Weight Loss Competition at Work

1. FIND OUT WHO'S INTERESTED
   By word of mouth or company-wide email ... find out how many potential participants you have.

2. SET PARAMETERS AND PUBLICIZE THE EVENT
   Decide a start and end date. Shorter competitions tend to keep people focused, and can be re-started immediately upon ending. Hang posters and get the word out. (Click on our poster sample below.)

3. HAVE A WEIGH-IN
   Designate a "weigher" – someone with discretion. Participants should weigh-in on the same scale once a week at approximately the same time. (Earlier is always better!)

4. SET THE RULES
   Choose a monthly winner even if the competition is longer than a month to keep motivation high. To be fair, winners should be determined by percentage of weight loss, not actual pounds.
   [pounds lost ÷ starting weight]

5. RESOURCES ARE KEY
   It is important to provide resources on diet and exercise. Sharing healthy recipes, exercise tips and helpful websites are all good examples of support. Note: Not everyone will, or should, follow the same diet, but fad diets should be discouraged. (Participants can have a month FREE at kimbensen.com with the promocode KIMBENSEN10.)

6. HAVE 'BIG MONEY' PRIZES
   Of course, the weight loss itself is the biggest prize ... but a little extra motivation always helps. Prizes can be monthly, or can be done at the end of the competition. One idea is to have participants all pitch in the same amount of money (say, $10 per person). Winner can take all ... or you can divide it up Male/Female or Top 3 Losers. Just decide ahead of time.

7. REPEAT
   Rerun the competition ... until everyone's goals are reached. To infinity and beyond! Make your workplace an environment where everyone is supportive and concerned about each others' good health.