When Joanne Duprey learned about her company’s weight loss competition program, she decided to participate.

She never expected to win it. However, that’s exactly what the 53-year-old Patten Industries employee did on June 25, the conclusion of the nearly seven-month competition.

Patten’s weight-loss competition started after Nikki Maltese, human resource manager, wanted to improve the company’s overall health and wellness in its employees.
“A lot of positive came from this,” Maltese said.

“I am getting married in October, which I joke about, but I’m thinking, ‘Oh man, I’ve got to lose some weight.’ Before I knew it, I had people calling in from other branches (to participate).”
Eventually 100 employees from the Elmhurst-based company’s seven branches decided to participate in the weight loss competition known as the Patten Pound Down.

Each entry cost $20, which raised $2,000 to split among the final three winners.

At the June 25 program finale, it was discovered that a total of about 1,000 pounds had been lost by its contestants.

Every month participants would weigh in, and Maltese would calculate their weight-loss percentage to inform them how they were doing.

Free samples from Healthy Choice, food logs and employee-created cookbooks helped those involved to stay on track with the program. Maltese encouraged everyone to use the corporate membership at the Elmhurst Park District’s Courts Plus gym facility.

“It wasn’t about starving yourself; everyone was strongly encouraged to work out,” Maltese said. “... It was a really unique experience for a lot of people.”

Anthony Larocco, fitness supervisor at Courts Plus, said the facility had a program for more than a year with another Elmhurst company recently.

He has seen more companies inquiring about starting up their own fitness programs with Courts Plus, but said the economy plays a role in whether or not they do one.

He said the district has been thinking about “shopping around” such programs to their corporate clients.

“The whole weight-loss challenge thing is starting to become popular,” Larocco said.

“It’s starting to be better received at companies, (and with employees), especially if the employer is willing to help with costs. ... The health aspect is huge.”

Individuals also participated in teams in order to give extra motivation and peer support to each other.

The winning team, Mission: Slimpossible, won $300 each toward purchasing new clothes.
Duprey said her overall goal was to learn to watch her eating habits and begin to work out, but she wasn’t ready to take that step until something motivated her. Fortunately for her health and, in the end, her pocketbook, the program did just that.

“I’ve learned with working out, you see how hard it is and what it takes to work off 100 calories,” Duprey said.

“You have to think twice about everything that you put into your mouth. I’ve definitely made different choices. You sit there huffing and puffing and you think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve only burned 100 calories.”

Maltese said in addition to seeing some slimmer waistlines and improved health among employees, office morale has improved immensely.

“In general, the culture is just a little bit lighter, literally,” Maltese said.