2008 Woodie Awards
Freshman sheds pounds, gains self-esteem
Dave Hodge
Issue date: 8/25/08 Section: News
College life is more often than not depicted as drunken heathens painting the town red all over campus, and the sad truth is that it is not far from the truth. There are some, however, who make positive changes for themselves and the world around them. Western Illinois University sophomore John Mougros spent his freshman year doing just that.
From fall 2007 to spring 2008, Mougros spent the overwhelming majority of his free time improving his health by dropping 90 lbs. in two semesters.
Mougros and a few friends from his floor hit the Donald S. Spencer Student Recreation Center and became regulars immediately.
"I knew if I didn't change now, I was never going to change," Mogrous said.
Mogrous' first order of business was to look up healthy avenues to eat and lose weight online. From there, Mogrous worked out at the rec for an astonishing 165 days. The beginning of his lifestyle change was the hardest part. Mogrous walked three miles as fast as he could, which took about 45 minutes in the beginning. Now, the laborious walk is done in half the time.
In addition to walking, Mogrous lifted weights, swam and stuck to a healthy diet, which included plenty of fruits and vegetables, egg whites, chicken, fish and brown rice. He said still sticks to this diet today.
Mogrous had taken off 50 lbs. by January. Now he stands at 5 feet 7 inches tall and 160 lbs. and says he couldn't be happier.
"Once you see the results, it's easy to keep going," Mogrous said. "It makes everything so much easier.
"I was in a routine: school work, working out. Sometimes I couldn't wait to get to the rec center to work out; it's such a great stress reliever," he added. "I'd leave my problems at the door and get into my workout and not think a thing about them. They were still there when I left, if I felt like picking them up."
Mogrous' expressed interest in pursuing studying international business as well as motivating people to eat healthy and exercise regularly.
"Sometimes when I'm with my family and we talk about how I've changed, I get real emotional; it tears me up," he said. "I'm so proud of what I've done, and I feel so great. I just want to help other overweight people understand they can be proud, too, and they can feel great, too."
From fall 2007 to spring 2008, Mougros spent the overwhelming majority of his free time improving his health by dropping 90 lbs. in two semesters.
Mougros and a few friends from his floor hit the Donald S. Spencer Student Recreation Center and became regulars immediately.
"I knew if I didn't change now, I was never going to change," Mogrous said.
Mogrous' first order of business was to look up healthy avenues to eat and lose weight online. From there, Mogrous worked out at the rec for an astonishing 165 days. The beginning of his lifestyle change was the hardest part. Mogrous walked three miles as fast as he could, which took about 45 minutes in the beginning. Now, the laborious walk is done in half the time.
In addition to walking, Mogrous lifted weights, swam and stuck to a healthy diet, which included plenty of fruits and vegetables, egg whites, chicken, fish and brown rice. He said still sticks to this diet today.
Mogrous had taken off 50 lbs. by January. Now he stands at 5 feet 7 inches tall and 160 lbs. and says he couldn't be happier.
"Once you see the results, it's easy to keep going," Mogrous said. "It makes everything so much easier.
"I was in a routine: school work, working out. Sometimes I couldn't wait to get to the rec center to work out; it's such a great stress reliever," he added. "I'd leave my problems at the door and get into my workout and not think a thing about them. They were still there when I left, if I felt like picking them up."
Mogrous' expressed interest in pursuing studying international business as well as motivating people to eat healthy and exercise regularly.
"Sometimes when I'm with my family and we talk about how I've changed, I get real emotional; it tears me up," he said. "I'm so proud of what I've done, and I feel so great. I just want to help other overweight people understand they can be proud, too, and they can feel great, too."
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