Oakville Weight Loss Contestants Announced!

Oakville Patch is proud to introduce its two Oakville Weight Loss Challenge contestants! Who will you root for to make a successful run to the finish line?

Each contestant has committed to making improvements in both diet and exercise habits to reach their weight loss goals. They will share their individual stories and their progress with us for the next three months.

Every week, we will report weigh-in results from along with updates, recipes and tips. We open up the forum for you to respond to our challengers with encouragement and helpful tips or suggestions of your own. 

Meet Franchesca

Age: 35

Height: 67 inches

Current weight: 188 pounds

Goal weight: 150 pounds

Franchesca is a 35-year-old mother with a degree in education and an in-home day care. She is an active advocate for public education who currently volunteers for Oakville Elementary School. Field trips and group activities are a way of life for her family. She has struggled with her weight for 15 years.

Her weight gain began at age 20 when she gave up smoking. She was a heavy smoker and was able to successfully quit, but, during the process she gained 50 pounds. She married when she was 25 years old. Prior to her wedding day, she was able to shed 25 pounds. She immediately got pregnant with her daughter, and her weight has fluctuated since. Franchesca has never been able to reach the weight she once was before she quit smoking.

She has lived in Oakville since 2007 and has been walking South County Center in Mehlville almost daily for more than a year. In order to reach her goal she plans to continue her daily 30-minute mall walks and adhere to the Carbohydrates Addicts Diet. This is the same diet plan she used to lose weight for her wedding day.

In short, the Carb Addicts Diet follows a few simple rules. Franchesca must limiti her carbohydrate intake to one meal a day. All of her carbs must be eaten within one hour. She must also drink eight glasses of water each day and get eight hours of sleep every night. Franchesca cannot eat any meals or snacks two hours prior to bedtime.

Meet Christine

Age: 43

Height: 62 inches

Current weight: 151 pounds

Goal weight: 126 pounds

Christine, a resident of Oakville for 13 years, has worn many hats. She was born and raised in Pennsylvania. There, she joined the Army National Guard. 

In 1992, she moved to St. Louis to accept a live-in nanny position. She then transferred to the Missouri Army National Guard where she met her husband. They married 17 years ago in uniform while on flood duty during the flood of 1993. Shortly after she finished her contract with the guard, she became pregnant. This is when Christine's battle with weight began. 

She was 110 pounds when she became pregnant and gained more than 60 pounds during her pregnancy. After the birth of her son, she was able to lose most of the excess weight, but found that she could no longer eat without care as she had in the past. She then got pregnant with her second child and was unable to lose the baby weight by the time her third child was conceived.

Christine's wake-up call came when she reached her all-time high weight of 183 pounds. She made a commitment to get healthier. She decided to make better food choices and began walking 10 miles per week. Slowly, she saw the weight melt away. 

Last August, at 137 pounds, Christine was pleased with her success. After a year of following her plan, the amount of weight she lost gave her renewed self-confidence. Her weight loss also made it easy to give in to small indulgences. Six months later, she has regained 15 of the pounds she had lost.

A busy mother of three, a volunteer and a student seeking to earn her bachelors in photography, Christine has committed to the weight loss challenge.  She is determined to achieve long-term success.

Christine's plan includes not eating after 7 p.m. and incorporating more exercise into her lifestyle. She will increase her lean protein and green vegetables intake and decrease her carbohydrate intake. Moderation is her motto.