Gaining the motivation and inspiration to start a weight-loss regimen is difficult, but through the excitement of a local “Biggest Loser” challenge, Sindy Dickey helped 15 people begin the journey.

For the past month, 15 local women — and two men who subsequently dropped out of the competition — worked out, ate right and endured temptation weigh-ins and exercise challenges as part of “The Biggest Loser,” led by Dickey.

The winner of the entire competition — and $500 plus a multitude of prizes and services donated by area businesses — was Sarah Stultz. Dickey was ahead the first week and the two were neck-and-neck for a while, but in the end, Stultz pulled through.

“Sarah won because Sarah stayed consistent through the entire competition,” Dickey said, adding she can pinpoint the exact time she lost the competition: Fourth of July weekend.

Stultz lost a total of 18.8 pounds and almost 8 percent of her body weight. Dickey placed second, losing 10.4 pounds, and third place was Kelly Blake losing 10.2 pounds.

“It does take work. You can’t expect the pounds to melt away. You do have to make changes to your lifestyle,” Stultz said. “When you’re successful it gives you more motivation to continue.”

She said her strategy was to stick to the Weight Watchers diet plan, which she started before the competition, and get plenty of exercise. Sometimes Stultz went walking three times a day. She plans to continue her healthy habits, she said.

“I thought the competition was awesome,” said fourth-place finisher Catherine Shepherd. “I’m glad I was in it because I was able to lose some weight.”

Shepherd lost 8 pounds. Technically she was upset by Sheryl Sorenson, who lost a total of 9 pounds but didn’t get to do the final weigh-in with the rest of the competitors, so she could only enter a loss of 5.4 pounds.

There were physical challenges nearly every week of the competition except the Fourth of July. The first challenge tested competitors through 30 minutes of climbing stairs at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds grandstand. The second had strength tests with elliptical machines, deep knee bends on a Bosu ball and walking lunges carrying 25-pound weights.

“That is a serious butt buster,” Dickey said, adding if someone did enough lunges they would have a “Jennifer Lopez bum.”

The final physical challenge had each competitor going against each other through wall sits, the Pilates plank position and exercising on a treadmill. The last one standing in each mini-competition won.

“It was so much fun,” Dickey said.

Holli Waldemar won every physical challenge.

“She is a really tough challenger,” Dickey said in an e-mail to the competitors. “The girl is solid muscle and strong as they come.”

Each week contestants weighed in to see how much weight they lost. Two of the weigh-ins were of the temptation variety. One was held at Pizza Ranch, where the restaurant offered free buffet to all “Biggest Loser” competitors, and the other was at K&K Bakery, where contestants had the chance to eat as many pastries as they wanted.

The only catch at each temptation weigh-in was that the women had to eat before they stepped on the scale. Dickey said half the women didn’t eat anything at the Pizza Ranch weigh-in. Only one person ordered a pastry at K&K Bakery.

One woman, however, decided to step on the scale before she ate at Pizza Ranch, then took advantage of the buffet and weighed herself afterwards. That woman gained 3 pounds after one meal.

“That was an eye-opener for me,” Dickey said.

Many of the women sent Dickey e-mails and phone calls thanking her for having the competition and being a motivating factor herself.

“They wanted to lose weight but they could not get started. This just really helped,” she said. “I’m so proud of everybody, the efforts they put out.”

Stultz said her advice for people trying to lose weight is to stick with it.

“Even though sometimes there are bad days, you can always start up the next day,” she said.

Already Dickey is planning additional competitions. Starting Sept. 1, there will be another “Biggest Loser” challenge to get the Albert Lea area involved.

“That’s my goal with this,” she said. “When you get a whole community involved in something, it goes.”

Her dream, Dickey added, is to have a weight-loss challenge between Albert Lea and Austin.

Money was raised for the cash prize by $10 entry fees, $1 penalties for each pound gained and donations from area businesses. The weekly physical challenges cost each contestant $5 to participate and the winner of the physical challenge took the bank for that challenge.