City's Biggest Loser challenge starts today
The third year of Brownsville’s Biggest Loser will begin today and Saturday with opportunities to sign up and weigh in for the health challenge. It will take place over the next four months.
Judy Garcia, the wellness coordinator for the city of Brownsville, said this time organizers hope to have made changes that will encourage people to stick with it during its entire duration. Participants may register Friday at the Southmost Library from 5 to 8 p.m. and at Linear Park on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
“This year we’re really trying to focus on people finishing,” she said.
What it’s really about is a lifestyle change through the opportunities for health education that the event provides, Garcia said.
Garcia said participants will have their measurements taken as well as blood pressure and will have the opportunity to talk to a nutritionist and other specialists at no charge. Participating in the program is free, she said.
She said the last program began with at least 1,000 people signed up, but only 200 people made it to the end.
“Even if you didn’t lose a lot of weight, we encourage you to finish and do the final weigh-in,” she said.
Besides cash prizes for winners in different categories, which are judged by percentage of pounds lost, Garcia said participants have asked for more weigh-in opportunities. So organizers teamed up with Academy to allow weigh-ins every Friday at their Brownsville location. The data collected there will not be recorded, she said.
She said other changes to the program include allowing individuals who register as part of a team the opportunity to win individually if their team drops out. There will more prize categories in order to include more participants, she said.
The city has teamed up with University of Texas School of Public Health Brownsville Regional Campus and other area organizations and businesses to host the challenge. This is the fourth challenge but only the third year, Garcia said. Previously there were two challenges in one year.
She said this year there is a challenge activity every weekend free of charge, and people are welcome even if they are not registered with the program.
In April, Brownsville claimed a Guinness World Records title for the world’s largest Zumba class as a way to bring attention to the challenge and a healthy lifestyle.
Visit www.bbl.cob.us for more information on Brownsville’s Biggest Loser.
Jarmendariz@brownsvilleherald.com
