By ERIN MATHEWS

Salina Journal

Hundreds of Salinans may soon feel like a real weight has been lifted from their shoulders -- and their thighs and hips and stomachs.

More than 850 people are signed up, so far, to participate in Pound Plunge, a free, communitywide, 12-week program designed to help participants lose weight the healthy way through regular exercise and nutritious food choices.

"We're doing the whole thing -- nutrition, exercise and having fun," said Ellen Hogeland, fitness director for the Salina Family YMCA and one of the event organizers. "If we can get a lot of people in Salina motivated, then that's the key."

The program, which was patterned after a similar event in Hays, kicks off from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Bicentennial Center, where new four-person teams will still be able to register. Salina Regional Health Center nurses have volunteered to take blood pressure readings, and participants will have the option of having blood work done at half price to determine cholesterol, lipid and glucose levels.

At 9:45 a.m., Salina Mayor John Vanier will address the crowd. At 10 a.m., Jez Luckett, a Garden City man who lost 150 pounds while a contestant on the reality TV show "The Biggest Loser," will give a motivational message.

Participants, who must be 18 or older and not pregnant, can sign up until Sept. 20 to compete as part of a team. Team members should plan to visit the YMCA each week between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays or during YMCA hours Wednesdays to weigh in and track their progress. Weight information will be kept confidential.

During the Sunday evening weigh-ins, an activity will be planned or participants will have access to YMCA exercise equipment. On Sept. 21, instructor Tina Hoerter will lead a zumba class, including a wide variety of low-impact dance moves. Future classes planned include yoga, salsa, kickboxing, power toning, pilates and belly dancing.

The program will close Dec. 14 with a celebration dance featuring "The Soul Preachers." Cash prizes will be awarded to teams and individuals with the highest percentage of body weight lost.

"We hope to help people get through Halloween and Thanksgiving, and then they will have good habits to help them through Christmas," said Hope Varela, personal fitness center coordinator at the YMCA.

Sponsors for the event include numerous Salina businesses and health care professionals. The organizing committee includes representatives of the YMCA, ComCare, Salina-Saline County Health Department, Salina Regional Health Center, Salina Parks and Recreation, Central Kansas Health Foundation, the Tobacco Coalition, Worldlinc, Eagle Communications and The Salina Journal.

Representatives of Eagle Communications, which operates radio stations in St. Joseph, Mo., where the program first started, shared the idea with health care and fitness organizations in Hays and Salina, where they also have stations.

Participants can register with three friends, co-workers or family members or register individually and be assigned to a team, Varela said. Team members will provide motivation, support and encouragement to keep each other on track toward their weight loss goals.

"We want people to make a lifestyle change," Varela said. "It's not a point system. It's a more holistic approach."

Hays residents have shed unwanted pounds for two years in a row through the Pound Plunge program in that city, and plans are underway to kick off the third year in January.

Stephanie Schaffer, fitness manager for the Center for Health Improvement at Hays Medical Center, said 529 people who participated in the first year of the program came back for more the second year. Many of them told her they were back because the program provided great motivation to lose weight and keep it off.

"Everybody struggles with the topic of losing weight," she said. Having the support and encouragement of teammates made making healthy choices easier for a lot of people, she said.

In the first year, 1,452 people lost a total of 12,354 pounds, she said. In the second year, 1,800 people lost 14,107 pounds. Schaffer said Hays Medical Center won a National Fitness Nova award for the program.

Schaffer said the program has been improved as organizers have tried new things. Next year, she said, emphasis will be placed on blood pressure and body fat percentages.

"We're really trying to focus on those numbers and not necessarily on what the scale says," she said.

Wanda Augustine, member services manager for the center, said it's amazing how popular the program has been.

"Every year you hear those success stories of people who continued with it and how much better they feel and how much more energy they have," she said.

At Salina Regional, hospital employees have formed 44 Pound Plunge teams. Mike Mattek, hospital regional service representative, said he and three co-workers named their team The Lost Causes. Mattek's personal goal is to lose 20 pounds.

"From an employer perspective, healthier, happier employees are better employees," he said.

Mattek said the statistics about the medical costs of obesity in the United States are staggering.

Barb Gack, a registered nurse in cardiac rehabilitation, said she works with patients every day who are facing choices about lifestyle modifications to prevent another heart attack or the need for another bypass surgery.

"We don't pay attention, and we don't exercise," she said. "We all get in trouble. We're all a few pounds heavier this year than last year."

Being overweight can contribute to coronary artery disease, strokes, diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, stress on joints, back pain, sleep apnea and low self-esteem or depression.

Increasingly, weight issues are not limited to adults. The federal government set a goal of having only 5 percent of school-aged children classified as overweight by 2010. In Saline County, 20.5 percent of students in first, third and seventh grades were reported overweight when the most recent data was collected in 2004.

Although children are not allowed to participate in Pound Plunge, research shows that programs that focus on teaching parents more healthy life choices were the most successful at causing their children to lose weight.

"It has to start with the adults," Hogeland said. "They are the role models and lead by example."

n Reporter Erin Mathews can be reached at 822-1415 or by e-mail at emathews@salina.com.

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