Cannon woman wins fourth annual NIBROC Just Lose It competition

A Cannon woman shed over 16 percent of her original body weight in less than 10 weeks to win the fourth annual NIBROC Just Lose it community weight loss competition this past Saturday.

Jamie Bunch, Membership Specialist at Baptist Family Fitness and the organizer of this year’s NIBROC Just Lose it competition, said Phyllis Patterson, of Cannon, beat out 101 other competitors to win the $1,000 cash prize.

The top five were all women this time around. Patricia Couch, of Corbin, was runner-up and lost 15.27 percent of her starting body weight; Natalie Cain, of Gray, was third at 12.73 percent; Wilma Rapier, of Corbin, was fourth with 11.97 percent lost and April Bowlin was fifth overall, she lost 11.75 percent of her starting weight.

“They did a really great job considering we got such a late start this year,” Bunch said. “We are going to do it a little different next year … try to make it a little more an interactive and give more personalized attention to each participant. And we will definitely start it earlier, hopefully in April.”

Overall, 102 people participated in this year’s NIBROC Just Lose It competition. In addition to the $1,000 cash prize, the overall champion won a one-year membership to Baptist Health Family Fitness. The runner-up got $250 and a one-year membership to the fitness center as well. Third place received $125 and a six-month membership. Fourth and fifth place got $75 and $50 respectively, and three-month memberships to the fitness center.

Bunch said all of those who finished in the top 20 got three-month memberships.

Overall, the top 20 participants lost 448.6 lbs.

The competition got started a little later this year because of organizational miscommunication. Normally it starts in late April or early May. This year it didn’t start until June.

During sign-ups, Baptist Health Family Fitness offered a deal whereby participants could pay $40, rather than just the normal $10 entry fee, to get access to unlimited use of the fitness center during the duration of the competition. Also, if they decided to join after the competition is over, initiation fees would be waived.

Bunch said other special offers would be put together next year as a way to entice participants.

NIBROC Just Lose It! was conceived in 2010 by Corbin City Commissioner Joe Shelton — a local physician’s assistant who created the competition as a way to fight the epidemic of obesity and to help Corbin become "the healthiest community in Kentucky."