Scale Back weight loss competition enters sixth year

The first time Judy Hendrix did Scale Back Alabama, she lost 22 pounds. The second time, she lost 15 pounds. She lost 12 pounds during her last go-around with the statewide weight-loss competition.

“When you lose 10 to 15 pounds, you would like to lose some more,” said Hendrix, the patient transport supervisor at Flowers Hospital in Dothan.

Hendrix has always struggled with her weight, and she admits she has regained some of the weight she has lost through Scale Back. But, she said, those 10 weeks still serve as motivation.

“It helps me tremendously,” she said. “So far, I have never gained back the whole amount I lost.”

A team of support and the chance to win $1,000 also help, she said.

“None of us enjoy dieting that much, but when doing it as a team and you enjoy the interaction with other team members and when you’ve got that incentive, that monetary incentive, that helps,” Hendrix said.

Scale Back Alabama is entering its sixth year with a kick-off planned for Thursday and weigh-in for teams beginning Jan. 21. The program is a public-private partnership involving the Alabama Department of Public Health, the Alabama Hospital Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.

The statewide weight-loss competition challenges participants to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks. Each team of four whose members lose 10 pounds each will be entered into a drawing for three cash prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000 per team member. And, any individual who loses 10 pounds could win one of 50 cash prizes of $100 each.

Last year, approximately 33,000 people participated in Scale Back Alabama, losing 143,309 pounds.

Miriam Gaines, nutrition and physical activity director with Alabama Department of Public Health, said in the program’s history, participants have lost a total of 760,000 pounds. While some of that could be pounds lost and regained, Gaines said the program is a success if participants simply think twice about what they eat and adopt a more healthy and active lifestyle.

“This is fun; this is not meant to be science,” Gaines said. “One thing that is especially important to us is we are talking about healthy lifestyles. The weight is just a byproduct.”

Alabama continues to have a poor showing in health rankings when it comes to obesity, but Gaines said healthy change takes time. Scale Back, she said, is just one aspect of making those changes.

“Small changes will have a huge impact in the long run,” she said.

Donald Jones, administrator of the Marion Regional Medical Center in Hamilton and chairman of the Scale Back Alabama committee, said obesity leads to larger health issues such as stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure. Scale Back, he said, shines a spotlight on the problem of obesity and encourages healthier lifestyles. At Marion Regional, the Scale Back program led to healthier food options and fewer fried foods in the hospital’s cafeteria, Jones said.

Of course, once the competition is over, it’s up to individuals to continue making healthy choices.

“It’s hard to do, but once you do, you feel good about your accomplishments,” Jones said. “ … What we would hope is people lose that 10 and keep it off all year long. We know if you lose 10, you might regain five, but you’ve lost five. It’s like anything, if you take your eye off it, it gets worse.”

Here is a list of public weigh-in sites throughout the Wiregrass:
Barbour County
Easterling Correctional Facility
Location: 200 Wallace Drive, Clio
Times: Jan. 24 and 26, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Eufaula Primary School
Location: 520 Pump Station Road, Eufaula
Times: Jan. 24, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Barbour County Health Department
Location: 634 School St., Eufaula
Times: Jan. 24-27, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Coffee County
Curves Enterprise
Location: 621 Boll Weevil Circle, Suite 30-A, Westgate Shopping Center, Enterprise
Times: Jan 23-26, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Jan. 27, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Dale County
Dale Medical Center
Location: 126 Hospital Ave., Ozark (hospital front desk)
Times: Jan. 23-27, 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

First United Methodist Church of Ozark
Location: 167 E. Broad St. (Family Life Center-Gym)
Times: Jan. 24 and 26, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3-6 p.m.

Geneva County
Wiregrass Medical Center and Rehab
Location: 1200 W. Maple Ave., Geneva (Highway 52)
Times: Jan. 24 and 26, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Henry County
Henry County Health Department, Abbeville clinic
Location: 505 Kirkland St., Abbeville
Times: Jan. 26 and 27, 3-5 p.m.

Headland Elementary School
Location: 305 Mitchell St., Headland,
Times: Call (334) 585-7080

Abbeville High School
Location: 411 Graball Cutoff, Abbeville
Times: Call (334) 585-2065

Houston County
Flowers Hospital’s Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery
Location: 4370 W. Main St., Dothan, Doctors Center, North Tower, fourth floor
Times: Jan. 23, 12-5 p.m.; Jan 27, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Houston County Health Department
Location: 1781 E. Cottonwood Road, Dothan
Times: Jan. 24, 3-5 p.m.