H-E-B Names Community Slim Down Winners

Over the past four months, 24 contestants from across Texas have been working hard to adopt healthy habits and shed pounds, and on Oct. 7 H-E-B named Alison Spangler from San Antonio as the $10,000 grand-prize winner of its first-ever Community Slim Down Showdown competition.

H-E-B determined the overall winner using three metrics – overall health and weight loss, participation and fan engagement.

Spangler lost 48 pounds. A graphic design teacher, Spangler said her lifestyle has changed completely since she began the competition in June. “Before, I wasn’t doing anything at all. Zero. Now I exercise every day,” she said.

The 24 contestants lost a total of 956 pounds and showed off their healthier frames to hundreds of cheering supporters in a reveal ceremony on Oct. 7. In addition to weight loss, the contestants improved their health numbers significantly – total cholesterol for the group dropped by 804 points.

Lorena Flournoy, a school social worker from Austin, won the $5,000 “fan favorite” prize for being able to engage the most online activity and chatter on her blog at heb.com/slimdown. Flournoy lost 53 pounds during the competition and garnered nearly 32,000 likes, shares and comments.

Overall, the contestants penned more than 1,300 blogs, attracting a quarter-million page views and 63,000 comments.

H-E-B president Craig Boyan also rewarded the contestant with the most dramatic weight loss and health results. Reuben Ybarra, a public health nurse from Victoria, was named a “Healthy Hero” and won $3,000 for losing 85 pounds during the competition.

Contestants were selected from more than 500 applicants based on their willingness and ability to publicly share their journey through the wellness program and the resulting lifestyle changes through blogs and vlogs.

Applications for the 2013 Slim Down Showdown are now being accepted online through Oct. 21.