Locals eschewing the fat at Lynn Y

LYNN – On two afternoons each week, visitors to the second-floor gym at the Greater Lynn Y might think they’re on the production set of television’s “The Biggest Loser” ? a show in which two teams of overweight contestants vie for the grand prize by collectively shedding pounds.Only instead of trainer Jillian Michaels and her counterpart Bob Harper, the local version features Y fitness director Sharon Dobbyn and triathlon competitor Steve Martin, a staffer at City Hall’s Information Technology Department.Dobbyn and Martin proved they possess the same drill-instructor bark that viewers of “The Biggest Loser” are accustomed to witnessing during a recent workout session.”I’m the mean one. She’s the nice one,” said Martin, keeping his class in motion with a flurry of voice commands and hand signals.The Y program, dubbed Waist Away, was launched in mid-September and ends in November.Thirty-eight people signed up, members paying $100 and non-members $200 for the opportunity to join one of the two weight-loss teams.Another contest has been scheduled for January, but instead of 19 members per team, the class sizes will be reduced, Dobbyn said.”Obviously we’re modeled after the TV show,” said Dobbyn. “Everyone was weighed in and measured at the start. We also have a nutritionist meet with the participants, giving them information on what to eat. We’re not focusing so much on weight as we are on how your body is going to get smaller. Once you start toning up, you will be fitter and healthier.”The contestants ? from Lynn, Nahant, Revere and Saugus ? are part of a boot camp that forces them to run, jump, lunge, squat, stretch and push themselves until they sweat. The program consists of two one-hour classes each week, plus four to five one-hour sessions.”I have already dropped a pants size to 46,” said Frank Giakoumis, 52, of Lynn, a disabled truck driver still recovering from a heart attack. “I’m trying to get healthy. My diabetes is getting better, but I’m overweight, and both my blood pressure and cholesterol are high.”Giakoumis, the heaviest male contestant at 317 pounds, said attempts to lose weight by joining Weight Watchers and Overeaters Anonymous failed.”I have lost the most of anybody so far, especially since I started swimming in addition to these classes,” he said. “My goal is a 40-inch waist. I cut out junk food and the late-night snacks. I’m more aware of what I eat.”Diane Lawn, 38, of Lynn, a medical underwriter for a Boston brokerage firm, had gastric-bypass surgery two years ago when she weighed 327 pounds. The procedure helped, but Lawn nonetheless tipped the scales at 217 pound at the start of the YMCA program and ranked as the heaviest female contestant.”I’m an emotional eater. I grew up in an Italian family. If I failed a test in school, my mother would tell me to eat. If I had a great day and was happy, my mother would say, ?Here, eat something.’ I don’t do junk food. No carbs. I don’t drink alcohol,” Lawn said.As of last Friday, she weighed 207 pounds and remains motivated to reach the 170 mark.”Frank lost 11 pounds the first week and Diane lost 9. They are very motivated people,” said Dobbyn, whose team was winning at the end of last week.The contestant from the winning team that loses the most weight wins the prize: a three-month Y membership.