Slim

In Thursday’s weekly weigh in, the 20 contestants logged a whopping 87.5 pound combined loss — easily the largest one-week loss in the 10 weeks of the competition. Overall, the contestants have combined to shed 698.5 pounds.
In the individual standings, Marion County Sheriff’s investigator Meyer Carter continued his hold on first place, logging in Thursday at 267.5 pounds for an overall 22.46 percent loss. His 77.5 pound drop since March 20 is the equivalent of a small child.
Still on his tail, however, is Charlie Wells, who broke the 200 barrier Thursday with a 199 weigh in for a 20.72 percent decrease since March 20. Jason Zogg remained in third with a 16.31 percent drop to 310.5 pounds.
The contestant who loses the greatest percentage of weight in this competition hosted by the Heart of Florida Health Center wins a $2,000 prize. The winner will be decided on July 10. There are only two more weeks of weekly weigh-ins and guided sessions with their gym trainers and other professionals at the health care center.
For the last four weeks, the contestants are, essentially, on their own — although they will still have access to their team gyms.
And speaking of teams, in team standings, the YMCA Red team continued its grip on first place with a 13.45 percent team decrease. Since the start, the Reds have lost a combined 175.5 pounds, paced by Well’s 52 and Zogg’s 60.5 pound losses.
The second place Too Your Health Orange team lost a bit of ground, recording an 11.9 percent decrease. Despite the slower pace the past week, all four Oranges ranked in the week’s Top 10 again.
But it was the overall combined drop in the past week that stood out at Thursday’s session, led by 9-plus pound weekly losses by ToniLynn Miller and Chris Procaccini. Another half-dozen contestants logged losses ranging from 5 to 7 pounds each. They logged an average 4.375 percent weekly drop.
As the competition nears its end, none of the contestants appear to be asleep at the wheel.
A good thing, as they learned Thursday in a special training session: Good and correct sleep is important to weight loss.
“Sleep? Wow, what’s that?” exclaimed Lisa Marie Goodwin, who works two jobs — one as a dispatcher for Ocala Police.
“Forty million Americans have a sleep problem,” said Dr. Karen Hartsell, an Ocala physical therapist.
“Sleep deprivation can cause weight gain,” she continued. “Lack of sleep affects the body’s metabolism. The body is not going to burn and utilize carbohydrates; instead, it’ll store them as fat.”
Other drawbacks of improper sleep include safety — “The number one cause of fatal accidents is sleep deprivation.” — and cardio health. “If you’re not getting good sleep, it affects your stress hormones and that can affect your heart,” she said.
Moreover, lack of sleep can hamper mood, judgment, exercise performance and decrease the body’s ability to fight off infection. “Sleep definitely affects everything,” she said.
Follow the progress of all the competitors, read their blogs and vote for your favorites at www.losetowinchallenge.com.
Contact Rick Allen at rick.allen@starbanner.com and  http://www.ocala.com/