‘Biggest Loser’ duo to visit club in weight-loss mission

Staff report

NILES

Aaron Thompkins of Howland and Jesse Atkins, who were contestants in the recently concluded season 10 of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” will be at Fizek in the Eastwood Mall complex from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday to get the community motivated to slim down, shape up and participate in the Pound For Pound Challenge to lose 90 pounds in 90 days.

Registration for Zumba starts at 9 a.m. followed by a short meet and greet at 10 a.m. and Zumba starting promptly at 11 a.m. Cost is $10 with partial proceeds going to the American Diabetes Association.

After Zumba, lunch with Thompkins, Atkins and staff will be raffled off for $1 per ticket and those interested in joining the Pound For Pound Challenge can sign up and pledge their pounds.

For every pound pledged online, General Mills and Subway will donate 11 cents to Feeding America — which means a pound of groceries will be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley.

The Second Harvest Food Bank supplies food to 152 hunger-relief programs in the Mahoning Valley.

Thompkins started his stint on “The Biggest Loser” at 468 pounds and lost almost half his body weight within a matter of months.

He has pledged to “pay it forward” by taking what he has learned on “The Biggest Loser” and sharing it with the community.

Since the show’s finale, Thompkins has become a national spokesman for the American Diabetes Association and has created a health and wellness social network known as Better Living 360 (www.BL360.org) geared toward helping men and women stay focused on achieving their fitness goals.

Fizek, Better Bodies by Design, is donating the use of its facility to help educate residents on the benefits of maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle, and also to help raise $2,500 for the American Diabetes Associations 2011 Tour de Cure.