Trim to Win and find your resolution solution

MAT-SU — The Mat-Su Valley can expect less growth moving into a new year as local residents participate in the first Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Trim to Win community weight loss challenge.

Beginning today, some 378 Valley residents and newspaper readers have signed up for Trim to Win with less than a week of registration left. While many will use the three-month contest as motivation to follow through on New Year’s weight-loss resolutions, others have their eyes on the $6,000 in cash prizes available.

Whoever loses the most weight by percentage will win $3,000. Second place pays $2,000 and third place, $1,000. Sponsored by the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, AT&T Sports Center and Mat-Su Health Foundation, Trim to Win features an interactive community spot on the newspaper’s Web site, www.frontiersman.com, where Publisher Kari Sleight and Managing Editor Greg Johnson will maintain daily blogs highlighting their progress and experiences along the way. Participants can also share through a community blog spot and by submitting photos for the Trim to Win photo gallery.

The online community of Trim to Winners appeals to Palmer resident JoVonna Schlosser.

“I will be checking up online, I definitely will,” she said. “I think [online] is a very cool thing and I thought this would be a way to get more involved in the community and meet some people. It gives you some motivation knowing there are other people out there doing this as well.”

Schlosser said her goals are to lose about 30 pounds and be more active.

“I’ve been in Alaska just about a year and a half, and I find myself not as active as I used to be,” she said, adding that “the money would be nice too. That wasn’t the No. 1 motivator, but it may be No. 2.”

Schlosser will have plenty of company from the Barrett family of Palmer. Aaron Barrett has registered for the program, along with his sister, brother, wife and mother. Barrett spent eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve before he got out, but he recently re-enlisted and finds he needs to get back in shape for his service.

“I got out and put on about 40 pounds,” he said, adding he just completed his second drill since re-enlisting. Although he hasn’t had a physical test (PT) yet, he doesn’t believe he‘s in shape to take one if it were called for.

“I’m really wanting to make sure I never fail PT,” he said.

Having family support will also make the contest more fun, Barrett said. “Oh yeah, we’ll be trying to help each other. I think my little brother, he could do some damage in the money department.”

Barrett also said he’s interested in attending planned weekly lectures on topics like diet and nutrition. Mat-Su Regional Medical Center Urgent Care Facility will host the free lecture series.

Trim to Win is the brainchild of Sleight, who wanted to develop a contest that could be interactive with the newspaper’s recently improved Web site.

“We have regularly organized readership contests in the past, giving away four-wheelers, trips and shopping sprees,” she said. “I was looking to find a more interactive event that had a greater benefit to the community, and this seemed a perfect fit — not to mention the need for me to lose weight.”

Being out front with Johnson publicly sharing her weight loss efforts will help keep her motivated, Sleight said.

“Most of the weight-loss experts seem to agree that having a public venue, like a chat room or group meeting, provides a greater opportunity for a person to successfully meet their weight-loss goals,” she said. “And talk about motivation! If I’m ever tempted to give up, I’ll have a lot of people to answer to. Does it make me uncomfortable? Sure, but if sharing my experience can help even one person succeed, then it will have been worth it.”

Sleight and Johnson had their initial physicals on Friday leading up to today’s Trim to Win start.

“I was a little nervous undergoing the initial physical,” said Sleight, who has set a goal to lose 30 pounds. “It’s been a few years and many pounds since my last one, and I was worried how the lab results would turn out. I was pleased when the results came back showing only slightly elevated cholesterol levels. “

Johnson said his physical showed some high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and a potential sleep disorder that should receive further testing.

“I have to tell you, I don’t think without Trim to Win and getting this initial check that I would’ve gone to the doctor on my own, so it’s already paying dividends for me,” Johnson said, adding he’s taking a different approach to the contest.

“I’m not making any specific weight loss goals,” he said. “In fact, I deliberately instructed the medical staff to not tell me my weight when I did the weigh-in. I’m not going to find out until the end, when I’ll see where I started and where I finished. My goals are simple: to be more active and develop better eating habits.”

There is still time to become involved with Trim to Win. Registration runs through Jan. 13 at www.frontiersman.com, Mat-Su Regional Medical Center Urgent Care Facility and AT&T Sports Center.