JACKSONVILLE — Many resolve to lose weight in the new year, and the Jacksonville Community Center wants to help local residents achieve that goal.
The center’s 8-Week Weight-Loss Challenge will return Tuesday, and the final weigh-in will be Feb. 28. The center has hosted the challenge for more than eight years.
“A lot of people want to get healthier and feel better, and it’s just hard to do it on your own without being held accountable,” said Jennifer Rackley, fitness specialist at the Jacksonville Community Center. “It’s easy to tell yourself, ‘Oh, I’ll do it tomorrow.’”
Rackley said the center presents a Weight-Loss Challenge twice a year.
“Usually, we do one at the first of the year, and ... we’ll do it again in the summer,” Rackley said. “[That] just seems to be when most people are worried about it the most.”
The person who loses the most pounds will win the challenge, and if there is more than one winner, each winner will be given an award, Rackley said. The prize is a one-month membership to the Jacksonville Community Center and a Fitbit.
“We have always given the membership along with this, and we have noticed that a lot of people over the past couple of years have been doing a lot more with their electronics, as far as keeping up with steps and things like that,” Rackley said.
A participant must have a membership to the center or pay its daily fee to weigh in and use the center, Rackley said. The daily fee is $3 for adults and $2 for children and senior citizens. On Mondays, use of the center is free for those 60 and older. Other than that, there are not many requirements to sign up for the challenge, Rackley said.
“Just show up and weigh in at the very beginning, and we ask that they at least weigh in six out of the eight weeks,” she said. “It’s just to keep them accountable.”
The challenge also includes nutrition and fitness counseling, which is covered by the participants’ membership to the community center or the daily fee.
“We’ve got several people here on staff who can help with nutritional information and ideas on how to make the small changes that will stick,” Rackley said. “[Challenge participants] can come in during the day. We can get them started on a program. If they would like, we could make arrangements for them to come in. I also have other instructors who are available for them as well.”
There is no set day to weigh in.
“It doesn’t matter what day it is as long as it’s during the [first] week of [the challenge],” Rackley said. “Not everybody can make it at the same time, and we don’t want to make it difficult for them to come in, so their schedules may not coincide.”
Rackley said one of the most important traits someone should have to reach his or her weight-loss goal is discipline.
“Just stay active, and watch your intake,” she said. “It’s all about calories in, calories out.”
A person’s weight-loss workout plan depends on his or her body and is determined individually, she added.
Rackley said getting involved with fitness earlier in life can leave a lasting impression.
“It’s better to keep moving because as we get older, we tend to not be as active,” she said. “If we can get that lifestyle started earlier in our lives, it may carry over.”
From what Rackley has seen, many visitors to the center have shown quite a bit of interest in being active.
“Most of it is just to feel better and stay active and keep moving,” she said. “We stay pretty busy up here, and the walking tracks are used quite often, so it’s good to see.”
Rackley said she’d like to see 30 people participate in this winter’s Weight-Loss Challenge at the center. Typically, about 20 participate.
Rackley said her No. 1 piece of advice to those wanting to lose weight this year is, “Set small goals, and make challenges you can stick to.”
Staff writer Syd Hayman can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.