Portland State kicked off its own weight loss competition based on NBC’s Biggest Loser reality TV show Thursday with a weigh-in and appearance by the show’s fourth-place contestant, Seattle native Ken Coleman. Coleman lost 160 pounds while on the show, dropping from over 350 pounds to a slim 210.
“The concept of the show is phenomenal,” Coleman said. “For me it was lifesaving.”
Thursday night’s sign-up for the 12-week competition drew numerous faculty members and administrators, but fewer students. The contest has relied mostly on word-of-mouth publicity so far.
“We’re doing it for fun and to beat our bosses,” said Amanda Healy, a junior who is competing against her managers at the University Market.
The contest is the brainchild of PSU administrators Debbie Kirkland, Mark Gregory and Jahed Sukhun. Kirkland and Gregory were visiting an ill friend in early December and came up with the idea.
“Mark and I were visiting her at the rehabilitation facility and we thought we should do something for ourselves,” Kirkland said. “We got it together in six weeks. We know that it’s not going to be perfect, but people are making New Year’s resolutions and we wanted to piggyback on that.”
Some teams already have events planned.
“We have a lot of groups within the University Market,” said Tiah Marston. “We’ve planned activities, group workouts, a trip to the beach. There’s a lot of trash talk going on.”
According to Kirkland, the competition is loosely based on the recent spate of reality television weight-loss competitions, including Biggest Loser and VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club, though PSU’s version is not officially affiliated with any show.
Coleman’s manager is a PSU student who heard about the competition and got Coleman involved. Coleman, who is donating his time, sat in on a planning meeting Thursday afternoon before showing up to the weigh-in to greet competitors.
“It makes me feel good to be involved in something like this,” Coleman said. “We’re not as fit as we think we are, as a country. We had to face reality.”
Coleman was voted off the third season of Biggest Loser for being so adept at losing weight. He was on a record-setting pace, losing over 10 pounds almost every week, until fellow cast members identified him as a threat and voted him off in week six.
“I don’t recommend how we did it for people doing this at home,” he said, adding that competitors need to stay hydrated and should take multi-vitamins. Participants in the Biggest Loser spent between eight to 10 hours in the gym each day.
Teams will compete in groups of three, with teams able to choose between a 5 percent and 10 percent total weight loss goal. Teams in each category will be eligible to win several prizes, including prizes for highest percentage lost in each category and a grand prize raffle for every team that meets their percentage goal.
Prizes will be raffled at weekly fitness events for the duration of the competition.
The entrance fee is $45 per team and all money collected will be used to acquire prizes for the winning teams. The money is being handled through the PSU Foundation since the competition does not fall under a specific department within the university.
With three more sign-up sessions to go, the contest already has at least 15 teams set to participate.
“I’ve never been involved in something where so many different people have asked me about it,” Kirkland said. “We would consider ourselves extremely successful if we had 30 teams.”
Teams can still sign up today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the main gym and 5-6 p.m. in the small gym. There will be an additional sign-up day next Tuesday from 5-6 p.m. in the small gym, followed by a kick-off event featuring Ken Coleman Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the Ondine building.