Related Links

Upcoming events

Losers are winners in Lincoln Lab weight challenge

“Deb’s Platoon” won the prize for highest percentage of weight lost in The Lab’s Biggest Loser program—but platoon leader Deb Craig said each one of the 32 people who participated in the program became winners just by taking part.

In conjunction with getfit@mit 2009, the Lincoln Laboratory Fitness Center ran a special weight-loss and nutrition-education program for the first time. Lincoln Lab employees were invited to apply for the limited-enrollment program; the 32 selected to participate were assigned to one of four “platoons” (each participant is also a member of a separate getfit@mit team). Platoon leaders (personal trainers at the fitness center) guided participants toward their weight-loss goals through diet and exercise programs tailored to each individual’s needs. Some shared their stories in a blog during the program.

The platoon headed by Craig, health fitness coordinator at the Lab and director of the Biggest Loser program, took first place by losing an average of 7.5 percent of body weight per member. (“Cyndi Lou’s Losers,” headed by Cyndi Springford, was a close second with 7.0 percent.) Craig’s platoon members were Mark Barter, Todd Brick, Judy McCormack, Melissa Nischan, Bryan Richard, Tina Siracusa and Paula Ward. Each winning platoon member received a gym bag and water bottle.

McCormack was also the program’s individual winner for highest percentage of body weight lost. Second place was Kim Calden, while Fran Nargi finished third. These top three “Biggest Losers” are featured in a separate story.

“I’m happy with the results,” said Craig, noting that 20 of the 32 participants lost at least 5 percent of their body weight. The 32 participants collectively lost 507.7 pounds.

Craig and the other “platoon leaders” conducted weekly weigh-ins for their platoon members and devised individual workout programs, changing them as needed for variety or to avoid injury. The leaders also counseled their platoons on healthier eating, including grocery shopping advice.

“So much of it is what you eat,” Craig said. “I know, because I love to eat, but luckily I love to exercise as well. It makes it so much easier to lose weight. Diet changes and exercise really go hand in hand; one without the other really isn’t going to work.”

The Lab’s Biggest Loser will take place again next year. Craig hopes to spice it up by adding a monetary incentive whereby participants pay some money up front and then “earn” it back as they lose weight. “Eventually you’d get all your money back, and there would be prizes as well,” she said. “And this would let us do it more than once a year. Twelve weeks really isn’t enough.”

Regardless of pounds lost, the program was successful in one important measure. “I saw faces I’d never seen before, people who’d never set foot in the gym,” Craig said. “It benefits us as trainers, too; it makes us excited about our jobs, because this is why we got into this business in the first place. So it really helps everyone.”

 

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« go back