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Marusia Zearfoss tried for years to lose weight.

After numerous attempts through a variety of diets and programs, the Middletown resident found she was not seeing the results she wanted.

Then in February she heard about a Biggest Loser weight loss program that had recently started in Frederick County.

"I saw a poster and saw an ad in the paper, and it caught my interest at the time. It was something different. It wasn't … something where you have to buy meals," Zearfoss said.

The 12-week program was simple. The entire program cost $35, and entailed one 30-minute meeting each week. The meetings consisted of private weigh-ins to keep track of the individual's progress along with group lessons on nutrition, dieting and weight control.

Similar to the NBC television show the program gets its name from, at the conclusion of the program cash prizes were awarded to those who lost the most percentage of their weight.

Zearfoss said it wasn't about the money or being the winner. All that mattered to her was losing weight. But after experiencing so much success through the program, she began to be hopeful she could take the cash as well. "I caught on to the idea that I could be the winner," she said.

"At the end of the 12 weeks I had lost 31 pounds and 27 inches," she said.

Even after her completing the program, Zearfoss continued to lose weight. Since originally starting the program in February, Zearfoss has lost more than 40 pounds.

The people behind the program were Carol Rosenau and husband and wife Rob and Margaret Mason. Carol and Margaret had been working as personal weight loss coaches since 1991. In January they launched the Biggest Loser Weight Loss Program in an effort to reach more people.

"We find if we bring people together as a group, they support each other," Margaret Mason said. "We've had groups of people in their 20s and 70s, and they're like buddies."

It was this group support and personal attention that Zearfoss attributes to a great deal of her success.

"When you're on your own, you can lose your motivation," she said. "In this case, I had personal care; I had a coach in Margaret."

As coaches, Rosenau and the Masons aim to use education as a tool for their participant's weight loss. They teach about the nutritional values of different foods, how to read food labels and outline where to find the vitamins, proteins and other nutrients their body needs. They often find themselves outlining the non-nutritional value of many foods people eat too.

One lesson they teach has people guess how many teaspoons of sugar are in a standard 20 ounce bottle of Coca-Cola. "It's like the old jelly beans in a jar trick," Rob Mason said as he continues to load teaspoon after teaspoon of sugar into an empty plastic bottle. The end result: 18 teaspoons of sugar in one 20-ounce bottle.

"People think, ‘It's just one soda, it's not a big deal.' Over time, it can become a big deal," Margaret Mason said after the sugar is finished being loaded into the bottle, rising up a good inch from the bottom.

"A lot of this is changing behavior, day in and day out habits," said Margaret Mason.

"We live in a society of over indulgence," Rob Mason added. "One thing we aim to teach is portion control."

The little unhealthy decisions that people make are what the Masons try to expose and eliminate with their lessons.

"People get so conditioned; they don't pay attention to what they're eating. Then they wonder why they gain so much weight over the months and years," Rob Mason said.

Learning to decipher food labels and analyze what they are eating is a valuable part of the groups they have been running.

Overwhelmed with excitement over her weight loss, Zearfoss decided to help expand the program. She is now running a satellite branch of the program in nearby Braddock Heights. "I'm so pleased with my progress and I want to share that with others who need to lose weight," she said.

Identical to the program she took part in, Zearfoss operates her program out of the Church of the Transfiguration in Braddock Heights.

Zearfoss isn't the only one to take on this new undertaking. Other participants are bringing the program home with them and starting up identical programs in their communities.

"Over 60 percent of people in America are overweight. Many, many of them want to lose that weight. If I can help them, that's something I want to do," Zearfoss said. "I definitely want to expand. This is like mission to me."

Throughout the summer, Rosenau and the Masons will continue to operate the Challenge in Middletown, Thurmont and Frederick on a shorter six-week schedule to accommodate for summer plans. Zearfoss's groups in Braddock Heights are also six-weeks long throughout the summer. They plan on resuming the full 12-week programs in the fall.

E-mail David Koontz at dkoontz@gazette.net.

For information about the Weight Loss Challenge program, call Margaret Mason at 301-371-7552, Marusia Zearfoss at 301-371-8704 or visit www.losernow.com.