With so many Americans who are overweight or worse, obese, Americans are anxious to see success stories. As anxious as they are to want to see others succeed in their efforts, many also take pleasure in seeing others try and fail. The success stories give the optimistic few hope while the failures give those who are afraid to try a reason not to bother. It is far easier to sit back in your Lay-z-Boy eating potato chips and saying “See, if she can’t do it, I never will” than to actually get off your butt and move toward a personal transformation of your own.
But let’s assume that you’re reading this because you are one of the hopeful, optimistic few who really want to transform yourself.
There is a gym in Salisbury, NC, that is offering optimists just a little more hope. The Forum (formerly Gold’s Gym) is looking for three overweight men and three overweight women to participate in their own version of the “Biggest Loser 2007”.
The competitors will be judged on the number of pounds they lose, the percentage of body fat they lose, and their overall health improvements. According to owners Matt Marsh and Steve Safrit, the lucky winner will get a free one-year membership to The Forum and other prizes totaling between $2,000-$3,000.
Those six individuals who are selected for the competition have free access to The Forum for three months as well as free personal training and nutritional counseling. My guess is that Matt and Steve will probably have far more than six people apply for the honor of participating. Not only is this a great opportunity for somebody who is significantly overweight and doesn’t have the cash to join a good gym and pay for a personal trainer but it is a fantastic way for the owners of the former Gold’s Gym to drum up new customers! It seems like a win-win situation to me.
Unlike most gyms that run specials and promotions after the holiday season, The Forum is running this promotion during the holiday season. The goal is to help contestants to learn how to incorporate healthy habits and choices into their everyday lives – especially during the most difficult times when people usually gain weight like during the biggest food holidays of the year, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
So, if you live in Salisbury, NC, swing by The Forum and pick up an application to be a Big Loser! If you don’t, maybe you should suggest to your local gym owner that they do something like this. After all, big losers are great for gym business and happy losers are going to tell their friends how and where they did it!