Like all the other Ball State University Biggest Loser teams, the Heavyweights started with four members. Early in the competition, however, the team gradually lost half its members - a fact that falls in line with the national trend in people starting any weight loss program.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine Web site, about half the people who begin exercise programs will quit within the first six weeks of starting them.
"It happens a lot in the program," Emily Tucker, a Ball State Biggest Loser coach, said. "People feel like they can't do it anymore or they lose interest. As a coach, it's sometimes frustrating watching them give up on their goals, especially because they paid $65 to be a part of the program," she said.
Amanda Salyer-Funk, assistant director of Recreation Services, said the goal of the program was to help participants identify what their fitness goals were and to work toward reaching them in a safe and healthy way.
"If a person can identify what they want, such as 'I want to feel confident in my clothes, not be out of breath after exercise, boost self-esteem or feel attractive,' then the program can act as an effective strategy to that end."
The program began March 17 and will end Friday. Teams of four - or fewer - members met three times a week for one-hour workout sessions with a student coach who served as the team's "personal trainer," Salyer-Funk said.
Just as with the television show, weight loss was monitored by each team's overall percentage of weight loss. While no culmination ceremony will take place on Friday, teams will turn in their fitness logs that have been monitoring their overall percentages throughout the course of the program, Salyer-Funk said.
The team with the highest percentage of lost weight will be rewarded with gift cards to a local business or free rec center services, she said.
At the end of the sign-up period, 54 contestants joined the program, which was more than she had anticipated, she said.
Salyer-Funk said the program's goal may not be anything new, but the fact that all 26 coaches were students adds a twist to the Ball State program that wasn't found on the television show of the same name.
Some coaches were "hand-selected" from the Recreation Services staff and others were students studying exercise science and sports management who wanted to be personal trainers, Salyer-Funk said.
"All coaches were selected based on their willingness to learn and to provide baseline knowledge about physical wellness, not to prescribe exercise," she said.
Each coach worked with a mentor to help ensure workouts were fun, safe and effective and referred contestants to dietetics professionals on campus for nutritional advice, Salyer-Funk said.
While other fitness centers do similar programs to increase revenue, Biggest Loser's goal was to break even and provide more convenience to faculty, staff and students already on campus who want extra encouragement in reaching their personal fitness goals, Salyer-Funk said.
Sophomore Rachel Aberhard, one of the Heavyweights' two remaining members, has been working to lose weight since September. She thought joining a Biggest Loser team would help her feel more comfortable working out at the gym and reach her weight loss goal, she said.
"At first I thought people who come in regularly to the gym would stare at me, but after working out on a regular basis with Emily it gradually became less intimidating and more of a natural part of my weekly routine," Aberhard said.
The team's other member, sophomore Jacob Rush, joined the program with Aberhard as a friendly motivator.
"Rachel and I always keep an eye on what each other is doing throughout the week and get together on days we don't meet with Emily to work out," he said. "When you think of what your overall goal is and you know someone else is counting on you to be there, it keeps you coming back."
Tucker, a sophomore exercise science major, said her role as a coach was to give her team members information and to encourage them to get moving - even on those days when they didn't want to or weren't scheduled to work out with her.
As part of the Heavyweights' fitness strategy, Tucker focused on lifting weights and strength training, but other coaches targeted their workouts more toward cardiovascular training or Pilates, she said.
So far, both team members have each lost 10 pounds, which falls right in line with their goals, Aberhard and Rush said.
Other participants on other teams, such as Sheila Kelley, a development assistant at the Alumni Center, used the program as a stepping stone for larger goals.
"My motivation is I have a couple of weddings coming up this summer - and I've dropped 33 pounds and two sizes since the first of the year. I still have 22 pounds to go, but the program inspired me to take the next step and hire a personal trainer."
Some quantitative data tracked by individual participants shows physical improvements have been made in other areas of general wellness.
"The scale might not reflect how they feel about themselves, but I see them having a lot more confidence and they seem to be a lot happier," Tucker said.
Salyer-Funk said she hadn't received the final quantitative data for every team, and Recreation Services didn't have the resources to measure such things as changes in cholesterol.
"I don't want collecting that personal information to be mandatory because it's sometimes a barrier to participation," she said. "I want to make sure the experience is fun for the contestants, which isn't reflected in weight loss or weight gain."
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