Curves Announces Weight Loss Winner
By Kathy Feist
Janet Scheffe is the winner of the 60-Day Weight Loss Challenge at Curves in the Red Bridge Shopping Center. She lost 13 lbs and gained $120.
“I didn’t think I would lose 13 lbs!” laughs the 54-year-old grandmother. “The money is great. But the weight loss is better.”
Scheffe attributes her success to giving up Diet Coke, eating a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, and working out four times a week at Curves.
“The workout is so easy,” she says. “Two times around the circuit doesn’t take long.”
Curves, a national chain established in 1992 specifically for women, consists of a circuit of hydraulic resistant weight machines that members use in 30-second intervals before moving to the next exercise on the circuit. A recorded voice tells members to switch. Two rounds of circuit training, which also incorporates cardiovascular moves and stretching, lasts for about 30 minutes.
Recently Curves started an online weight loss program called Curves Complete and brought in famed exercise guru Jillian Michaels as a spokesperson.
Scheffe followed the Curves Complete program while at a Curves fitness center in Maryville, MO, a few years ago. She lost 35 pounds. After a few hectic moves in the past two years, Scheffe gained some weight back. A friend recommended Curves in Red Bridge. In January, Scheffe, who lives in Lee’s Summit, followed her friend’s recommendation.
“The ladies at Curves in Red Bridge are so nice,” she says. “It feels like a big family.”
This family-like environment is the handiwork of Joanna Rangel. Like a host at a party, Rangel introduces members to each other as they work out and gets everyone involved on a topic of conversation. She creates challenges, such as the weight loss challenge, a walking competition (which Scheffe also participates in), and Bingo games which you can only win by coming repeatedly. It is not unusual to find a member’s grandson’s potted plants for sale in the entryway. Or a posted list of prayer requests from members. Or an abundance of sample giveaways at the front desk.
It comes then as no surprise that Curves at Red Bridge won a member retention award for the entire northcentral regional award in the Curves franchise.
Rangel, a former homeschool teacher to her five children, opened Curves 13 years ago. “I really liked the effectiveness of the workout in such a short time: a 30-minute workout,” she recalls. “It is really a great idea.”
Rangel is proud of Scheffe’s success and attitude, which reflects her own philosophy.
“We promote a healthy lifestyle, not just a diet,” says Rangel. “All the exercises here are not so you are able to say you can do those exercises but to use them in your daily life, whether playing with grandkids or cutting bushes or whatever it is you need to do to be strong.”
Rangel has just issued another 60-day weight loss challenge. Scheffe plans to win it. But no doubt she will get a run for her money now that she has been an inspiration to others.
To find out more about Curves, call 816-942-5600.
JULY 22 UPDATE: Since this story was published June 14, Scheffe reports she has lost an additional 5 pounds.