Orcas Island may soon be known as the home of big losers.

Don’t worry. The losers are happy about it.

Over the last few years, a number of Orcas residents have made weight loss a number one priority, shedding pounds and gaining back their energy.

Some, like Jeffri Coleman, participated in a one-on-one program at Swedish Medical Center. Coleman is co-owner of Crow Valley Pottery.

Coleman, who lost 142 pounds, successfully completed the program, which maps out what foods are causing weight gain, examines eating patterns, teaches portion control, and establishes an exercise program.

“It’s not a diet, it’s an education,” says Coleman. “It’s all about you. They work with your weak spots, what makes you tick, what doesn’t. The first three months are brutal. You have to give up alcohol, sugar, and wheat to cleanse your body. But I left there every week feeling phenomenal. For six months they teach you how to eat: portions, times, how to eat in a restaurant. It’s about reality and longevity. They don’t want you to starve.”

For Coleman, most of his weight was from eating dairy. He says he had to get over the stigma of buying fat free dairy products.

The program encourages spouses to be present for the sessions, and Coleman’s partner Michael Rivkin lost a significant amount of weight while they changed their eating habits together.

“We’ve eaten rice only twice now in the last two years. We used to eat it five days a week. But we don’t miss it at all.”

Exercise is a major component of the program.

“They ask for three 20-minute bouts of exercise per day in the morning, noon and evening. We altered ours to two 40-minute sessions, morning and evening. We take vigorous walks in good weather, and use the stationary bike when the weather is inclement. And we do all three sessions of Pam Evans’ ‘Power Hour’ at the Odd Fellows, which is a great multigenerational workout.”

Long-time islander Abby Rueb saw Coleman the first week of his six-month stint in the weight loss program. She told him that if it worked, he should call her. When Rueb received a call from him three months later, she decided to give it a shot herself.

“I lost a lot,” says Rueb. “The program was wonderful. It’s about less food and more exercise. One of the best things I did was start doing pilates with Kari Gardner.”

In addition to pilates twice a week, Rueb swims at the health club. She and her husband Rollie, who also lost quite a bit of weight, cut out butter and all forms of starch from their diets.

“The concept is to eat five to six times a day. You have breakfast, then a snack; lunch then a snack; dinner and then a snack. That keeps your body from going into starvation mode, so it’s able to let go of the fat instead of keeping it.”

Not all of the Orcas “losers” enrolled in a formal program. Robin Rodenberger, a local potter and friend of Coleman’s, lost 75 pounds using many of the same principles followed by Coleman and Rueb.

“I cut out simple carbs and I started eating regularly and eating a lot. I was eating 1500 calories a day, but it was food that was high in protein, lots of vegetables, low fat dairy, and fruit. I went from eating once or twice a day to eating every three hours. I felt like I was eating twice as much food, which by volume I was, but it had fewer calories.”

Rodenberger also attends Pam Evans’ Power Hour every week.

“I have more energy and I am able to focus better. I can wear regular clothes! And my knees don’t hurt as much.”