{about BLCL}
Posted: Jan 6, 2010 | By: Tee | Category: Group Updates | No Comments »history
On November 15, 2009 my friend Cindy and I met for coffee in northwest Reno to talk about teaming up to get healthy in 2010. And wouldn’t it be great, we thought, if we could get a few other people to join us and do it semi-competitive style — like The Biggest Loser, only without kicking our new friends to the curb, the unhealthy goals, the unsustainable habits and, obviously, without the $250,000 prize.
“Why not?” Cindy said, and The Biggest Little City Losers was born. Later that day I posted an ad on Craigslist.org to see if we could get a few more people with at least 50 pounds to lose to join us, then called around to see if I could find a gym to give us a nice group rate if we managed to put together a group of 15 or more. The South Reno Athletic Club stepped up with an offer we couldn’t refuse, and lots of good ideas for making the most out of the club for our challenge.
We set the group kick-off meeting for the morning of Jan 1, 2010 – an ambitious choice given the “oh forget it” power of post-NYE sleep-ins and hangovers. But we wanted the cream to rise to the top – in this case, the most committed people we could find. For the next few weeks we spread the word and hoped we’d get at least 15 serious people to join us.
On the first morning of 2010, I walked into the South Reno Athletic Club a few minutes early to get ready for the small group I expected. After checking in at the desk, I turned around to find that more than 30 people were already gathered in the lobby, all ready to sign on for our six month challenge. A few more streamed in, and by the end of the morning we had 39 people signed up, excited, and ready to change their lives. Cindy and I were officially inspired.
about our contestants
In the days following our first meeting, we all got to know one another, learned more about how our challenge would work, toured the club and started forming new habits. We lost four members in those first few days, a smaller attrition than we expected of a group that size, but the 35 that remain are committed, engaged, and possess just the right mix of competitiveness and group support. Of that 35, nine are men and 26 are women. The average contestant age is 38. The average starting weight on our official January 1 weigh-in was 240. Contestants hail from Reno, Sparks, Sun Valley, Spanish Springs, Washoe Valley and Carson City.
about the challenge
For six months (Jan 1-June 30), contestants will compete through healthy changes in eating and fitness habits to lose the largest percentage of body weight. Prizes from our sponsors will be given to each month’s top loser along with the grand prize for the contestant who has lost the largest percentage of body weight overall by June 30, 2010. In addition to strictly scale or size-related goals, each contestant has set a secondary personal goal – like lowering blood pressure or being able to run a mile without stopping – for a chance to win smaller prizes for meeting them.
The group has also been divided into two teams for team challenges like obstacle courses, relay races and other games – and the winning team will earn extra points and prizes.
about sponsors and sponsorship
Learn more about our great sponsors, and how to become one yourself, over at our sponsor page!
