Main Street Section

January 21, 2004

UP & DOWN THE SCALES: The sounds of guitarist Scott Whitney can be heard over the airwaves as performer and composer. But now he can be viewed on TV, not playing a note. Instead, he discusses his weight with KPIX hostess Malou Nablu, part of "Evening Magazine's Get Fit with Malou".

Whitney usually shows up the fourth Wednesday of each month, with his next appearance Jan. 21, 7 p.m. This Channel 5 segment tracks the weight loss of four contestants over a year, winnowed down from a whopping 800 applicants.

So, how did he get the nod? His comic touches, for one. When he teased the hostess on one of the audition days--he said he guessed she weighed about as much as his thigh. "Naming myself FatDad helped me stand out."

He also mentioned that he used this stomach as a resting place for the TV remote, which, though convenient, was "a clear sign something needed to be done." Also, the show was seeking "an everyday kinda guy that folks could relate to," he conjectures, someone not terribly overweight.

Whitney's goal is 30 pounds and he's already lost 16. The day of final reckoning is in October. "Prior to the show, my eating habits were no breakfast, late lunch, large dinner, then grazing the rest of the evening. Exercise consisted of walking to the refrigerator during the grazing portion of the evening."

Those habits have been drastically revised, needless to say. Breakfast is now mandatory, with a milkshake snack late morning, reasonably sized lunch and dinner, no grazing. Since 24 Hour Fitness is one of the sponsors of the segment, part of the agreement is to work with a personal trainer three days a week, work alone two more days.

Whitney uses the fitness center on Camden off Leigh. The Whitneys--including wife Melissa and two teenager daughters--moved here in 2001. Scott, a full-time musician, says that the vibe of LG is solidly behind artists. He's sold more the 34,500 CDs to people in nearly every state in the union, and they always seem impressed when Los Gatos is mentioned.