Sometimes a Loser is a Winner

With the summer heat exiting and the fall sports season arriving, it's about to get harder to avoid the social and holiday temptations and all the calories that come a long with it.

Everyone has their own definition of what living well is, but its safe to say that a healthy diet and exercise will do the body good. On Saturday the first Living Well Expo offered some helpful tools.

Along with tips on healthy dinner meals and how to keep children at their sharpest during the school year, the event closed with stories of inspiration from the Better Body Challenge.

"I just wanted to do something local," said Katie Moore who put her idea of a "Biggest Loser" type weight-loss challenge into motion because not everyone can attain a spot on a national television show.  Five months ago, 18 contestants ventured on a journey that, with the help of doctors, fitness experts, and nutritionists would change the way they looked at diet and exercise.

Fast forward to the final weigh-in. The top five Better Body Challenge contestants were introduced at the Living Well Expo and a montage of video from contestants explaining how this challenge has dramatically changed their lives was shown to the crowd.

Strength in numbers was the common theme to this video which garnered uproarious cheers as the contestants featured in the video spoke of how much weight they'd lost, how they now have more energy and how they rid themselves of medical ailments such as high blood pressure

Tom Greeson, Margaret Day, Suzanne Zurn, and Alexis Berry Nichols succeeded as the four runners up to the Better Body Challenge. Hugs and smiles all around as each were clearly satisfied with where this journey had taken them after months of sweat and determination, and they received a three-month membership to Gold's Gym.

"Everyone who was in this, their life has radically changed," said Joe Barlow, the grand prize winner of the Better Body Challenge. Barlow said that after numerous attempts to lose weight his self esteem took a hit when he reached a point in his weight he was not comfortable with. "My wife and I have an active lifestyle. We like to hike and bike and those things were becoming hard to do," Barlow said.

After meeting Moore at a networking event, Barlow's wife encouraged him to enter the challenge . "My wife came home and told me, 'This might be good for you, it's a team kind of thing.' The competitive nature of the whole process made a big difference and I'm a very competitive individual," said Barlow.

Barlow said the key to why this program was a success and how it was so different from the other programs he had tried was the support from everyone involved and the length of the program. With the program being five months long, Barlow described the healthy habits he has now as something he just "knows." With a $4,000 prize and a slimmer waist line he certainly has something to smile about.