miles across nine states before ending up in Washington,
D.C. The $1.2 million prize was to be reduced by $10,000
whenever someone dropped out or was voted off. That way,
the walkers were strongly motivated to get along and keep
the payoff high, Steve says.
“The 12 people had completely different personalities,”
Steve says. “There was no natural chemistry between them.
There were about three guys whom I could appreciate right
off the bat, but even as a trainer and coach I had a hard time
with some of the others, with trying to appreciate their
struggles.”
ABC used a nationwide casting call to pick most of the
contestants. But producers recruited one of the heaviest, a
519-pound pastor, as soon as they saw him at an airport.
The group trudged through snow and sleet, rain and
steamy summer heat. They camped out at night and kept
their distance from Dunkin Donuts and Pizza Huts, subsisting
instead on pita sandwiches, nuts and raisins and dinners
of fish or chicken and vegetables. Most were comfortable
urbanites who had never pitched a tent in their lives, and
had been consuming 6,000 to 7,000 calories of food a day.
The “Fat March” regimen reduced the intake by 50 percent.
“The show is about overcoming,” Steve says. “The whole
name of the game was whether we were going to get up and
walk, eat less and make it to D.C. It was an amazing experience.
Everyone was successful. Even the ones who left after
the first episode have lost weight.”
TREASURE COAST MEDICAL REPORT
Bonnie and Steve operate Longevity Fitness Club & Spa in Vero Beach. They met at a gym in Tallahassee, later opened a fitness club together in Valdosta,
Ga., and moved to Vero four years ago.
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Steve walks with two marchers in ABC’s ‘Fat March.’
FITNESS