Countryside firefighters strive to lose weight
By Judy Masterson jmasterson@stmedianetwork.com April 12, 2011 5:02PM
Kris Kazian, deputy fire chief of Countryside Fire Protection District, and Melissa Sosnoski, a peer physical fitness trainer for the department, work out at the station in Vernon Hills. | Dan Luedert~Sun-Times Media
Fat Facts: How much they lost
Starting weight Starting body fat Weight-90 days Body fat-90 days
Kris Kazian 190.5 27 percent 175 21 percent
Melissa Sosnoski 153 22.5 percent 144 15 percent
Mike Prozi 270 29.5 percent 246 24 percent
Byron Johnson 210 23.8 percent 209 21 percent
Rodney Edwards 283 28 percent 234 (after 60) 25 percent
fight the fat
For more information on Biosignature, visit abandcfitness.com or call Tony Bruno at (847) 630-2729.
Article Extras
Updated: May 14, 2011 12:18AM
A group of firefighters from the Countryside Fire Protection District have banned together to reinvent their health — not just to lose weight, but to lose fat, build lean muscle and, in the process, to improve their sense of well being.
“Personal fitness has always been a dilemma in firefighting,” said Melissa Sosnoski, a peer physical fitness trainer for the department. “We spend all this money on equipment and maintaining our equipment so we can get the job done, but the most valuable piece of equipment is the firefighter. We need to maintain ourselves. Staying in shape is a huge part of that.”
Athletic trainer Tony Bruno, owner of Hoffman Estates-Based AB&C Fitness, volunteered to shepherd the group through Biosignature, a fat-loss program that identifies imbalances in body
biochemistry, especially hormones, then recommends personalized modifications in diet, exercise and vitamin and mineral supplementation.
Bruno preaches a diet heavy on protein and light on carbs, along with an increased emphasis on weight- and resistance-training.
“We have to get the car working first, before we go on a long trip,” said Bruno. “The body uses and needs fat - it’s a fuel. When we burn fat, let’s make it a fuel efficient system.”
Bruno, who counsels doctors and pro athletes, talks in guru speak: “Healthy cells are happy cells and healthy cells make happy people. Lose fat, detoxify, decrease disease. It’s one thing to lose weight, it’s another to get rid of the toxins you’re holding on to.”
The five firemedics who have worked with Bruno during the three-month program have all lost significant amounts of body fat — goodbye to “love handles, “man boobs” and “spare tires” — and report higher levels of energy.
Deputy Fire Chief Kris Kazian, who has shaved off nearly 7 percent from his middle, said he is eating fewer carbs and less sugar and more high-quality protein and vegetables. He is also hitting the gym four- to five-days a week.
Kazian said he has been motivated by three factors: his wife “who’s been telling me for 10 years to eat better;” wanting his group to succeed so that the fat—loss program catches on throughout the department; and statistics that show that most line-of-duty deaths among firefighters — about 100 per year — are from heart attacks.
“Firefighters tend to have robust appetites,” he said. “We like comfort food and we like a lot of it.”
Bruno said his method also promotes a healthier response to stress, especially important for firefighters who experience frequent bursts of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol when an emergency call comes in and the department alarm sends them racing to the scene.
Firemedic Mike Prosi, 46, said he was ready to lose weight, but had no idea he was signing-up for a “lifestyle change.”
“I was a chubby hubby,” he said. “And I didn’t want to go up another pant size. When I heard we could get help from an expert in this field, I said OK. I didn’t think I could do it on my own.”
Sosnoski said that the fat-loss group’s nutrition and cooking habits are spreading to different shifts.
“In the beginning, they were teasing us, eating stuff in front of us,” Sosnoski laughed. “Now, they see the results.”
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