,"' LaVack said.
"It makes me realize what's
important."
To donate to Seeds of
Love for Mason or for more
information about the
Shave-Off , slated for 2 p.m.
Dec.' 'i visit
wriiv.rfiigWmtan .org .
Winston-Salem Symphony
Robert Moody, Music Director
Handel's
Messiah
A Holiday Tradition
Tuesday, December 1 5 at 7:30 p.m. *
Wednesday, December 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Centenary United Methodist Church
Tickets $10, $20, $40
336.464.0145 ? www.wssymphony.org
v \\ CjOON?. 55
m
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