When Scott Rubenstein stepped off the scale, he got good news. He'd lost eight pounds in a week.
"You lost eight pounds?" asked his wife, Lynne, who was waiting in line for her turn to get weighed. "Good job," she said, slapping his hand in a high-five.
The Rubensteins are among 40 people taking part in a 12-week Weight Loss Challenge program that meets every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at The Players Community Senior Center in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The program, led by personal wellness coaches Tracy and Steve Deken and their son Grant Deken, costs $39 to register. From that fee, $10 is donated to gofitkids.org, an organization that aims to raise awareness and prevention of childhood obesity. The rest goes into a pot, to be divided at the end of the 12 weeks by the three people in the group who lose the most weight.
The biggest loser will receive $500, the second will get $300 and the third will get $200.
So many people signed up for the program, which began July 16, that the Dekens began a new class Monday at the senior center on Landrum Lane. Classes are capped at 40 participants, and people can still join that one if it's not full. If it is, the Dekens, who run the program as volunteers, plan to create an additional class.
"We embrace any healthy method of weight loss," said Tracy Deken, who teaches the program with her husband according to guidelines of the company they are affiliated with, Herbalife International.
They offer a "lifestyle" eating plan for participants to follow, but she said their plan is not mandatory for the program, no products must be purchased and many people follow their own diets, some at the advice of their physicians.
The first week, they weighed each participant then took chest, waist, hips, thigh and upper arm measurements. On July 23, Grant Deken weighed everyone again, since getting weighed every week is a big part of the program. Then he took two full-length photographs of each person, from the front and side. During the last class, everyone will be photographed again for comparison.
After the weigh-in, Steve Deken led a 45-minute class on nutrition and exercise advice, gave a quiz on calorie counts of common snack foods, and then everyone stood to applaud each other for completing a successful week.
Some were more successful than others. Scott Rubenstein had lost the second-most amount of weight; a woman who didn't want to be identified lost 81/2 pounds. Leisa Atkins of Ponte Vedra Beach, who is taking the class with her mother, was happy that she'd lost 6.6 pounds.
Her mom, Charlene, wasn't as successful. She gained 2 pounds. Since the rules of the program stipulate that participants have to pay $1 for every pound gained, she had to put $2 in the pot.
Unlike some reality television shows, "we don't announce measurements and weights, and we don't ship anybody off any islands," Tracy Deken said. "We celebrate success."
Jeffrey Rubin of Nocatee, who is taking the class with his wife, Nancy, said so far he's happy with the 4 pounds he lost.
"Coming in to get weighed every week is motivating," said Nancy Rubin, who lost 1.8 pounds.
"Getting the appropriate education and exercising will hopefully do the trick."
"It's all about changing your eating habits," her husband said.
He doesn't expect to win any money, but "I'm not here for the money," he said. "I'm here to lose weight and feel better."
Maggie FitzRoy can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6320.
Link:http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/073008/nes_310610012.shtml
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