Smartest Loser 3x and Zumba set to launch in January

Tri-County Memorial Hospital launches a 12-week weight-loss and activity challenge beginning in January.

Kris Benusa, Tri-County Memorial Nutrition Services director and registered dietitian, said Smartest Loser 3X runs from Jan. 15 through April 7. It’s open to everyone in Tri-County Memorial’s service area.

Cost is $20 per person, and participants join as three-member teams, she said. Each member charts their daily activity and efforts to improve nutrition choices. For those efforts, they earn points, Benusa said.

In April, Benusa tallies the points and first-, second- and third-place teams earn a percentage of registration fees.

“It’s not a race to lose as much weight as possible,” Benusa stressed. “Some participants may see modest weight losses, but they earn points for being steadily active and eating better.”

A typical Smartest Loser 3X week would include the goal of doing 30 minutes of aerobic activity daily plus 20 minutes of strength training every other day. Those would be paired with various nutrition goals such as eating more fruits and vegetables, avoiding sugar and eating more whole-grain foods. All those would earn participants points, she said.

“We’ve held Smartest Loser team programs for Tri-County Memorial staff for a few years. They enjoy it, and they’ve seen good results,” Benusa said.

No weight-loss program can guarantee results, but “we know Smartest Loser 3X participants feel better and become more health conscious in all that you do,” she said. “Those two things alone are worth the price.”

Registration will be held Jan. 10-12 from 2:30-5:30 each day at Tri-County Memorial in the first-floor cafeteria. All team members must attend so that baseline weights can be recorded.

For more information, contact Benusa at (715) 538-4361, ext. 1037.

Zumba begins Jan. 9, 11 in Whitehall and Ettrick; Minutes in Motion launches in April

At the start of 2012, Tri-County Memorial’s Smartest Loser 3X program launches what can be an effort to be more active all the way to summer, said Pat Deninger, Public Relations and Marketing Director.

Zumba begins in January in Whitehall and Ettrick to get local dancers and exercisers in motion. Zumba describes itself as a fun, easy to follow, Latin-inspired dance fitness program for all ages and abilities.

Certified instructor Carla Doelle will lead the classes:

• Whitehall - Mondays and Thursdays, 4:45 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 36158 Abrams St.
• Ettrick - Wednesdays, 5:45 p.m. at the Community Center, 15570 School St.

Cost is $5 per class, but participants who purchase the $20, five-class punch card get their fifth class free. The punch card can be used at either class location.

For more information, please call Tri-County Memorial Rehabilitation Services at 715.538.1713.

To keep up the activity as Smartest Loser 3X winds down, Deninger said, the Gundersen Lutheran Health System’s Minutes in Motion program starts up.

That program in April and May emphasizes activity and concludes in spring with a local participant celebration at Tri-County Memorial, Deninger said.

Gundersen Lutheran currently is finishing plans for the 2012 Minutes in Motion program, he said. More information will be shared in February.