Firefighters Raise $2,189 For The FoodBank While Shedding 2,189 Lbs. In Atlantic Club’s Take It Off Firehouse Weight Loss Challenge

Fire companies from throughout Monmouth and Ocean Counties proved once again that when faced with tough situations firefighters adapt in meeting the Atlantic Club of Manasquan and Red Bank’s Firehouse Weight Loss Challenge while raising $2,189 for the FoodBank.

“The Firehouse Take It Off Weight Loss Challenge turned out to be a success on several levels,” said Atlantic Club owner and CEO Pat Laus. “In addition to raising the funds for a very worthy cause, many of the firefighters that participated are continuing to improve their health and shed unwanted pounds by pursuing the healthy lifestyles they adopted during their eight weeks on our Take It Off Weight Loss Program.”

The Atlantic Club donated $1 to the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties for every pound the approximately 100 firefighters lost and awarded a $1,000 check the winning team, the Little Silver Fire Department, along with a golden scale for them to put in their trophy case. The five Little Silver team members shed a total of 226 pounds. Two of them lost more than 50 pounds each.

The firefighters also received an eight-week membership to The Atlantic Club in order to compete in the Firehouse Weight Loss Challenge and by completing the Take It Off program, a weight-loss program designed to combine dietary changes with exercise in a health club under the supervision of a coach and a physical trainer.

Take It Off Weight Loss coaches from the Atlantic Club counseled each firefighter in simple recipes using grocery store foods and provided educational materials to help them achieve their weight loss goals.

From the time they sat down together to a pasta dinner served by The Atlantic Club Caterers and their staff as a final boost to up the donation for pounds lost just prior to weighing in until the contest ended many of the firefighters expressed surprise at the results.

“Going into this competition, I figured I would lose a few pounds and get started on my way to getting back in shape. I had no idea that in two months I would completely change my lifestyle,” said Christopher Boyle, a firefighter with Little Silver Volunteer Fire Co. #1 who lost 51 pounds.

Kevin McHugh, C.O.O. of The Atlantic Club and The FoodBank’s Chairman of the Board presented the check for $2,189.10 to FoodBank representative Ellen Koment during a recent reception for the top five firefighter teams at the Atlantic Club in Manasquan. The Atlantic Club also gave members of the top five teams a one-month club membership and a special edition Take It Off Fireman’s Challenge t-shirt. The club also presented Little Silver firefighter Joseph Lauterwasser a gift basket for losing 54 pounds, the most weight lost by any of the 100 participants.  “I decided to participate in the weight loss challenge to help raise money for the Food Bank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties, but the biggest reason was for my health,” said Mr. Lauterwasser. “I weighed in at 400 pounds and I’m 25 years old. I highly recommend the Take It Off Weight Loss Program to anyone looking to drop weight without counting points or cutting out carbs. The challenge has been over almost three weeks and I have continued losing weight, almost 15 more pounds, for a total weight loss of 68 pounds.”
  
His teammate, firefighter Boyle, said the most common cause of line-of-duty deaths in the fire service is cardiac arrest while operating at a fire scene, adding that he knows of several fire departments in Monmouth County alone that have lost members on the scene of a fire due to heart attacks. “So not only has the Atlantic Club helped to feed the hungry, it helped save the lives of the firefighters, simply by coaching us to eat healthier and get some exercise through the Take It Off program,” he said.

Mr. Boyle, who said his weight ballooned to 276 pounds after a leg injury and surgery last fall left him inactive for several months, not only lost 51 pounds but has run two 5K races since the Firehouse Challenge ended and has begun training at the Atlantic Club in Red Bank for the Sandy Hookers Triathlon Club’s Sprint Triathlon Series this summer in Long Branch. He credits Atlantic Club trainer Brittany Rutter as “a constant source of tips, support, positive energy and sometimes a little dose of tough love and reality” for the Little Silver team.

The motivational experience of the Firehouse Challenge was a common threat in comments by the participating firefighters. “It was a wake up for me, and a positive in my life; to get healthy again for me and my family,” said Bob Frank, Fair Haven Fire Co. team captain.
 
“It will not end because the contest is over,” added John White of Manasquan Fire District #1. “Everyone that participated and kept up with this is a winner regardless of the outcome.”
 Kim Ambrose, a member of Fair Haven team who also is a Little Silver firefighter jumped at the chance to participate. “Little did I know that I would be the only woman participating. The kick off dinner was very intimidating for me,” she said. Soon, however, “I was doing three or four spin classes a week and loving every bit of it. I have gotten my drive back to lose weight and I feel like a slug if I go more than two days without some kind of physical activity. If I had not done the contest, I would still be 30 pounds heavier than I am now.”
  
More information about the Take It Off Weight Loss Program and other Atlantic Club programs is available at www.theatlanticclub.com.

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