Citizen Staff Writer
Tucsonan Chris Hauser was one of two winners of Sunflower Farmers Market’s “Smallest Winner” challenge.
The competition ran from Jan. 1 through March 1, with six contestants chosen on the basis of essays they submitted to their local Sunflower Farmers Markets. Hauser squared off against contestants from Phoenix, Colorado and Utah. Contestants received free consultations with Sunflower’s Health and Wellness Educator, Maya Nahra, on nutrition, exercise and vitamin supplements, plus Sunflower gift cards and free temporary memberships to local YMCAs. In addition to weigh-ins, contestants’ cholesterol, tryglycerides and total body fat levels were tested.
Contestants were awarded based on total percentage weight loss over the three-month period. Hauser lost 30 pounds – 13.6 percent total body mass – to win the men’s event. He was also the overall, “smallest winner,” with the next best competitor losing 13.4 percent of total body mass, Nahra said.
“This was the kick-start I needed to get myself back,” said Hauser, who works for Pima Community College in Professional Development. “I am now a much healthier, happier more energetic dad, husband, friend, person.”
The winner of the women’s event was Heather Jones of Murray, Utah, who lost 22.2 pounds – 10.3 percent total body mass.
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