Madelia losers

become winners

Doctors studying

fat losers

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

MADELIA -- A strong north wind howled as clouds whisked by the sky above the La Salle Farmers Grain Company, Madelia East Division, east of town along State Highway 60 Sunday afternoon.

Suddenly five school buses cruised up and several hundred of Madelia's Fight the Fat campaign participants scurried up to the truck scale in the wind and cold.

Media from as afar away at the Twin Cities scurried about. Photographers climbed on top of cars and even a school bus for a good photo angle.

Unfortunately, the scale was not operable.

Undaunted, the group traveled to Madelia Public School where they weighed in. Losers were winners. The group lost more than a ton of weight between March and May.

Deb Grote, a Medicare biller at Madelia Community Hospital, came up with the idea after watching a television news magazine about a similar program in Dyersville, Iowa.

"It looked like fun so we thought we'd try it," Grote said.

In Madelia, a healthy serving of humor and camaraderie helped participants reach the goal, have fun and feel better.

Participants paid $10 each, got a team shirt and met each Sunday night at Madelia Public School. They weighed in, got their blood pressure checked, learned about diet and nutrition and listened to speakers. Team names included the Big Fat Losers, Dixie Chunks, Jelly Bellies, Whopping Weight Warriors and others.

After Sunday's weigh-in, prizes were awarded to the top three women, men and teams that lost the most weight.

Madelia Community Hospital Physical Therapist Jeanne McMullen lost 25 pounds. Her husband Bill lost 31 pounds. She lost by walking two miles a day, eliminating snacks and eating healthier foods.

Madelia Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tara Mueller, a New Ulm native, lost 12 pounds of what she called extra pregnancy weight by eliminating fried foods, checking food labels for saturated fat and calories and walking and jogging several miles three or four days a week.

"I haven't run for a long time but it feels good. Plus I learned a lot," said Mueller, who ran on the New Ulm High School cross country and track teams.

Mueller said she doesn't get as tired and feels more energized during the day after losing the weight.

Fight the Fat participants filled out a questionnaire Sunday at the school. Questions included their birth weight, weight at age 18, whether or not they were breast fed, their weight before and after the two-month campaign, what exercise they did, whether or not they smoked tobacco and how long they've been doing so.

Other questions were if they routinely prayed, meditated or did devotions more than once a week. Participants were asked to list any medications, vitamins or supplements they took daily, if they followed a specific weight loss program and what it was called, and if they wanted more information on lifestyle changes including healthy eating habits, exercise, yoga and/or meditation.