Loser's-club contest at Sabre Real Estate

At Garden City-based Sabre Real Estate Group, founded by Kenneth Breslin, son of legendary Long Island developer Wilbur Breslin, there is an added responsibility every week now: getting on the scale.

Two weeks ago, Kenneth Breslin started a "loser's club" at the firm, and he and five others are racing to see who can lose the most weight, in a healthy way, by May 17, the scheduled start of the retail real estate industry's biggest gathering, the annual International Council of Shopping Centers' convention in Las Vegas.

Breslin, who will be 50 on Aug. 11, wants to lose about 50 pounds, trimming down to 225. "I had a midlife crisis," he said. "I'm as close to 30 as I am to 70. I can't go on this way." He said his weight prevented him from going skiing with his children.

So there are dietetic lunches at the firm and exercises, all monitored by marketing coordinator Jeanie Yulan, who used to work for Jenny Craig. There's money on this, too. Each of the six had to put up $100, and those who add pounds at the weekly weigh-in must fork over an additional $20. The biggest loser wins 60 percent of the pot; second and third-place winners get 30 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

So how are they doing? "They have their challenges, especially on the weekends," Yulan said. "But they're learning, slowly learning."