Workout with Becky

Will Pakutka has a revolutionary idea to help chubby Americans shed pounds. It doesn't require diet pills, liposuction, scientifically calibrated meals or expensive home exercise equipment. He didn't consult Richard Simmons or Jack LaLanne, and his plan wasn't endorsed by Valerie Bertinelli or Kirstie Alley.

Pakutka's strategy? Consume less. Work out more.

"I ate less, but I also ate better," says sports slot editor Pakutka, the winner of the Daily News sports department's "Biggest Newser" competition. "I ate more vegetables and fruit. I worked out more. It was that simple."

Inspired by NBC's hit show "The Biggest Loser" - and spare tires and double chins inflated by holiday treats and Super Bowl munchies - 11 members of the Daily News sports department embarked on a 90-day challenge to improve our diets, get fit and shed unwanted pounds.

Pakutka took the gold medal by losing 20.4 pounds, 11.2% of his total body weight. But the 11 guys who participated in the contest were winners. As a group, we lost 172.2 pounds - the equivalent of one whole copy editor.

Sunday sports editor Eric Barrow, the silver medalist, lost 19.2 pounds, more than 9.2% of his pre-contest weight. Sports copy editor Bill Sweeney, who came in third, lost almost 24 pounds, or 9.1% off his pre-competition frame.

The average weight loss: 15.6 pounds.

Pakutka is a long-time gym rat, but he says he stepped up his workouts at the Brielle Sports Club near his home in New Jersey. He lifted weights three times a week and took hot yoga and Pilates classes. He says the only permanent change he'll make to his diet is not what he eats, but how much he will eat.

"I don't eat until I'm full anymore," he says. "I eat until I'm not hungry."

Assistant racing editor Chuck Gardella, who lost more than 11 pounds, credits Brian McNamee, Roger Clemens' former trainer, with pushing him onto the road to fitness.

"I had this idea that he would be yelling and screaming at me, but Brian was great," Gardella says. "He worked with my limitations and built me up slowly. He taught me how to be aware of what I was eating and how to make better choices."

Gardella wasn't the only Newser who got help: Becky Wenner, the founder of Becky's Fitness Company, spent countless hours teaching me how to eat and exercise. She helped me lose more than 14 pounds and build up muscles I never even knew I had. She taught me that exercise doesn't have to be a chore; it can be an invigorating part of every day. She made me pay attention to what I put in my body. She taught me to push myself in the gym, to confront my fears, and to push myself even though I'm tired and sweaty.