Ton of Fun wants to shed ton of fat

The owners of Fleet Feet Sports Easy Runner want to help overweight central Arkansans lose 2,000 pounds.

As a group, collectively.

Noelle and Sean Coughlan are adding a weight-loss support group. Called Ton of Fun, the program will meet weekly for 12 weeks after hours at their west Little Rock running shop, beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday.

For $50, participants will have weekly sessions including indoor talks and outdoor field trips, advice from a panel of experts, admission to a closed Facebook page and private weigh-ins.

“It’s $50 and you can get it back, except for $10 of it,” says Noelle Coughlan. “If you lose 2 percent of your body weight, which isn’t all that much, really, you get a $20 gift certificate to Fleet Feet Sports, and then $5 goes to a children’s anti-obesity program” - Wellness, Health, Action & Motivation (WHAM!) at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Participants who lose 5 percent or more of their weight by the end of the three months will get another $20 gift certificate, and the shop will make another $5 donation to the children’s program on their behalf.

Expert panelists include Betsy Day, a registered dietitian at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Len Guyton, a Baptist Health physical therapist; Roger Decker, a certified personal trainer with Snap Fitness; Tommie McDaniel, a life coach; and Noelle Coughlan, who coaches the shop’s No Boundaries 5K training.

Ton of Fun is open to anyone and there’s no cap on how many people can join.

Some meetings will have speakers, “and we’ll have walking clinics. We’ll try to explore areas like the River Walk, maybe Pinnacle Mountain - different areas around the city so they can say, ‘Hey, it’s so easy to go out and go down to the River Walk. It’s flat, it’s fun’ - making it part of their lifestyle.

“Get moving and your endorphins kick in.”

The idea came from a similar effort by a Fleet Feet Sports shop in Rochester, N.Y., which supported its participants’ weight-loss efforts through meetings, social media and store credits. The Coughlans decided to add their group’s donations to the anti-obesity program at Children’s Hospital because they think people who struggle with their weight have great empathy for overweight kids. A chance to frame their lifestyle changes as an effort to improve prospects for those children could help participants keep the faith.

Then, too, the couple, who are new to the area, are concerned about childhood obesity.

“It seems like something we struggle with here, just keeping kids active,” Coughlan says. “Like my child’s school, Fulbright Elementary, doesn’t even have a gymnasium. … Obesity starts at an early age. I was just looking at pictures of two friends. They were chubby as little kids and they’re overweight as adults.

“If we can get it changed at a young age, I think that would be awesome.”

Fleet Feet Sports Easy Runner is in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center on Cantrell Road. More information is at (501) 221-0017, [email protected] and fleetfeeteasyrunner.com.

ActiveStyle, Pages 23 on 03/31/2014

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