Coordinators for local Scale Back Alabama sites say participation has been good so far this week, and residents have two more days to enroll in the 10-week weight loss contest.

Andalusia Regional Hospital marketing coordinator said a total of 70 people (35 teams of two) weighed in during the hospital’s designated weigh-in times on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Across South Three Notch, at Darby’s Medical Center Pharmacy, pharmacist Laura Darby said they had at least 25 people weigh in on Wednesday alone.

Darby said most of the teams seem motivated and interested in getting healthier.

This is the first time pharmacies were asked to act as coordinators for the annual initiative, sponsored by the Alabama Department of Public Health.

“Anything we can do to promote health is a good thing,” Darby said. “It made sense because we already had a screening room with a private area where people could weigh.”

To further get into the spirit of the statewide competition, there’s an internal competition among employees at the pharmacy, she said.

The program encourages Alabamians to form teams of two. Participants weigh in at the beginning of the program, and weigh out 10 weeks later. There is more than $15,000 in prize money available as incentives.

To be eligible for team prizes, each team member must lose at least 10 pounds during the 10-week contest, as recorded by a coordinator at an official Scale Back Alabama weigh-in site.

Even though participants aren’t required to weigh each week of the program, Darby said they are welcome to stop by the pharmacy to weigh any time.

Participants can still weigh in today and tomorrow. Locally, that includes:

• Darby’s Medical Center Pharmacy, 822A South Three Notch, Andalusia, between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

• Covington County Health Department, on Fri., Jan. 23, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.

• Mizell Wellness Center, 501 Brantley St., Opp, from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. today, Thurs., Jan. 22, and between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday.

Weight-loss tips are available on the state’s website, http://scalebackalabama.com.