Apr. 19--Talk about some losers.
First Buckley's restaurant co-owner Ken Dick lost 18 pounds, then he challenged his customers to the Buckley's Big Belly Bust so they could lose weight with him.
While more than 1,700 responded enthusiastically, he cut the number to 60, losing more than 1,500 willing participants.
But he lost about 18 of those 60 immediately -- they never showed up for the first weigh-in. Further losses left only 22 standing at the end, but this is when it gets impressive:
Those 22 lost 394 pounds.
Dick dropped 26 more pounds during the challenge, but Tracy James lost the most -- 34 pounds -- and won $1,000.
"The $1,000 carrot was a huge incentive," James said. "I'm a single mom, so that really helped."
So did having her friend, Sandi Sartin, who lost 25 pounds, as her fitness buddy. Sartin was in a photograph that ran in The Commercial Appeal when the challenge began. The response from her community -- not just her friends -- was overwhelming.
"After they saw it, people on Facebook were encouraging me, and people from the church were coming up to me," Sartin said. "One of the ladies from the church came up to me and said 'Are you serious about this?' and I was like, 'Um, yeah, it was in the paper, I'm serious.' "
That turned out to be Nancy Garrison, who leads exercise classes at Advent Church in Cordova. She arranged to hold classes for Sartin and James.
"It was never my lifestyle," Sartin said. "I wouldn't have dreamed of going to an exercise class if it hadn't been for her."
The buddy system was also working in the Dick household. Ken and his wife, Lisa (she's lost 26 pounds and three dress sizes), started working out with friend and personal trainer Gerry Finney. Ken's father joined them later in the challenge.
"He says he's playing golf better than ever," Ken said. "I tell you this, I've learned you don't do this alone. You have to be accountable to someone, and someone has to be counting on you, too."
So the next challenge, which is booked but begins this week, is based on teams. Every person who signed up has to bring a friend. The first round was free and the restaurant donated $1,000 to the Ronald McDonald House (Ken's "penalty" for losing); the second one costs $50 and the proceeds benefit the Wings Cancer Foundation.
This one runs three months, and then another will start after that. To join that one, go to buckleysgrill.com and sign up for the newsletter. Once your e-mail address is in the system, you'll be notified when a new challenge begins, and be warned: You have to respond immediately to make the cut.
"Our intention is to plant some seeds within the community, to try to get people healthier," said Ken, who owns both Buckley's Fine Filets on Poplar in East Memphis and Buckley's Lunchbox on Yates with partner Jeff Fioranelli. "Look, the consumer dictates what restaurants serve, and even though everyone talks about it, the real demand for healthy food is so dismal that you'd go broke serving it.
"Hopefully, we can be part of creating more demand."
-- Jennifer Biggs: 529-5223
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