Premier Truck Group Revved After Win by Losing Victory

01.22.2019 | 4 min read

How do you keep 342 people motivated to lose weight for a nine-week competition? Tonya Adams, corporate manager, Human Resources and Administration, for the Premier Truck Group, found a way. Her group won the 19th round of Win by Losing in the 60+ Participating Employees category. The Premier Truck Group’s numbers were astonishing:

Participants: 342
Total pounds lost: 1,766
Total percentage of weight lost: 2.31 percent

The keys to their success? A supportive environment and an internal competition among their locations. “Each week a communication went out highlighting a different health item to help encourage progress, Adams said. “Items included topics on walking, taking the stairs, water intake, colorful food choices and kicking your cholesterol as well as those items provided by the Win by Losing program.” She said the field HR team met weekly with their teams to discuss progress and give encouragement for the following week. Corporate officials also praised locations for their efforts throughout the competition. Participants at the location that recorded the highest percentage lost are each receiving a Fitbit to encourage them to stay healthy. “We actually had two locations reach over four percent weight loss,” Adams said. The team environment was crucial. “I do feel going through the program helped everyone stick with it more than they would have on their own,” Adams said, adding that she’s proud to share that several participants have had additional weight loss since the competition ended.

Support, moxie propel Autoneum North America

Autoneum North America was first in the 30-59 Participating Employees category, losing a total of 247.2 pounds, thanks to the organization of its Autoneum Wellbeing Committee and the determination of its team. To help team members reach their goals, the committee purchased a scale that measured weight, body fat percentage, visceral fat level, BMI and skeletal muscle percentage.

Determination and the support of their wellness committee landed Autoneum North America in first place in the 30-59 Participating Employees category. The team lost a total of 247.2 pounds. “Many people were surprised about their numbers, and goals were made to improve the numbers by the end of the challenge,” said Denise Tingley, who lead the committee. The committee also bought some exercise equipment, provided fruit snacks and sent weekly emails with updates on pounds and percentages lost, as well as Autoneum’s standing in the competition for that week, she said. Some team members took advantage of Autoneum’s fitness room. “Our on-site fitness room has been a success over the past year due to a particular employee (Mike Gohlke) who has taken it upon himself to create workouts a couple days a week before work with a very dedicated group of co-workers,’’ Tingley said. “Several of these workout buddies were part of this challenge.” Team members also encouraged each other by adding motivational comments in the tracking matrix. “Our team was a built-in support group along with great workout partners for the challenge and beyond,” Tingley said, adding that the timing of the fall competition ― right before the holiday season ― helped people stick to it. “Everyone wants to look good during the holidays. Plus, being in the healthy eating mindset helped many make better choices during the holidays.” Tingley said the team’s competitive nature also helped. “Our team becomes very competitive when there is any kind of challenge,” she said. “This competitiveness led to many encouraging words to team members who were struggling to stay on track.” Overall, the group had eight members who lost at least 10 pounds, with Todd Simms (23.5 pounds) and Cathy Sanchez (17.5 pounds) leading the way. “Our two weight-loss leaders were phenomenal cheerleaders and kept the fire within all of us going,” Tingley said. “Our team is looking forward to the next challenge.”

Midcoast Studio takes healthy competition to a new level

Midcoast Studio’s love for healthy competition led to team weight loss of 130.1 pounds and the top spot in the Win by Losing 11-29 Participating Employees category. “Over half of our employees participated in the challenge, which was great to see,” said Donna Jackson, president and chief operating officer of Midcoast Studio. “Individually, we’re pretty self-motivated and as a group, we enjoy some healthy competition.” To aid in the team’s success, the company brought in healthy lunch options a few days a week. “It’s nice to see individuals working so hard to contribute toward our group effort,” Jackson said.

Important dates for the spring 2019 Win by Losing competition

February 4 — Registration opens on the Win by Losing website — bcbsm.com/yourhealth
February 11 — Competition begins
February 15 — Submit total team pounds lost for Week 1 by 5 p.m.
April 12 — Last day of competition

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Main image photo credit: Fat Camera