Nobody wants to be called the biggest loser — unless that name changes your life for the better.
In May, Fawzy Ebrahim, program professor at the Fischler School of Education and Human Services, won the fourth NSU’s Biggest Loser competition, based on the hit NBC show.
“It’s completely changed my life,” Ebrahim said. “I eat healthy now. I don’t eat any junk food.”
Ebrahim dropped 274 pounds to 219 pounds during the program, which started in January.
Before the program, Ebrahim took eight daily shots of insulin to control his diabetes. His A1C, a blood test that measures blood sugar levels, used was more than 10 percent, but is now the normal range of 6.5 to 7 percent. Ebrahim also used to take blood pressure medication twice a day and now takes it once a day. He also spent $600 a month on medication but now spends only $60.
One of the benefits of changing his lifestyle is Ebrahim now has more energy to work on his hobby: farming.
“I like to plant vegetables and trees and so forth,” Ebrahim said. “A year ago I was very, very pessimistic to do anything. I thought I was expecting death anytime. I used to take the highest dose of insulin, but my blood sugar was always over 300.”
Due to the high intake of insulin Ebrahim’s energy levels and vision depleted. He recalls seeing a distinct change in his lifestyle once he started to lose weight giving him the energy to start his farm.
Lourdes Perez, personal trainer and group exercise leader at the RecPlex and one of Ebrahim’s personal trainers during the program, said that Ebrahim was motivated.
“He was definitely focused on the goal,” Perez said. “I don’t think it was about winning the actual event as it was changing his life.”
Perez said that even when problems with his knee made him unable to do some of the exercises, he would still attend the sessions.
“He’s always smiling — always positive,” Perez said. “He’s a very intelligent man; willing to help other people, willing to volunteer.”
Ebrahim isn’t the only one the program has affected. He said that his family’s diet has changed and he constantly talks about the program to his colleagues and students.
“When I go and teach statistics or research,” he said. “I write examples of losing weight and how this affects your anxiety, how does this affect your motivation. So I provide life examples for the students based on my experience.”
Ebrahim said he would like to see the Biggest Loser program expand at NSU and is planning to apply for a grant to see it established county-wide. For now, he is working toward his goal of weighing less than 200 pounds and he currently walks five miles every day.
“Imagine that you give a chance to someone to live again,” Ebrahim said. “That’s all I can say about the Biggest Loser. It gave me the chance to live again.”
