Competitors lose 4,032 pounds, 3,189 inches

Participants in Centegra Health System’s Break Your Boundaries wellness competition lost 4,032 pounds and 3,189 inches.

Break Your Boundaries was a healthy lifestyle competition held this spring that encouraged participants to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise regularly and assess their overall lifestyles.

More than 700 participants including community members, Centegra Health Bridge Fitness Center members, Centegra Associates and employees from 12 corporations that use Centegra’s Worksite Wellness program competed for thousands of dollars in cash prizes.

“This eight-week program is a highlight of the year for many people and it uses friendly competition to encourage people to achieve their weight-loss goals,” said Celine Pope, wellness manager with Centegra Health System. “This year’s overall results were outstanding.”

Of the 12 companies that competed, 433 participants lost a total of 2,574.5 pounds and 2,017 inches. Two hundred and five Centegra Health System Associates lost a total 825.5 pounds and 573.25 inches. The 132 Centegra Health Bridge Fitness Center and community members lost a total of 633.5 pounds and 599 inches.

Coilcraft in Cary was one of the big winners. The company had the winning team for worksites. Coilcraft’s Jeff Finch was the top male winner and Ashley Goodwin was the second place female winner.

Top female and male winners took home $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place. Winning teams took home $200 per person for first place, $150 per person for second place, and $100 per person for third place. Centegra Associate and Worksite Wellness winners will be held to a six-month maintenance requirement in order to earn their full prize money.

Donna Candia, first-place female winner for Centegra Health System associates, overcame personal struggles in the past year to achieve her goal. She set up a plan, took advantage of the tools that were available and had support from her husband and family, which she said made the difference.

Participants like Char Jensen, captain of the second-place Centegra Health System team, enjoyed the teamwork and used the program as a chance to have fun and lose weight.

Dawn Bauman, first-place female winner from the Worksite Wellness division, stated that she and her husband, who also participated in the program, wanted to feel good and get healthy. The Break Your Boundaries program provided the information and the desire to do something good for themselves. They supported each other with developing a plan, setting goals and gathering the tools needed to continue toward those goals.

Hans Mach, first-place male winner from Centegra Health Bridge Fitness Center, said he was motivated by the program.

“The independence of the program demonstrated an effective model that fostered a sense of personal self-reliance,” Mach said. “The classes and additional input offered were helpful, especially the first class in which serving sizes were discussed. It’s more helpful to identify the appropriate size of an apple, for instance. The program solidified the need I had to really dig my heels in and try harder to reevaluate not only weight loss, but the factors that impeded it. I now feel on track to get down to a more ideal weight.”