We recently held a Biggest Loser contest at Mahaska where all locations were invited to participate! The 8-week challenge started with a preliminary weigh-in in January and a final weigh-in in March. There were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes winners chosen from each Mahaska location. Additionally, 1 grand prize winner was awarded to the person who lost the latest % of body weight across all locations. This year’s grand prize winner was Kent Johannes. Kent won 2 tickets to an upcoming Dallas Cowboys football game, plus hotel and roundtrip airfare! Read more below about his amazing journey to better overall health.
Name:
Kent Johannes
Title:
Building Maintenance Manager
Years at Mahaska:
6
What inspired you to participate in the contest?
I really was to a point of wanting to lose 40lbs to see how I would feel. Being in my mid 50’s there’s a lot of physical restraints one feels they are starting to lose control of, and I am an individual who doesn’t like to lose his freedoms of accomplishing tasks that I enjoy nor to feel I need someone else to accomplish them for me.
What was the toughest part of the contest?
I feel the toughest part was for me to go from a “meat, bread, and gravy” type of individual to one who needed to eat more vegetables. I always called vegetables a weed product that I just didn’t care for much. I have found that some things are not all that bad if I would just give them a try.
Who was your biggest supporter?
Actually, my wife is always my biggest supporter, but I would have to say I got a lot of encouragement from a lot of friends!
What was the easiest change that you made that helped you to lose the weight?
I really don’t know if there was an easy change, but I would say that you have to have a strong mindset to stay focused on the goals that you want to achieve.
What advice do you have for others that are trying to get in shape?
For those who want to achieve at anything, there is a quote my Dad always said to me: “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’re going to keep getting what you’re getting”. This has always driven me to be willing to do that which challenged me to get better results. I believe it can be a good lesson for life in general.
