Biggest Loser

'Biggest Loser' contestant speaks at county wellness program event
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 10:55 PM CDT

By Paul Swiech

pswiech@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON — Jerry Lisenby of Peoria was the oldest contestant in the history of “The Biggest Loser” when he competed on the hit NBC-TV program last year at age 62.

He also lost the most weight in a single week — 31 pounds.

But numbers aren’t what motivated him to begin his weight loss.

“I was worried that my grandkids would get away from me,” Lisenby told The Pantagraph before speaking Tuesday to about 55 McLean County employees at the Government Center in downtown Bloomington. “All of a sudden, I was watching my grandkids play instead of playing with them.”

Lisenby spoke as part of the county’s employee wellness program, said coordinator Jackie Lanier, a health department health promotions specialist.

Brooke Castaneda, a health department office support specialist who is participating in the wellness program, came up with the idea to have Lisenby speak.

“I’m a huge fan of ‘The Biggest Loser,’” said Castaneda, who made an unsuccessful attempt to be a contestant on the show two years ago. Having a Central Illinois person explain his success would help people to realize that weight loss and fitness are attainable, she said.

Lisenby, now 63, is a retired firefighter and retired hardware store owner who has been married for 42 years. A father and grandfather, he is an International Red Cross Disaster Relief Team member and a volunteer for several organizations in the Peoria area.

He had been physically active his entire life and weighed 216 pounds when he retired from the Peoria Fire Department in 1991. In recent years, he exercised less and ate more and was up to 300 pounds by January 2007.

His daughter, Megan, convinced him to try out for “The Biggest Loser.” Lisenby was chosen and lost 31 pounds during week one and 10 pounds during week two. He lost only 2 pounds during the third week when another contestant dropped Lisenby and he tore a muscle in his left thigh. He was voted off by the other contestants.

While Lisenby exercised eight to 10 hours a day on “The Biggest Loser,” he has continued to exercise and eat healthy and went down to 187 pounds. On Tuesday, he weighed 192 as he prepares for a cross-country bike ride that he and his wife begin May 1 to benefit Children’s Home in Peoria.

Lisenby exercises about 3½ hours a day at the YMCA in Peoria, doing the Stairmaster and crunches and lifting weights. He eats smaller portions and less red meat, eats half of what he’s served in restaurants, avoids salt and sugar, and focuses on fish, lean chicken and turkey, vegetables and fruits, oatmeal, water and skim milk.

“He’s inspiring and down to earth,” Castaneda said after Lisenby’s talk. Castaneda, 33, once weighed 331 pounds but is down to 289 by eating six small meals a day, focusing on vegetables and fruits, walking and working out at Curves. She wants to lose at least 100 pounds more.

“For the first time, I really feel like it’s doable.”