What prompted mother-of-one Cheyenna Stewart to put the brakes on her rapid weight gain and reassess her life was the nagging realisation that she was short-changing her three year old daughter, along with the thought that if she did not get her health in order she may not be around to watch Reyah grow up.

What helped her turn her weight issues around andin the process her self-esteem, was becoming a participant in last year’s War on Weight competition, sponsored by Cayman Heart Fund, s

Stewart arrived from Michigan as a small but curvaceous 150lb in 2005, but three years on, the full-time accountant, college student and mother  was tipping the scales at a hefty 210lbs, way too much weight for her petite 5’4” frame.

“Having begged me to take her to the park one day after preschool, my daughter asked me to race her and I couldn’t,” she said. “An everyday activity that I took for granted was being denied my daughter... the realisation that I was not only short changing her, but also myself, really shook me.”

Spurred into action, Stewart took matters into her own hands. She used her young child’s energy as a motivator by taking regular walks, her daughter accompanying her in the stroller.

Looking back it seems obvious to her that a combination of factors had led the weight to pile on over the course of three years: “I had a very stressful job, fell pregnant and was not eating regularly,” she says. “On a typical day I’d skip breakfast and sometimes missed lunch as I was busy, when I got home I’d cook the family meal but eat very little as I needed to hit the books”, she adds.

It was only later, as a signed up member of the War on Weight Competition that she learnt that her erratic eating pattern was starving her body of the nutrients it needed. “I was so focused on my job, my family life and my study that I wasn’t eating enough and so my body was actually holding onto the calories as it thought it was starving,” she explains.

Days after she took up walking, she signed up and was accepted as a contestant on WOW. Not only did she stick to the 16-week programme of exercise, nutritional counselling and socials, which kicked off last August, she ended up losing 18lbs just in time for the Christmas holidays.

“We had a great group of contestants... We were so supportive of each other and kept up each other’s morale.”

As well as undertaking mandatory exercise, for an hour five times a week (2010 contestants have access to Body Sculptor’s Fitness Programmes and facilities): the group has a ‘buddy system’, where participants from the same district can opt to walk and work out together. Contestants will also benefit from several thousand dollars worth of medical and psychological advice in the form of twice weekly visits with WOW’s nutritionist, and will receive ml and monitoring. Another perk of the programme is the free  providedthem about.

Contestants can also expect to attend events to promote nd to participate at various community activities.

For Stewart the help and advice of nutritionist Chad Collins was particularly helpful: “He not only checked out Body Mass Index, he taught us how to use food guides for when we ate out and gave us customised meal plans,” she says.

Having trimmed down significantly with a tried and tested formula for how to get rid of the remaining weight, Stewart finished the programme confident that she could continue losing weight. “Though I was still some way off my ideal weight, I felt like a winner. I’d faced down weight issues, tackled them face on and knew I was changed for the better,” she says.

Having gone from a size 14 to a trim 10 meant gaining energy and making the commitment to continuing her healthy lifestyle regime. Seven months on not only does she lift weights once a week but hits the at her local gym, Reyah, who sometimes accompanies her to the gym colouring book in hand sees her mother “extercise” as she calls it.

Having dropped another 17lbs and still losing, last year’s fourth place winner vows to work out alongside this year’s contestants to reach her ideal weight of 150lbs.

To for the WOW competition WOW and Saturday, 24 July.

Involves:

Signing up for a 16 week-long weight loss challenge

Regular scheduled activities including: an hour of group exercise five times a week, bi-weekly visits with a team of medical professionals to ensure weight loss is safe, a nutritional plan monitored by a registered dietician

Each contestant having access to more than $2,000 worth of expert advice, counselling and training

Support from past WOW participants, as well as the WOW committee being on hand

The winner being selected in accordance with criteria approved by WOW’s expert advisors, as well as points gained by programme participation.

The winner receiving a year of nutritional and personal training support as well as a day’s pampering at an on-island spa.

The three top losers each winning a prize package, including gift certificates to help them continue their weight loss programme.