By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
Following an extended hiatus, Castleview Hospital has announced the return of its Community Weight Loss Challenge, advancing the hospital’s mission of “Making Communities Healthier.”
Brian Powell, director of rehab at Castleview Hospital, joined the KOAL newsroom to preview the challenge and what may lie in store for participants.
“Back in the day when the Biggest Loser show was on, we started having weight loss competitions, and we saw great results where people would get out with a friendly competition like this,” explained Powell. “I mean, people were losing 20, 30 pounds, and that was normal. But we had people losing up to 80 pounds, and we want to create an environment where people feel comfortable and just a friendly competition to get healthy.”
Recognizing how hard the weight-loss journey can be, Castleview provides resources to help participants be as successful as possible, including free access to the Jeff Manley Wellness Center for the duration of the contest.
“We’ll have some classes during this competition where people can come and learn about proper nutrition, exercise, and how that helps. So we’ll provide as much opportunity as we can to individuals to learn more and to change their lifestyle if they need to.”
Weigh-ins for the contest begin on March 2 and run through March 6 at the Jeff Manley Wellness Center or Emery Medical Center. Powell explained how the contest will be judged, “So the first week is basically sign up and weigh in. That will be your initial weigh in, and then every week after that, we’ll have weigh ins where you come in any time during the week, and there’s a strategy to that as well, and so you just come in any time during the week and weigh in, and you just do that every week for the 10 weeks of the competition.”
The contest features categories for medication-assisted and non-medication-assisted participants, with final results based on percent body weight loss. Prizes will be awarded to the top three men and women in each category.
To get the community more involved, participants who complete all 10 weigh-ins will receive a custom T-shirt. Castleview is seeking community input to help design the shirt, and the hospital is accepting suggestions on social media.
“We want to help people develop a habit of exercise, that’s one of the main reasons we’re doing this, and then also to help people realize, you know, sometimes we eat way more than what we need to. We eat to indulge ourselves, and maybe because of boredom sometimes, and you know, we actually don’t need to eat a lot,” closed Powell. “Come and join us and have fun doing this, and we’ll try to help you keep going during this weight loss challenge.”
Castleview Hospital’s Community Weight Loss Challenge begins on March 2 with registration running until March 6, costing 25$ per participant. Those interested can register at either the Jeff Manly Wellness Center or the Emery Medical Center.
