Vanessa Lovvorn lost nearly 100 pounds,
but has regained 95 pounds after
spinal stenosis hampered her activities.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Joe (left) and Henry Ostaszewski (far right) flank friends Aaron and Kathy Corr
following a fitness outing organized by the brothers’ Wear Your Soul Foundation.
Photo provided
By Paula Detwiller
Two years ago this month we shared the stories of our “biggest losers”— local people who had lost a significant amount of weight. This past March we wrote about twin brothers from Boynton Beach who both lost more than 120 pounds — one on The Biggest Loser TV show, the other by following along at home.
We recently checked back in with some of our “losers” to see where life has taken them, and whether they’ve managed to maintain their healthier physiques.
Jane Hebert,
Briny Breezes
It’s been four years since Jane Hebert’s New Year’s resolution to lose 100-plus pounds.
When we interviewed her in 2012, she had accomplished that goal, slimming down from 260 to 155.
Today Hebert’s bathroom scale still reads 155. She still adheres to the Weight Watchers eating plan. And she still, at age 79, walks five miles a day around her Briny Breezes neighborhood with the help of her walking sticks.
“I have arthritis in my knees, and sometimes I don’t feel like going,” she admits. “But if I don’t get out in the morning and get that walk in, I feel like I’m dragging all day.”
Hebert hasn’t been sick in two years — not even a cold, she says — and her annual checkups at the doctor are textbook-perfect.
“It’s just unbelievable how good I feel, and that’s what keeps me motivated.”
Vanessa Lovvorn,
Delray Beach
Our other Biggest Loser “cover girl” two years ago, Vanessa Lovvorn, had slowly reduced her weight from 345 to 241 by changing her eating habits and working with a trainer at a local gym. Smiling broadly at our camera, she told us her goal was to lose another 60 pounds.
About a month later, the whole picture changed.
“It happened Feb. 22, 2012,” says Lovvorn, now 34. “I had worked out, and my back wasn’t feeling that great. By the time I got home, I had shooting pain and numbness down my leg. I went to walk downstairs, took two steps, and couldn’t move. My husband had to carry me to the bedroom.”
Two days later, a scan revealed Lovvorn had five bulging discs in her lower spine. She underwent emergency surgery on March 1. Doctors removed a portion of the most severely protruding disc, the one that was crushing a nerve root, she says.
But the pain persisted. She received multiple steroid treatments intended to reduce inflammation around the nerves and relieve her pain. Nothing worked. At the suggestion of a doctor, she applied for, and now receives, disability benefits.
She has gained back 95 pounds.
“People say, ‘How come you let yourself go?’ Well, my back hurts every single day. I can’t stand for longer than 20 minutes, can’t bend over, can’t twist, at times I need to use a wheelchair. When you can’t put pressure on your spine, it’s tough to burn calories.”
Lovvorn is trying to stay positive in her new, limited world. She says spinal stenosis (degeneration of the spinal canal) runs in her family. But she knows her condition would be easier to manage without so much excess poundage.
“I’m fighting the battle of the bulging disc,” she says, “but I’m not giving up the battle of the bulge — my weight.”
Joe and Henry Ostaszewski
On the last season finale of The Biggest Loser, contestant and former Ocean Ridge police officer Joe Ostaszewski weighed in at 217. He didn’t win the competition, but he had lost 147 pounds of body fat and gained 12 pounds of muscle. He also inspired his twin brother, Henry, to lose 137 pounds — an impressive accomplishment considering Henry’s hectic life as a full-time IT manager and shared-custody parent.
The “O Bros,” as they call themselves, were high school football players in Delray Beach and Lantana and later attended Florida State University on football scholarships. They were big guys (over 360 pounds each) who liked big meals. But that’s history now.
“I’ve changed the way I see food,” says Joe. “It used to be purely for pleasure. Now I look at food as fuel or nourishment. I ask myself, what food do I need to eat to keep me feeling this good?”
Today Joe hovers between 225 and 235 pounds. Henry weighs about 260. They kayak, mountain bike, and snowboard effortlessly for the first time in decades. They ran their first triathlon in June. And they no longer worry about fitting into airline seats.
The twins, now 44, are busy building a nonprofit organization called Wear Your Soul (www.wearyoursoul.org), whose mission is to involve kids in outdoor recreational sports in hopes of reducing or preventing childhood obesity.
“Losing weight and getting in shape just improves everything — your health, your outlook, your attitude,” says Henry, reflecting on the past year. His advice? “Try to eat clean and always look for ways to keep moving.”
Paula Detwiller is a freelance writer and lifelong fitness junkie. Visit her at www.pdwrites.com.
Comments