After almost a month, we are happy to report that New York is filled with happy losers - people who have taken up the Daily News' challenge for city dwellers to shed a million collective pounds.
Take readers like Dennis Alestra, who joined Weight Watchers on Jan. 8, the day after he read the inspiring story of Vernice Tolliver-Benvenutti and Carlos Benvenutti in the Daily News. He has lost 7 pounds in his first two weeks on the plan. And Lydia Williams and her husband wrote that they have together lost 20 pounds since Jan. 3.
We checked in with the people who joined the campaign on Jan. 11 to see how they are doing:
Mark Grossman, Queens: "I lost 6 pounds in the past two weeks, but I'm shooting for more this week. I'm doing Weight Watchers, but I want to read the South Beach book."
Brian Delgado, Staten Island: "I lost 18 pounds in two weeks! I was 280 but I went to the doctor because I have the flu, and he said I weighed 262. I'm going to try the South Beach Diet. It looks the most realistic. My mom is going to try it, too, so it's becoming a family effort."
Russel Weigner, Long Island: "Hey, it's only been a few weeks! But I lost 3 pounds. I might try the South Beach Diet, but so far, my own plan has been working. You just gotta work hard at it."
Brenda and George Boyce, Manhattan: "I lost 1 pound [on Weight Watchers] and George has been sick and he didn't get to the gym, so he didn't lose anything. But we're working on getting back on track."
Latanya Blue, Brooklyn: "I've compared them all but I'm still deciding which one to pick. Meanwhile, I've tried to minimize my portions, include fresh fruit and vegetables in my diet and exercise. I'm trying hard to stick to it! I dropped 2 pounds, but I'm not weighing myself again before Feb. 5. I'm going more on how my clothes are fitting."
Helen Bessette, Manhattan: "I'm still deciding which diet to go on, but meanwhile I've been trying to watch what I eat and how much. I'm not below 330 yet, but my jeans are looser, so I'm happy with that, and going in the right direction."
Sally Pabon, Queens: "I finally decided I'm going to start the Atkins Diet."
Michelle Megna
