Five teams of losers won a weight-loss competition at Horace Mann Companies.
The field of 217 employees on 48 teams was pitted against a senior marketing team. Each of these five teams lost more than the 7.52 percent target set by the "Flab Five."
The top losers, by percentage, were the "Fit Four" who lost almost 9 percent of their body fat.
Since the competition "Big Winners" began in November, employees had lost a total of 1,582 pounds as of the final weigh-in March 1.
Two winners from the team "Ill-Gotten Gains," a name they chose as a joke since they work in capital gains, shared what helped them to succeed.
"I regularly used a treadmill and followed our team captain's advice: 'eat better, eat less and exercise more,'" said Rick Campbell, director of finance and planning. "The hardest part was eating less."
Campbell lost 15 pounds but had planned to lose 25 pounds.
"Even though the contest is over, I am going to still workout until I hit the 25 mark," he added.
Abby Ritchart, a staff analyst for banking and investments, said she surpassed her goal of 30 pounds by losing 33 pounds.
Her strategy was to constantly working out.
"I ran five days a week, I continually exercised, played with my dogs and watched what I ate," Ritchart said.
Employees who were not part of the winning five teams also felt they gained more than weight loss from the competition.
Husband and wife, Chris and Jennifer Heinemann, took part and felt they still gained a lot from working out, even if they did not win.
Chris said he only managed to lose 12 pounds, but gained muscle mass from working out and increased the amount of weights that he could lift in squats and was up 70 pounds.
"Although, this week Girl Scout cookies came in, so starting today I am going to have to get back on the wagon," he said.
His wife said that the cookies were Chris' and she had none.
"I have lost weight through the contest and plan to keep it off," she said.
Jessi Bishop, supervisor of financial accounts, felt she gained more than just the loss of weight from the contest.
"Personally, I gained more energy, slept better and my stress levels were reduced," she said. "This was also a great program and allowed everyone to grow closer together through the camaraderie."
In addition, the winning five teams will be treated to a company-paid dinner at Kiku Japanese Seafood and Steakhouse in Springfield.
The other big winner in this competition is the Central Illinois Food Bank. A total of $1,582 is being donated by Horace Mann, which adds up to $1 for each pound lost.
File Photo: Jessi Bishop, a supervisor of financial accounts at Horace Mann Companies, uses a treadmill as she works out at Studio West Fitness at 1016 W. Lawrence Ave.
Statistics
Teams -- Pounds--Percentage
Fit Four
69 pounds
8.98%
Ill-Gotten Gains
86 pounds
8.94%
Haute Mamas
26 pounds
8.36%
Fats and Stigures
46 pounds
7.72%
Carbivore No More
77 pounds
7.65%
Flab Five
87 pounds
7.52%
How the calculation was done:
The challenge was based on total percentage of weight loss of the entire team, which compensates for a larger person losing weight in comparison to a smaller person losing weight and allowing for those of differences in size, which is similar to what is done for NBC's "Biggest Loser" program. The weight percentage is determined by dividing the number of pounds lost by the starting weight and multiplying the answer by 100.
