Most lawyers don't like to lose, but in Duchesne County Attorney Stephen Foote's case, he actually won by being the biggest loser.

Foote's family held a contest in which 17 of them vowed to lose weight. Foote won with a 93-pound loss in the six-month contest period.

“I wanted to lose weight for awhile, but the motivation was lacking,” said Foote, 37, speaking about his former 333-pound weight. “My wife's family got together at Christmastime last year and talked about doing a biggest loser contest. There's a play on words there because their last name is Orr. So it was the biggest Lose 'Orr' contest.”

After discussing the challenge and setting the rules, 17 members of the family committed to the weight-loss challenge. The participants varied in age, from 27 to 73. Even though weight loss was the initial incentive, to make it more interesting everyone who entered pitched in $100. There were nine men and eight women, and they decided to split the money 50-50, making the monetary reward $850 in each gender category.

Foote's brother-in-law Gary Orr was in charge of holding the money and keeping track of all the entrants' weights. Contestants submitted their weight every Sunday to Orr, who would figure their weight percentage loss for the week. Then he sent e-mails out to everyone so they could make comparisons and “size” up their competition.

“My brother got in really close with me for a long time and I was able to pull away from him a little bit,” Foote said. “What it provided for me was some motivation. I couldn't lose to my little brother.”

Foote attributes his success to the fact that both he and his wife were in the competition and they changed their eating and exercise habits together.

“It helps not only your health, but your own personal well-being and lifestyle,” Foote said. “Getting in the kitchen, it's nice, especially when a husband and wife cook together. We planned meals together, spent more time together and more time with our kids. We were actually sitting down at our table and eating a meal rather than going out somewhere and grabbing something on the go.”

For Foote, getting started was the hardest thing and being a father of four with a busy career didn't leave him much time for exercise. However, through consistent effort, he soon changed his habits and it became part of his lifestyle.

“When I first started out I was walking on a treadmill,” Foote said. “Then I would increase my running and do less walking until I was running two miles. I wasn't running fast, but I was moving and the pounds were coming off. It didn't take very long though doing it consistently.”

Foote also changed his eating habits and gave up soda immediately. He changed from frying food to grilling. He and his wife quit eating after dinner and when they would camp with their family he noticed they didn't bring the fat-laden food they used to. The couple found that by changing their habits, they were teaching their children new habits as well.

“My 6 year old said, 'I don't want to eat healthy, I want to eat junk food,' ” Foote said, realizing the influence he had on his children. “I told him, 'We'll eat healthy food and you can have a sugary treat occasionally. It's just a matter of getting to a point where we can all maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Even though Foote enjoys being more active, eating and exercising is not the only place where Foote experienced changes. He dropped three suit sizes and after six years on blood-pressure medication, he no longer has to take it.

Following “The Biggest Loser” model, Gary Orr did not report everyone's percentage during the last three weeks of the competition. On July 24, the Orr family gathered to celebrate Pioneer Day and announce the winners of the weight-loss challenge. Foote's sister-in-law Colleen Foote won the women's category with a 59-pound loss. Even though Grandpa Orr didn't take the lead, he did lose over 40 pounds, making him a winner in Foote's book.

“The 17 of us lost over 615 pounds,” Foote said. “That's a lot of weight for people to lose and get rid of. It doesn't matter how old you are or how young you are or how busy you are. If you want to lose weight you can.”

After Foote's win he did scale back on his rigorous diet and exercise schedule, but has managed to maintain his weight. He has set new goals and is ready to lose an additional 25 pounds. The group has also discussed starting a “keep-it-off competition” to help with weight maintenance.

“Since I've lost weight people ask me, 'How did you do it?' They always expect me to say some fad diet and I say, 'Well, I consumed less calories than I expended. I exercised.' It's that simple.”