SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - When Aaron "Godson" Hernandez signed up for Yellowknife's Biggest Loser competition with 152 other Yellowknifers, he knew he was going to win and he made a point of telling everyone.

Aaron "Godson" Hernandez lost 54.2 pounds in six weeks, winning him the title of Yellowknife's biggest loser. - Nicole Veerman/NNSL photo

"I never doubted myself for one day," he said.

And he was right not to, because in six weeks he lost 54.2 pounds - 21.3 per cent of his body weight - and gained the biggest loser title, and the grand prize of $3,775.

Yellowknife's hip-hop star, was 254.8 pounds at his first weigh-in on Feb. 1 and had his sights set on losing about 25 pounds, but he blew that goal out of the water within the first four weeks of the competition.

"Everything happened smoothly," he said. "I can't believe I lost that much. That's a lot of weight to lose in six weeks."

To lose the weight, he didn't follow a workout plan or meal plan from the Internet or a book, but rather created his own.

He did 400 crunches every day, 200 in the morning and 200 at night. He lifted weights a couple times a week and did cardio a couple times a week.

"Another trick I did was wear ankle weights around the house," he said.

He only drank water and tea and ate six small meals a day, mostly consisting of steamed vegetables.

Over the six weeks, he said he slipped up a few times by indulging in a piece of pizza or a lunch buffet.

"But even when I had those lapses, it made me work even harder the next day," he said.

After the final weigh-in on Tuesday night, Hernandez said he rewarded himself with a dinner of foods he had been craving - steak, pasta and nachos.

"But the next day I was back to it," he said. "I'm still gunning for another 20 pounds by the summer."

He will be presented with his $3,775 cheque this morning and said some of it will have to go toward a new wardrobe to fit his trimmer body. The rest, he said he'll keep as a safety net for his family.

The second prize winner is Zina Miklosovic, who lost 34.4 pounds - 17.6 per cent of her body weight. For all of her hard work, she's earned two flights to Edmonton, along with two tickets to an Edmonton Oilers hockey game and a set of luggage for the trip.

Third place was taken by Alex Godfrey, who lost 42 pounds - 15.6 per cent of his body weight.

He'll be able to keep up his weight loss with his prize of two one-year memberships to the Racquet Club and two $250 gift certificates to Subway.

Glorianna Jeun, assistant coach of the Potential School of Volleyball, who organized the competition, said she thought it was a great success, although she would have liked to see everyone who registered show up for the final weigh-in.

Of the 152 competitors, 61 stepped on the scale on Tuesday night. Jeun said the total weight loss for the 61 participants at the final weigh-in was 938.4 pounds.

"It just goes to show some people are determined," said Jeun. "It's very impressive."

The competition was organized as a way to get Yellowknifers healthy, while raising money for the Potential School of Volleyball. Fifty per cent of the registration money, $50 per person, went to Hernandez, while the other half went to the school.

Jeun said the money will help pay for equipment, uniforms, gym rentals and travel expenses for the female youth volleyball club.

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