Before: 200 lbs.
After: 138 lbs.
Program used: The Fitness Challenge, a game Vicki invented (Want to play the game yourself? Log on to fitnesschallenge.com to buy it for $30)


By January 2003, Vicki Sorensen — overweight at 200 lbs. — had gambled long enough with her health. So the 5-foot-5 mother of two from Carver, Minn., gave her mom, Stephanie Rhodes, 57, of Naples, Fla., a fitness challenge. Five years before, Vicki and her then-fiancé, Scott, now 37, shed flab by competing to lose weight before their wedding. With Stephanie — who needed to exercise so her broken leg could heal properly — Vicki decided to wager a spa treatment on the completion of three 30- to 45-minute workout sessions a week for eight weeks.

The Payoff

Mother and daughter both scored by sticking to their workouts. “Turning losing weight into a game gave me the motivation to exercise,” says Vicki. To celebrate, they exchanged pampering spa treatments — and kept playing. By July 2004, Vicki had shrunk from a size 18 to a size 8 and was down to 138 lbs. And Stephanie’s leg had healed beautifully, astounding her surgeon.

Making Money Losing Weight

Vicki and Stephanie decided to create and sell an actual board game based on their fitness competition. Not surprisingly, the idea took off. Borders bookstores and target.com offer their colorful game, called The Fitness Challenge. Now anyone can lose big using Vicki’s weight-loss competition!

Next page: Vicki's top weight-loss tips