Joshua Belangia, assigned to the 765th Transportation (Terminal) Battalion, works out at the Yano Fitness Center March 28. Belangia was one of several Camp Zama community members who participated in the “Biggest Loser” competition, a seven-week health and fitness program that the installation’s Armed Forces Wellness Center and Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation host annually. (Dustin Perry)
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CAMP ZAMA, Japan – Participants in this year’s “Biggest Loser” competition celebrated their completion of the seven-week health and fitness program during an awards presentation March 19 at the Yano Fitness Center here.
The Armed Forces Wellness Center and Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation here host the program every year, offering eligible participants the chance to “achieve and maintain a healthy weight and body composition through health education and behavioral change,” according to the event flyer.
Diane Thompson, a health educator at AFWC, said the Biggest Loser program is not just about weight loss, but about reaching out to the community and helping to encourage and foster healthy behaviors.
Participants in the “Biggest Loser” competition pose for a group photo with leadership and organizers during an awards presentation for the program March 19 at Yano Fitness Center.
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“In the context of healthy behaviors as a whole, sleep activity, nutrition and stress management are all topics [discussed throughout the program],” she said. “All that interplay is important. Each of those facets holds a place in this equation.”
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Troy Gibson, assigned to U.S. Army Japan, said his wife was the inspiration for his participation in the program. He also thought it would be a good motivator to get back in shape after having undergone surgery recently.
“Throughout the classes [offered] during the program, I learned a variety of techniques and gained information to make healthier food choices as well as physical and mental health choices,” Gibson said.
In the end, both Gibson and his wife were recognized during the presentation, with him winning the “Step Challenge” and her being named the overall winner in the women’s category.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Troy Gibson, assigned to U.S. Army Japan, and his wife, both participants in the “Biggest Loser” competition, pose for a photo during an awards presentation for the program March 19 at Yano Fitness Center.
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Maria Wallace, the lead health educator at AFWC, said all the participants benefited from the program because they gained knowledge from the available classes and coaching, took what worked best for them, and applied it to their health and fitness journey.
“I received feedback [from many of the participants] that their stress levels have gone down, their clothes fit better, and they have more energy,” Wallace said.
The health educator said that whatever reason each of the participants had for joining the program, she believes resources like the AFWC and organizations like DFMWR can help anyone achieve their fitness goals.
Thomson agreed, saying, “the journey to [good] health continues for a lifetime.”