UCLA’s Biggest Loser Buddies, based off the hit TV show, helps its members shed pounds
Participants in the UCLA Biggest Loser Buddies group, a campus club created by staff members inspired by the hit television show, celebrate the one-year anniversary of their program. The group focuses on healthy lifestyle changes, while encouraging camaraderie and support among its members.
By Samantha Masunaga
Jan. 7, 2010 10:19 p.m.
One year ago, UCLA staff members Bernetta Riley and Pamela Harris initiated a campus weight-loss competition, combining healthier lifestyle choices with camaraderie.
Today, this contest boasts various success stories, includes a strong support base for its participants, and may even spread to UC Santa Barbara’s campus.
Inspired by the NBC television series, “The Biggest Loser,” the group of UCLA faculty and staff calls itself the “Biggest Loser Buddies,” based on the importance of companionship.
“There’s a group of us Biggest Loser Buddies that will get together and talk, beyond scheduled meetings,” said Jason Mesa, an administrative specialist for the statistics department and a returning participant. “I gained new friends who are willing to support me when I need it.”
Since their initial contest, the Biggest Loser Buddies have held three successive competitions, with their fourth challenge starting in two weeks.
“It’s pretty much the same,” said Dean Dacumos, director of student services for the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and new leader of the group. “We’re continuing with what we’ve done in the past. Losing weight is not the ultimate goal ““ getting healthy is.”
Dacumos added that the group has created a Web site and received standing as a student group, thus encouraging faculty, staff and students to join.
Competition will commence Jan. 22 during the group’s first session, and the contest will last for 16 weeks.
To participate, individuals need to pay $5 each week.
As an extra incentive, financial rewards are given to those participants who have lost the highest percentage of weight each week, as well as at the eight week mark and at the end of the competition.
As a result, the group holds weekly weigh-ins at their sessions, an aspect Mesa said was appealing.
“I just really wanted to come back (to the competition) because weighing in every week really keeps you accountable and keeps you focused,” he said.
Mesa added that accountability also came from others in the group.
“We kind of keep tabs on each other,” he said, adding that members sometimes send messages via Facebook for support and encouragement.
Throughout the competition period, the group hosts speakers, including nutritionists and representatives from UCLA Recreation, adding to the social aspect of the program.
“We all really care about each other and understand each other’s struggles,” said Jennifer Crowe, an administrative adviser for the Department of Urban Planning and a past Biggest Loser Buddies winner.
Riley echoed Crowe’s observations.
“We’re just a support system ““ we’re not here to judge each other,” she said. “We’re here for each other to lift each other up. … We’re all friends here.”
With this combination of elements, the Biggest Loser Buddies have contributed to each others’ individual success stories.
“I wasn’t successful at losing weight before,” said Ivonne Nelson, a senior administrative analyst in the English department.
But with Nelson’s competitive nature and the accountability offered by the weekly weigh-ins, she is now only a few pounds short of her goal.
“I feel very good about myself,” she said. “I’ve kept up a workout regime, and my eating habits changed drastically.”
Dacumos expressed similar sentiments about his lifestyle changes at the program’s close.
“I think this group made me more aware,” he said, adding that the group gave him an extra push to continue losing weight.
As a result, he now works out three days a week and thinks about what he eats, as well as portion sizes.
The group’s success has led to possible program emulations at other campuses.
Riley said she recently received a call from a staff member at UCSB who wanted to know more about the UCLA program and the challenges and successes associated with the group.
Riley said she intends to stay in touch with the staff member to offer support for UCSB’s group, a trademark of the Biggest Loser Buddies.
“We’ve created a family environment,” Harris said, saying that participants who have already reached their goals are still invited to come back. “It’s more than just health.”
For more information, e-mail
[email protected]. An information session will also be held Jan. 15 at Ackerman 2412.
