Who will be Grant County’s biggest winner?

A four-week nutrition and fitness challenge will once again decide who is Grant County’s Biggest Winner.

The healthy lifestyle program, sponsored by Fitness For Life Around Grant County (FFLAG), Northern Kentucky Health Department, Grant County Parks and Recreation and Grant County Extension Service, runs April 4 through April 30.

Registration for the Biggest Winner Challenge will be from 3 to 7 p.m.  March 31 and from 2 to 4 p.m.  April 3.

The cost if $10 for an individual and $20 for two or more immediate family members.

“It’s such a varied program of fitness and nutrition and how to change to a healthy lifestyle,” said Joyce Doyle, 4-H extension agent. “It’s beneficial to not only one person, but the entire family. When one member gets that idea and puts it off the rest of the family, I think Grant County will become physically fit.”

The program began in March 2007 and was recognized in November 2008 by the Kentucky Recreation and Park Society as the Outstanding Program of the Year.

Participants weigh in and conduct body-fat analysis during registration and again at the end of the challenge.

In order to lose weight, more than 50 free classes are offered to participants in walk/run groups, basketball, nutrition education, belly dancing, kung fu, line dancing, Zumba, strength training and other exercises.

In addition to the classes, participants can attend Body Works and women can attend Curves in Dry Ridge and Crittenden during the program.

Last year, 357 people participated and more than 1,500 classes were attended, said Doyle.

“There was one woman who started with Biggest Winner and continued on and she lost 48 pounds,” Doyle said.
Brian Melton of Dry Ridge took the title of Biggest Winner in 2010.

At the end of the challenge, Melton lost 19 pounds and more than 9 percent body fat, more than any other competitor.

He received $100 for the most pounds lost, $100 for biggest body fat percentage lost and $250 for being named the overall Biggest Winner.

“My biggest advice is to tell a lot of people around you that you’re doing it so they don’t ask you to go out to dinner and offer to make you dessert and all that good stuff,” Melton said. “Just be dedicated and do everything on a daily basis like exercise. When I first started, I wrote down everything I was eating everyday and that’s good to see how much you’re taking in.”

When choosing how to exercise, Melton said he suggests participants pick something that they love to do and make it a priority.

“You’ve got to take it slow and do what you can,” he said. “Don’t think you have to run a marathon or do a 5K right off the bat. In previous weight losses, I started out very slow. I’d just play basketball for 10 minutes and you build yourself up.”

For more information about the Biggest Winner Challenge, call the extension office at 859-824-3355.

“The community all gets behind this and really support it,” Doyle said. “That’s a good plus for everybody. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Sign me up!
Registration will be held  from 3 to 7 p.m. March 31 and 2 to 4 p.m. April 3 at the Grant Co. Extension Offrice.

What can I win?
$100 for most pounds lost
$100 for biggest body fat percentage lost
$250 overall biggest winner