UPDATE: Scale Back Alabama is extending the 2021 start date to Monday, April 5. Originally slated to start on Monday, March 1, the program will now kick off the following month in an effort to accommodate a bigger and better participant experience. 

Scale Back Alabama, a public awareness program hosted by the Alabama Hospital Association and the Alabama Department of Public Health, will be fully virtual this year, with participants registering online and choosing one to three goals to work on throughout the 10-week program.

Each week, participants will receive a challenge and a health tip that will encourage them to reach their goal. Weight loss is an optional goal, and participants will select their own wellness goals.

To sign up, visit scalebackalabama.com before Feb. 28 and begin the registration process. As part of registration, participants will be asked a few personal questions to help them choose the best goals for them.

Before April 5, participants will receive an email from Scale Back Alabama with instructions on how to access their personalized online dashboard and set their wellness goals for the program.

In the past, teams of two were required to participate in the program together, but individual registrations are available for 2021.

Those who participate in this year’s program have the chance to win Amazon gift cards if they accomplish their weekly challenges. Participants who do complete their challenge on any given week will be entered into a drawing for that week’s prize.

Each week, participants will indicate on their user dashboard if they did or did not meet their pre-set goal that week. For every week that participants meet at least one of their goals, their name will go into a prize drawing to be held at the end of the program.

Since its inaugural contest in January 2007, the 335,752 participants in the program have combined to lose 1.4 million pounds.