TUPELO – When Ryan Wedel joined the city’s weight-loss challenge in January, the United Furniture employee knew he needed to shed pounds.

What he didn’t know was how easy it’d be to achieve. During the two-month program, Wedel lost 47 pounds and six inches around the middle.

“I just changed my diet,” said Wedel, who ate five small, daily meals loaded with protein and carbohydrates.

His success helped his team, Three’s Company, cinch the grand prize in the Trim Down, Tone Up Tupelo challenge. Wedel and his teammates, DeeDee Bailey and Kim Massey, earned a plaque and dinner with the mayor as reward for their combined weight loss.

In all, the team dropped 64 pounds – or 10.4 percent of its original weight.

Mayor Jack Reed Jr. recognized the group during a ceremony Tuesday afternoon outside City Hall. He was joined by other municipal leaders and at least six dozen other weight-loss challenge participants.

“We are changing the culture of Tupelo,” Reed told the crowd. “We are becoming more visibly healthy.”

The four runner-up teams also earned public mentions for their losses, ranging from 7.2 to 9.6 percent.

The challenge was organized by the Mayor’s Task Force on Health and launched in early January with more than 150 teams of roughly 1,000 people. When the program ended in early March, 86 teams with some 570 people completed the final weigh-in.

Together, those 570 participants shed 4,130 pounds.

“That’s over two tons,” said Hank Boerner, task force co-chair. “That’s a lot of weight to lose.”

It averaged out to roughly seven pounds per person, or about one pound each week of the challenge.

“That’s perfect,” Boerner said. “That’s what you want to lose.”

This was the second initiative launched by the task force. The first was a Mayor’s Marathon in November, the next one is a program called Fitness In Tupelo – FIT.

The newest effort will make available a host of free, healthy activities for residents throughout the next two months. Included in the program are free exercise classes, dancing classes, Tai chi chuan classes, hula hoop classes, and bicycling and walking activities.

Contact Emily Le Coz at (662) 678-1588 or emily.lecoz@djournal.com.