Posted 11:38 pm Wednesday, June 06, 2012
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Assistant City Manager, Principal Dropping Weight
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Nearly halfway into their friendly fitness competition, Whitehouse Assistant City Manager Kevin Huckabee and Whitehouse High School Principal Duane Barber said they are pleased with the results and remain optimistic.
Huckabee has lost 14 pounds since the new Keep Whitehouse Fit initiative kicked off April 30. He attributed his weight loss to consistent workouts at the YMCA, counting calories and other healthy habits.
"I wanted to (lose) 30 pounds. I'm halfway there, so I feel like I'm doing really good after (Monday's) weigh-in. It gave me incentive ..." he said.
Barber said he's lost 15 pounds, leaving 10 more to go before he reaches his goal.
Like Huckabee, he said his weight loss has occurred because of exercising and eating right.
"I'll try to continue to do that and try to learn more (about being healthy)..." he said. "I'm trying to figure out how to eat and change habits overall so I can sustain it."
During the 12-week Keep Whitehouse Fit challenge, Hu-ckabee and Barber have tracked progress based on percentage of weight lost, body fat percentage, inches and appearance. They also selected team members to join them in their fitness journey and encouraged residents to get teams together.
Participants go through wee-kly weigh-ins and have the opportunity to attend educational talks about losing weight and nutrition. Any person who gains weight since their last recorded weigh-in must pay $1 per pou-nd, and each person who is absent from a weigh-in must pay $5, Huckabee said.
All proceeds will go to the YMCA, and there will be a team winner and a winner of the individual challenge between Huckabee and Barber.
Although he is not certain which team is winning the challenge, Huckabee said it likely is the Whitehouse Area Chamber of Commerce team, also known as the "chamber chubbies."
"Most people I've talked to have lost a pound or two, but overall I think the chamber (is winning) a little," he said.
As far as the money, there have been some instances of fees for missing a weigh-in and gaining weight, but it hasn't been a huge issue, he said.
Residents are welcome to work out with challenge participants at the Whitehouse YMCA.
Huckabee said the city is also thinking of doing another fit initiative closer to Christmas time.
In the meantime, though, both he and Barber remain positive.
"I still feel confident about beating Duane," Huckabee said.
Barber quipped, "One of the (factors) is overall appearance, and Kevin hasn't got any better looking than when we started."
