(Posted 7:30 p.m., Sept. 28)
Orléans Biggest Loser drops 63lbs in 12 weeks to win title
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

Biggest Loser winner Gunveet Singh poses for a picture with 180° Fitness owner Adrian Delorey and nutrition coach Kathy Smart, author of 'Live The Smart Way'. Fred Sherwin/Photo

As Gunjeet Singh sees it, his battle with his weight began when he stepped off the plane in 2004.

After arriving from India to study at Algonquin College, Gunveet began eating things that were foreign in his native country such as pasta and fast food.

"I never had pasta before I moved to Canada and fast food was a luxury you had maybe once a month. Here there is a fast food restaurant on every corner," says Gunveet, who slowly but surely packed on the pounds.

"My weakness is portions and fast food. Where most people eat one helping for dinner I would eat two or three helpings."

Gunveet's life would change when he saw an ad in a local newspaper promoting the 180° Fitness Biggest Loser Challenge.

"I had started trying to lose weight on my own, but did have any real motivation," says Gunveet, who had gained close to 80lbs despite going to the gym two or three times a week for the past year.

After attending the first information session and meeting 180° Fitness owner Adrian Delorey and nutrition coach Kathy Smart, author of "Live The Smart Way", Gunveet decided to give it a try and join a dozen other Biggest Loser participants.

"The first week was the hardest, not exercise wise, but nutrition size. Cutting down on what I could eat and how much I could it was really tough," says Gunveet.

Despite the mental battle of trying to stick to his nutritional plan, Gunveet managed to lose nine pounds in the first week and led all participants in percentage weight loss the rest of the 12 week challenge due mainly to his commitment in sticking to his meal plan and working out seven days a week.

By the end of the 12 week challenge he had lost a grand total of 63.2 lbs, or 19.6 per cent of his starting weight.

Gunveet credits his success to Delorey and Smart who refused to let him stray from his meal plan.

"I would always ask her can have this or that, and she would ask me, 'Is it on your meal plan?' and invariably I would say 'No', and then she would say 'Oh well, I guess you can't have it.' She's amazing," says Gunveet who also benefited from having a roommate who helped stick to his meal plan and a close friend who is fitness trainer.

Gunveet understands now, more than ever, that proper nutrition is a lifestyle choice.

He passed his first post-Biggest Loser test when he went to a local restaurant and ordered a pasta dish.

"I took one bite and that was it. I thought to myself, 'You put in all that work for three months. What are you doing?', and I pushed it away. I paid for it, but I didn't eat it," says Gunveet.

The 18 Biggest Loser participants lost a combined total of 525 lbs. for an average of 29 lbs. per person.

For his efforts Gunveet won a $3,000 prize package from 180° Fitness.

(This story was made possible thanks to their generous support of our local business partners.)

Return to top

Return to Front Page