Scale Back Alabama is back for a fifth year and Tombigbee Healthcare Authority employees and area residents are gearing up for a little fun, healthy competition.

“We had wonderful response to the program last year,” said coordinator Betsy Adams. “I think everyone is really going to have fun during the 10-week program this year.”

For the fifth year in a row, BWWMH joined Alabama’s hospitals and the Alabama Department of Public Health in challenging overweight Alabamians to make a New Year’s resolution to scale back.

The program includes weight-loss classes and a healthy competition among teams of four people who hold each other accountable for “sticking to” their diets and exercise routines.

Sign-up dates are Jan. 22 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Jan. 24-28 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Team captain packets are available from Adams in the Wellness Center. With thousands of dollars up for grabs in the statewide contest, competition will be fierce.

To be eligible for one of three grand prizes to be awarded on the state level, teams must maintain all four original members, and each member must lost at least 10 pounds during the 10-week contest. At the final event in April, three team names will be drawn with the first team winning $250 per team member, the second team winning $500 per team member and the third team winning $1,000 per team member.

If everyone on your team doesn’t lose 10 pounds during the contest, don’t despair, anyone losing 10 pounds is still eligible to win one of 50 statewide achievement prizes of $100 each. Of course, they must complete the 10-week contest and lose at least 10 pounds.

The prizes listed are sponsored by Barbers Dairies.

On the local level, door prizes and special prizes will be given at the weekly meetings at Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital along with weight loss/nutrition tips. You must be present at these meetings to win door prizes.

Weekly meetings will be held each Tuesday during the 10 weeks at noon for employees and again at 6 p.m. for employees and the general public. Meetings will be brief, no more than 30 minutes, so that participants can attend during their lunch breaks.

“No one will know your weight, or even your team’s weight, except the team captain,” Adams said. The captain will get everyone’s weight and total them for the collective team weight which is sent by email to the Scale Back Alabama website. The totals are not posted for anyone to see.

“We hope that this will help our community get a jump-start on a healthier lifestyle,” Adams said.

For more information, contact the Wellness Center at 334-287-2613.