Common sense key to success for Doughboys
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

Newsboy photo/ Sharon Kerr DETECTIVE STANLEY CHRISTOPHER is one of five Woodville police and judicial officers who won a trip to Las Vegas in the 911 Fitness Challenge by losing fat and gaining muscle in a 12 week contest.

The 911 Fitness Challenge is a national competition that pits teams of police, fire and military personnel against each other to lose fat and gain muscle.

The challenge divides the United States into four regions. In the central section, more than 1,300 teams began the ninth annual contest in January 2007.

When the dust settled 12 weeks later, the winners were not in health-crazed Colorado, nor in big cities like Dallas and Houston where gyms and personal trainers are as common as Starbucks.

Our heroes are the Dogwood Doughboys of Woodville, population 2,415.

The Doughboys will depart for Las Vegas for an all-expense paid trip May 25-26, where each regional winning team will receive a check for $5,000. They will also be special guests at a UFC event (Ultimate Fighting Championship) at the MGM.

Woodville Police Department patrolman Phil Ryan is captain of the team that includes patrolman Jeremy Byron, Justice of the Peace Bryan Weatherford, Woodville Police Chief Scott Yosko and detective Stanley Christopher, son of Jasper's community service coordinator Stanley Christopher.

Woodville also fielded a second team in the challenge, the County Rejects, consisting of DPS trooper Buck Odom and Woodville patrolmen Jathon Bocel and Lawrence Hicks.

"Really, the whole town supported our efforts," Yosko said. "Our wives lost weight. People in the courthouse got interested. I think everyone could see we were getting results in even the first couple of weeks."

Other teams lost more weight than the Doughboys, but the point was to get fit by replacing fat with muscle, as measured by BMI (body mass index). The Doughboys started with BMIs ranging from 20 to almost 34 percent body fat. Most of them dropped to about 10 percent through a combination of diet and exercise.

Yosko actually gained weight during the challenge (muscle weighs more than fat), but at age 50 he had not really exercised seriously in four years. He went from a 23.9 BMI to 10.5.

Christopher, who roped everyone else into the contest, lost the most weight and the most fat. He started out at 33.9 BMI and dropped to 10.5.

The 911 Fitness organizers say, "Due to the chaotic nature of the police and fire profession a unique approach is necessary to facilitate practical fitness programs ... their demanding, often hazardous schedule compounded by everyday stress make it difficult to adhere to a traditional exercise curriculum."

So how did they do it?

"The old fashioned, common sense approach," Yosko said. "I started exercising slowly, at home, because it had been a few years. You don't necessarily need equipment. Yard work is exercise, and you can do pull ups and push ups at home."

The Woodville PD does have some weight-training equipment and the team also utilized the Family Fitness Center gym in Woodville. Christopher said he averaged an hour of weight training and 30 minutes of cardio per day.

But dietary changes seem to be what Yosko and Christopher most talk about. Christopher said their diet typically consisted of five to six smaller high protein meals and snacks per day.

"I'd have raisin bran, skim milk and a banana for breakfast," Christopher said. "Then every three hours something else. For a mid-morning snack, maybe a protein shake. For lunch, a sandwich using tuna with dill relish (no mayo), and for dinner maybe grilled chicken breast, brown rice and vegetables."

"Egg whites are good protein, too," Yosko chimed in. "Four egg whites to two eggs yolks."

"We ate like that six days a week," Christopher said, "and then one day was 'cheat day' and you could have whatever you want. For me it was Sunday, and I'd try to get my wife to cook chicken-fried venizon, or I'd have a cheeseburger."

"The main thing is habit change; how we eat, when we eat, portion controls," Yosko said. He said he was surprised when he started reading nutrition labels and found out how bad some habits can be.

"Did you know if you eat a whole sleeve of Ritz crackers, it's just as bad or more so than eating a big bag of potato chips," Yosko commented.

Yosko recommends www.calorieking.com for diet information and portion sizes. "You can find the calorie count of just about every menu item for just about every restaurant and fast food place or frozen food item, and you can find out what a normal size portion is for any food."

Christopher said, "I think what we did is really a life-style change rather than a diet. It's something I will do the rest of my life. The premise of a 'cheat day' is that you know you can have whatever everyone else is having, and get right back on your plan the next day.

"Once your body starts feeling better from eating right, you know you're doing something great and you don't want to stop."

Yosko agreed, and said when he recently attended a party with his grandkids and loaded up on the chili cheese dogs and party goodies, his stomach didn't feel so good.

"That hot dog just felt like pure grease in my mouth," Yosko said, "because my body got out of the habit of eating like that."

Yosko said once you start eating right, like using picante sauce on a baked potato instead of the usual condiments, "You begin to actually enjoy the taste. You find out what a potato really tastes like and enjoy it. Beans and peas are fantastic, but don't put bacon grease or a ham bone in there."

Yosko and Christopher credited team captain Ryan with being the gourmet cook who kept everyone inspired.

"We'd get together and grill up a whole bunch of chicken breasts, cut 'em into portions and freeze them, so you always had something you could get out and heat and eat," Yosko said.

A proper size portion of lean meat is the size of a deck of cards. A portion of fruit or vegetables is the size of your fist. Seasonings like spices, bouillon or onion soup can replace fat when cooking beans or to make brown rice more flavorful.

"Drink lots of water and you don't have to worry so much about salt," Yosko advised. "Obviously, check with your doctor if you have a problem with salt, but drinking lots of water generally eliminates the problem.

"Follow these steps, even just some of them, and you will see changes in two weeks. And focus on progress, not perfection. If you focus on progress, you will constantly be tickled with results and you will be amazed how you feel better."

"That's why 'cheat day' is important," Christopher said. "You don't have to be perfect and you don't ever have to feel like you failed if you have something you want. You just have to know you can get right back on track and keep going."

With the encouragement of family and "really, the whole town," according to team members, they did keep going, never dreaming they'd win the trip to Vegas out of so many entries.

"If we can do it, anyone can," Yosko said.