When a loss is a win

BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

For The Biggest Loser Competition at B'Nai Tikvah on Finnegans Lane, Activities Vice President Cindy Gittleman will donate $5 for every pound Temple President Dan Greenberg loses by September. NORTH BRUNSWICK - How can the biggest loser become the biggest winner? By participating in B'Nai Tikvah's House of Worship Biggest Loser competition.

The Finnegans Lane temple is celebrating the institution of weekly Weight Watchers meetings at the shul with the challenge designed to promote weight loss as well as a healthy lifestyle.

President Danny Greenberg, 45, is spearheading the program, offering himself to the contest. A former unsuccessful Weight Watchers member, Greenberg was provoked by friend and Activities Vice President Cindy Gittleman to change his life for good this time.

"Cindy approached me and said she was worried about my health. I said, 'Great, I'm ready.' I want to get healthy and this is a great way to do it, for the synagogue at the same time," he said.

Gittleman has agreed to sponsor Greenberg by contributing $5 to the temple's general fund for every pound he loses in the next six months.

"In the end, if he loses 50 pounds and I have to give $250 to the shul, of course I'd be happy to give $250," she said.

Greenberg and his friend, Jeff Woller, have also agreed to match her donations, which he hopes will reach the 40 pounds he wants to lose.

"I'm going to do it slowly and properly, so hopefully the weight will stay off forever," he said.

Looking outside of just the 450 members of B'Nai Tikvah, Greenberg is also looking to involve the participation of other area houses of worship to stress the changes needed in one's daily life to promote fitness and wellness.

"My personal goal is to lose weight. My goal as president is a constant stream of activity for the community center for both members and the community at large," he said. "I thought [the Biggest Loser challenge] would be a great way to get more people into the building, and it would be fun, and it would get more of the community involved."

He has notified area churches and the Islamic Center to ask for their participation. The house of worship losing the most weight collectively from April through September will earn the "House of Worship Biggest Loser" trophy, among other prizes that can be raffled off to the winning members.

"It's good for the people of North and South Brunswick. All in all, it's a fun way of bringing people together to get healthy together," he said. "We're hoping the ministers [and imams] ... we contacted will take this seriously and contact the congregation and get the word out. There's no substitute for from-the-pulpit direct teaching."

To aid in the weight loss, the Weight Watchers meetings were instituted by Program-ming Director Lisa Mason, who is responsible for renting out space in the new temple wing, which opened in September to foster community building, such as basketball, yoga, volleyball and Jazzercise.

"Having control and truly changing your lifestyle makes you healthy and gets the mind right. If you muscle through it and always do it, you feel better in the end and that filters through to other parts of your life," she said.

The Weight Watchers meetings will be run by meeting leader Ellen Pearl and are currently scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. with weigh-ins beginning at 9:30 a.m. A nighttime meeting is soon to be scheduled as well.

"We all lead busy, active lives, and I don't mean going to the gym and doing jumping jacks. We are busy ... and just to exist today, you have to eat right and live by the right means," Pearl said. "It feels good to walk into a store and try on clothing that fits. We all know the feeling and we can convey to members that they can feel this way too."

The temple is currently seeking Weight Watchers members and Biggest Loser competitors and sponsors. Those interested can contact Mason at (732) 297-0696, ext. 12 or Programming@BnaiTikvah.org.

For details, visit www.BnaiTikvah.org.