Time to have a Fit to Stay Fit

Sidney Regional Medical Center members are teaming up once again with Cheyenne County Community Center activity director Kiersten Richards to prepare for their fourth annual Get Fit Stay Fit Challenge.

The challenge committee includes: Richards, Sidney Regional Medical Center director of public relations Evie Ranslem-Parsons, Sidney RMC director of nutrition services Ashley Houtwed, and community development director Megan McGown.

Richards said that registration forms for the event could be found at both the hospital and community center and need to be brought to the event kick-off on Wed. Jan. 9.

At registration, tours of the center will be available to participants and fitness instructors and trainers will also have booths set out with information for contestants, Richards said.

Challenge members will also receive an entry gift at weigh-in at 5:30 p.m. to help them get started, Richards said.

At weigh-in, Houtwed said that every participant’s weight, blood pressure and percent body fat are measured. Their BMI will be calculated and their initial health will be examined.

Houtwed said that there will be four weigh-ins total over the next couple of months but the first and last are the only mandatory weigh-ins for the challenge.

“The middle weigh-ins are to let them gage themselves on how they are doing,” Richards said.

Winners will be determined by what participants lost the most weight, Richards said.

“It’s all by weight loss percentage so that it’s fair,” Richards said. “This year we are actually doing a women’s and a men’s division, which we haven’t done before.”

The challenge includes four races before the winners are announced at the Cheyenne County Health Fair April 20. First, second and third place winners in the men’s and women’s division will be awarded prizes.

If participants aren’t already current members of the community center, they will be offered a single adult membership at a discounted $100 for three months, Richards said.

“We don’t want this to be compared to a ‘Biggest Loser’ competition,” Ranslem-Parsons said. “The hospital and the community center are looking for lifestyle changes. We want you to be able to figure out what you are doing wrong and replace it with more positive things.”

“This promotes more of a lifestyle change, not a quick fad diet. We don’t want people to use it for a month and gain it all back. It’s suppose to be a lifestyle change,” Houtwed said.

Richards said that anyone is allowed to participate in any of the races, even if they are not signed up for the challenge. The participants are also allowed to run or walk the races.

“We just want people to get out, get motivated and know they can do it,” Richards said.

The races are spread out over the four months so that participants can learn how to maintain healthier lifestyle changes.

“It gives them time to lose weight in a healthy way and not crash diet,” Richards said.

Also offered is a follow up six-week challenge in the fall, Richards said.

Participants will receive two emails every week over the course of the four-month challenge providing tips and tools to help them change their lifestyles and make them healthier, Houtwed said.

“They will receive a fitness email on Tuesdays and a nutrition email on Thursdays,” Richards explained.

Houtwed said that the email topics will vary but will include things such as weight loss tips, healthier choices, grocery shopping tips and information on fats and carbs.

“We want them to come in and learn from us, get involved in activities, try something new and start changing lifestyles,” Ranslem-Parsons said.

“We try and keep the price reasonable and all the money we make over the whole challenge and all the races goes back into the program,” Richards said.

The cost of the Get Fit Stay Fit Challenge is $25 and the cost of early-sign up for all four races is $45. For race-day registration the race will cost $20 and $15 for pre-registered race participants.

“When we started this four years ago, we just wanted people to participate in something healthy. We try and keep it local and affordable,” Ranslem-Parsons said. “It’s not about money, it is about change. We are very passionate about this.”

The first race will be the Polar Bear Run on Jan. 12 following the initial weigh-in. Participants can choose to either run or walk two or five miles and the race starts at the entrance to the Sidney Regional Medical Center.

Race-day registration for the race is at 8 a.m. and the race starts at 8:30 a.m.

If participants want to sign up for all four racing events they need to by next Friday, Richards said.