The Biggest Loser The Biggest Loser, Boothbay Edition II lost big, baby! This group (and others not pictured above) lost a whopping 640 pounds in the 12-week period that ended on April 11. Simultaneously, a group in Wiscasset lost 462 pounds. (Photo Lisa Kristoff)

Holy Weight Loss! The end of the second Boothbay's Biggest Loser April 12 brought a revelation: 640 pounds had been lost among the participants.

Coach Matt McNutt told everyone after the "final weigh-in" that they should feel proud about the positive change they had brought into their lives.

Session two participants included Christina Barter, Lisa Tilton, Sarah Morley, Butch and Mary Brewer, Kathy Frizzell, Andrea Hallinan, Michael Maxim, Karen Greenleaf, Tom Dewey, Janice Newell, Patt Cook, Sally Carroll, Ron Spofford, Barbara Cornell, Kathy and Terry Cucci, Belinda Campbell, Melanie Joslin, Judy Colgan, Marian Anderson, Nancy Cunningham, Judy Ryan, Vanessa Croxford, Laurie Eimen, Hanna Prest, April Pinkham, Martha Holbrook, Sara Kane, Laurie Simmons, Viv Durgan, Elaine Fogarty, Lynne Nicoletta, Shirley Brown, Wendy Borgman, Nancy-Bosio Pickett, Lisa Orne, Evie Greenleaf, Dana Greenleaf, Paula Reny, Paula Brown, Judy Eastwood, Bethany Ludwick, Kris Vooght, Tammi Morrison, Cindy Erikson and Fay Bascom.

There were four top teams - the fourth place team was Frizzell-Hallinan-Kristoff (mostly my teammates) lost 5.56 percent of their starting weight.

The third place team was 11.69 percent combined loss: Tom Dewey, Karen Nickerson and Tammi Morrison.

Second place team was 11.85 percent combined loss: Christina Barter, Lisa Tilton and Patt Cook.

And, taking first place, after a heated competition, losing a combined percentage of 13.17 were Karen Greenleaf, Michael Maxim and Jessica Gable.

McNutt noted the members of the group as a whole who had lost 10 percent of their starting weight in the 12-week period: Christina Barter, Mary Brewer, Fay Bascom, Tom Dewey, Kathy Frizzell, Michael Maxim, Andrea Hallinan, Karen Greenleaf and Sarah Morley.

Top Female losers: third place, Karen Greenleaf, second place, Andrea Hallinan and the first place "loser" was Christina Barter.

Interesting Boothbay's Biggest Loser factoid: Tom Dewey, Michael Maxim and Christina Barter (the top three biggest losers) combined shed over 160 pounds.

The top three male "losers" for the second session were: third place, Butch Brewer (8.35 percent), in second place was Michael Maxim (16.34 percent loss), and with a total body weight loss of 22.1 percent, 120.6 pounds in six months, Tom Dewey took first place.

Said McNutt, after the thunderous applause and whooping and yelling subsided, "I think, that at this point, he (Tom) does not have enough left to lose to win a third time!"

I sat down with the "Top Three" after the last meeting and talked turkey, I mean, talked tofu, about their weight loss challenges and rewards.

It was pretty well known that a good-natured rivalry existed between Michael and Tom - both going neck and neck for first place.

"We saw each other multiple times in the morning at the YMCA," said Michael. "I would think about hip-shaking him off the elliptical!"

Maxim said that his parents had even heard tell of the "Mike-Tom Thing" at the school.

"They said it was described to them as a lot of `friendly banter' being exchanged," laughed Michael against a backdrop of Tom yelling, "Stop it, I didn't hear anything about that!"

The competition to be the biggest loser found Tom's and Michael's team at the Y the morning before the final weigh-in's - giving it their all for that last push.

McNutt said the night before, everywhere he looked at the Y there were biggest losers walking the track and on the machines.

The trio admitted that one of the hardest requirements of the program was giving up foods that they really, really enjoyed. High fiber foods, which help maintain a sense of fullness, are essential. Think about it - how many times did you see people reading food packaging at Hannaford this winter?

For Christina, the temptation is choc-o-late. Fortunately, a friend had found chocolate-flavored lip balm in a novelty store that Christina "polished off" in record time.

Michael's favorite sweet is ice cream - in fact, he and his teammates Karen and Jessica were headed to Dairy Queen after the interview for a celebratory treat.

"It's all around you," said Kristina. "I have a huge support system - my husband, family and friends to help, but it is a constant temptation."

Karen Greenleaf, one of Michael's teammates added, "It was really hard at the beginning. We would all grocery shop together, we bought 100 calorie packaged treats, fish and vegetables."

OK, so sacrifices are made, what's the reward? Energy, increased stamina and an overall feeling of well-being.

Christina said she obtains a natural high after working out. After this first session, she discovered that on the elliptical machine her cool-down rate used to be her start rate.

She devoted 30 minutes a day to start, Michael worked out for 45 minutes twice a day, and Tom was working out twice daily and running up and down the back steps to the upstairs offices at Video Loft.

"Our team exercised three times a week together. We took Sundays off and when the weather started to get a little better, we always did something outside," said Michael.

The benefits of diet and exercise are obvious - but, teamwork is key.

"Having someone to share the experience with, to be able to call and say, I'm having a bad day, or, you have to go check out such and such in this or that aisle at Hannaford," said Michael.

McNutt concurred, "If you think about it, the teams that ranked highest attended all the meetings, they were here cheering each other on and were really pumped up for each other."

All three, in fact, all of the participants in Boothbay's Biggest Loser have amazing stories, but, of them all, Mr. Dewey rivals even our fearless leader and coach with his amount of weight loss in a relatively short time.

As you recall, Coach Matt dropped 176 pounds in eight months during season three of The Biggest Loser.

The benefits for Dewey have been priceless - particularly because he has that extra energy and stamina to share in activities with his son, Ben.

"We've gone ice skating, we are going out West and plan to hike in the crater at Mount St. Helens, go skiing - hike was not in my vocabulary before," Tom said.

Another word that was never in his vocabulary before was - cold.

"I have never been cold in my life - but, this winter, I was always cold, had the layers on and never went out without a coat."

Dewey is participating in the Rocky Coast Road Race for the first time this coming Saturday, as are several other Biggest Loser participants.

Tom says he has wanted to run in the race for 17 years. It was "in his sights" during the first Biggest Loser session last fall, but, said Dewey, he didn't tell anyone about it.

"As we got nearer to the end of this second session, the race was just a few weeks away and I thought that if I was ever going to be ready, I was ready now," Dewey said. "I don't want to walk, I want to be able to jog the entire route."

And, Tom is not stopping there. He recently was asked to participate in a 180-mile bike ride for lung cancer.

"They start out at Sugarloaf and pedal to the coast," said Tom. "I'm really looking forward to it, it's outdoors, it's cool."

Dewey is enjoying a healthy, active lifestyle now, but he would be the first to admit that this new lifestyle is still not "normal" to him.

"Food is my drug of choice," said Tom. "And, I am still an emotional eater, but I have been given the tools here to eat the right foods when those moments come. You know, I'm not pounding the cheeseburgers and chips."

Dewey frankly said that his biggest goal, and his biggest fear, is what will he look like in one year.

"A year from now, when all the hype is done, that I'm still where I'm at right now," Dewey said.

McNutt, a competitor on the Biggest Loser's third season, can certainly relate. He has admitted, in his inimitable humorous way, that one of the reasons he holds these challenges is to keep him on track.

"I will have to work at it for the rest of my life. I'm still an emotional eater, but now I know about it, I know how to take steps to cope. There are certain foods that I cannot buy, cannot have them in the house," said McNutt.

Many of the Session Two participants are returning for Session Three to start on Saturday, May 3. And, yes, one of them is Michael Maxim and team. Be warned: Michael intends to take first place - the gauntlet has been thrown.

"I will say that Michael and his team definitely motivated me, much to his chagrin," said Dewey.

"In my cockiness, I looked at the numbers in the beginning of Session Two and saw I won it with 19 point-something and the closest person to me won with 10 point-something percent. I can win this one with 15 percent.

Dewey began to pull back at 15 percent - and then Michael had that 11-pound weight loss week that caused him to sit up and take notice.

Weight loss. It's a serious business.

The third session will be of 10 weeks duration due to the expected arrival of Matt and Heather McNutt's fourth child in mid-July.

If you are feeling up to a bit of "friendly competition," Boothbay's Biggest Loser-style, and want to reap the rewards of a healthier lifestyle, be at the Boothbay Baptist Church this Saturday, at 9 a.m. FMI: Coach Matt, matthewmcnutt@verizon.net or 380-9036.