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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. Byron Smalls lost 56 pounds in three months, making him the winner of the Biggest Loser White Plains competition.
Smalls lost 16 percent of his body weight, going from 269.5 pounds to 213 pounds. For this first-place achievement, he gained $310 and a one-year membership to the YMCA, said Heather Miller, executive director of the Thomas H. Slater Center, where the final weigh-in was held.
The White Plains resident is an educational specialist with the White Plains Youth Bureau and said he coordinates after school programs and summer camps.
"A big part of what we do here is creating healthy minds and bodies for children and their families," Smalls said. "I was a little overweight, so it was a little hypocritical of me to go into the classroom and tell the children to get in shape when I wasn't myself."
The competition drew 31 participants, who lost an average 13.3 pounds, Miller said. Each competitor paid a $20 registration fee, which paid for the first and second place winners' prizes. Smalls is excited to begin using the YMCA's pool during his year-long membership. Ana Martinez will have the same opportunity for coming in second. Her prize was $155 and a three-month membership to the YMCA.
- Gwen Partlow - third Place prize, $100 and 20 dance session at a local gym
- Martha Leonard - fourth Prize, $75 and 20 dance session at a local gym
- JoAnn Robinson - fifth Prize, $50
- Ruth Beechum - Against all odds award, $75
Bethel Baptist Church's Passages to Excellence and the United Way of Westchester funded additional prizes, along with giveaways for the participants.
Another round of the Biggest Loser will begin in September, Miller said. For more information contact Miller or Martha Leonard at (914) 948-6211.
Other sponsors and partners were the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester, White Plains Family YMCA, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and White Plains Hospital.
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