Battle of the Bulge - Sister & Staff Weight Loss Contest

Throughout the past several weeks, Dominican Sisters of Peace Sisters and staff members throughout the country have been competing in the Human Resources weight loss program, Battle of the Bulge, and on July 2, the battle ended! After 10 wonderful weeks, Phase I of the Battle of the Bulge concluded with participants shaking nervously as the scale needle settled on their final weight; 654.75 pounds were shed by 63 of the 75 participants. After the dust settled, the top three teams losing the most weight and winning the prizes all hailed from St. Catharine, Kentucky:

• Team #1 - Kentucky Wildcats lost a total of 108.75 pounds
• Team #2 - Kentucky Fabulous Five lost a total of 88.50 pounds
• Team #3 - Kentucky Sassy by Summer lost a total of 82 pounds

Collectively, these three top teams lost a total of 279.25 pounds in 10 weeks!

In the female category, Nichole Milburn of the Kentucky Wildcats lost the most weight, and Dan Shorter of the Akron Tons of Fun Team lost the most weight in the male category. In the team and individual categories, a total of $2,500 in prize money was awarded, and $10 was awarded to each of the 45 participants who lost five or more pounds. Of the 75 participants, 63 lost weight! It was awesome to see weekly weights arrive showing the results from improved exercise and eating habits.

While Phase 1 of the program ended on July 2, 2012, the program officially ends in July 2013 when participants who lost weight during the program and whose weight is no more than 5 pounds of their ending weight will receive an additional $25 bonus.

Staff member Rita Pivonka, Coordinator of Administrative Services at the Great Bend Motherhouse, and Program Organizer, thanks the participants for their willingness to participate in this weight loss program. A HUGE thank you to the HR reps and/or official weighers who devoted part of their Mondays to recording and emailing weights. Thanks also to United Health Care, the congregation's employee medical plan provider, for fronting funds to organize this program, and a BIG thank you to the congregation for approving implementation of this weight loss/wellness program.