Work Weight Loss Challenge

We are trying to start a weight loss challenge at my work. We want to run it from Jan 21, 2008 - April 28, 2008. I think we are going to have everyone pay $5.00 to sign up  - then if you gain it will cost you .50 cents per lb. But if you lose or stay the same you don't pay. In the end the biggest loser gets the money.
Had anyone else done this type of challenge at work? If so, what were your rules.

I wouldnt give anyone on this site or any other forum run site 5 bucks for a challenge..........You can do challenges on here for free so why risk paying someone money that you dont know? Seriously who in their right mind would do something like this.......Are you going through pay pal or is it pay me type deal? Because if its not paypal or some reputable company on here to exchange money im doubting you will get anyone nieve enough to sign up.

We are doing this at my WORK place. I was just trying to get some ideas on how to set it up and some rules.

that sounds awesome! i heard about a mayor in italy giving monetary prizes to people in his town who lose weight with him. so far it's working.  i only have one suggestion, though.  men tend to lose more weight, and more quickly, than women, so you should do a men's contest AND a women's contest. wouldn't want to count yourself out right from the start!

ah that makes sense forgive me its monday and a dumb blonde moment hehe

I wish I could get involved in a work place challenge I work from home sadly and the only person I could give the 5 bucks to would be myself=(

Yes, work competitions are great and they really keep you motitvated! We ran ours from Sept. 24th to Jan. 7th. Through the hoildays!!! There were 10 of us, we each put in $25, our weigh in days were every Monday, and we earned a dollar a pound loss, if you gained you did not get a dollar a pound loss until you back at your lowest weight again. It was first lose first win the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places keep going down through out the competition because we gave out the money weekly to those who lost each week!

In the end I won, losing a total of 54 pounds so I recieved my $54 and a 74.50 for first place. A total of 128.50 with was a profit of 103.50 after you take out my intial 25 I put in! I am still so excited I kicked all of the guys butts! I was the only girl!

Oh by the way we went by percentage lost not weight.

Hope this was helpful, I know it's what made me start my new lifestyle.

percentage is totally better. great idea!

we did this at my work last year and the only thing you want to watch is men and woman in the same pool. Guys loose weight quicker then woman do. We ended up doing percentage of weight loss so that someone who needed to lose 50 lbs and someone who needed to only lose 10 could still have a fair run at the prize. It was alot of fun and it motivated all of us because we are competitive.

Good Luck to you and your group!

There's a lady who runs one at my work a few times a year. It's 3 months, women only, we all pay $20, it's based on percentage lost, and 1st gets 70% of the money, 2nd gets 20% and 3rd gets 10%. I think the winner this time gets about $500!! We're running from Jan 3 - March 20 i think, weigh in weekly on Thursdays. Plus we all have code names, so only the lady running it knows who all is in the challenge, and who everyone is and what their weights are. She sends out a spreadsheet weekly listing our code names, and weights, in order by percentage so we can see where we are in the standings. So unless you tell someone what your nickname is, you can keep it all very secretive. I think this is the 3rd year now and she runs 3-4 of them a year. My 'work mom' won the one that ended right before Christmas the year before last. I'm hoping to win this time ;-)

Oh, and my sister-in-law is in one at her work where they all initially paid like $5, but each time they gain, they have to put in another $1. I think in the end they'll split that between 1 and 2 or 1, 2 and 3. That sounds sort of similar to the original you posted about.

We just started a fitness challenge on Jan 14. This is the third challenge that we've had in the past year. Here's how we set it up.

1. Must have a team of 4
2. Must have a team captain
3. Must be an employee (no temps, spouses or dependents)
4. All participants must complete a pre and post wellness survey
5. All participants must pay $10 per person
6. All participants must get an initial, middle and a final weight
7. Each participant must bring a completed survey to the initial weigh in
8. All participants must attend three out of the six brown bag sessions. These are short "training" sessions where participants can learn about excercise, nutrition, etc.
9. All participants must attend 2 team activities outside of work scheduled by team captain. All team participants must attend. Team captain may schedule more than 2 but only 2 are required
10. The winning team will be based on the initial weight and the final weight. The team with the greatest percent of body weight loss will win the prize
11. The cash prize will be divided up as follows (We ended up with about 200 participants and the company matched 50% of the pot for a total pot of about $3000):

    1st place team-50% of cash pot

    2nd place team-30% of cash pot

    3rd place team-20% of cash pot

12. If a team member drops out half way through the challenge he/she will be weighed at the point of their departure.  Their weight will still be calculated with the team’s final score. (Note: Exceptions will be made for pregnancy or serious illness)
13. If there is a tie: A committee will meet to decide which team has met all necessary requirements. If both teams meet the requirements, there will be two winning teams and the money will be split accordingly

Good luck with your challenge!!

I set up a weight loss challenge at my work a few years ago. It didn't cost anything for the employees to participate. I purchased small prizes and every week after weigh ins the person who lost the most got a prize. It went very well and really helped everyone to think about health. But, I like the idea of paying better and having a money pot at the end. I think I would continue to do the weekly incentives,though. It helps to keep everyone interested and motivated. Good luck and have fun.

The code name thing is an awesome idea....We might use that. That way maybe it will be a little more motivating.....
Now I have to come up with a name that NO ONE will figure out...
Any ideas would be helpful!!!