We are pleased to announce our winners of the first Lose Baby competition of the year! This time our weight-loss competition, held between Jan. 19 and April 19, 2016, had two winners, as males and females weren’t competing against each other. Both winners received a check for $500 to celebrate their victories. The final results: Men Winner: Eddie Jones (Detail Department) with 12.6 percent of total body weight lost 2nd Place: John Ruffin (Detail Department) with 10.3 percent of total body weight lost 3rd Place: Donovan Sims (Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Service Department) with 9.5 percent of total body weight lost Women Winner: Connie Johns (Chevy Sales Department) with 6.7 percent of total body weight lost Second Place: Julia Brown (Accounting Department) with 4 percent of total body weight lost Third Place: Nicole Cain (Accounting Department) with 3.2 percent of total body weight lost We spoke with the winners about the habits they developed over three months, and got a few tips on how to stay on track and lose in a healthy way: Lose Baby Winner (Men) Eddie Jones (left) of the Detail Department shakes hands with manager John Ruffin. Ruffin won the first Lose Baby competition in 2015, and had a side competition with Jones (Ruffin placed second in this competition). Eddie Jones attributed his results to diet and will power. Though he still dreams of rice and gravy, he’s given it up. He’s staying away from starches, meaning no white rice and no white bread. After giving up sugary drinks, tea and beer, Eddie only drinks (sometimes flavored) water. His motivation came from the people around him. Eddie’s wife joined Weight Watchers last August, so he was able to learn effective habits from her. And Eddie's manager is John Ruffin, who, after losing 60 pounds, was the first Lose Baby winner in 2015. The two had a side competition going on, with Eddie losing slightly more weight than John. This environment helped Eddie enjoy the competition. “I’m having fun doing it, it’s not like I regret doing anything,” he told us. "And I’m still doing it!” Chevrolet Sales Manager Connie Johns (right) accepts a check from Chevrolet General Manager Chris Snader. The two had a side competition going on during the company-wide weight-loss competition, which helped motivate Johns to become the Lose Baby (Women) champion.
While Chevrolet Sales Manager Connie Johns also focused on food (her biggest diet change was not eating late at night), she also revamped her workouts. Connie joined a kickboxing class twice a week, and focused on weight training two other days in the week. Connie offered the following advice: “Never let yourself get hungry, prepare your meals everyday and have a support system in place. Your support group is your best friend when you’re trying to make life changes. And you need to make it fun.” Connie’s support group, luckily, was her fellow Lose Baby participants. To make it fun, she had a side bet (we’re sensing a pattern among our winners) with boss and Chevrolet General Manager Chris Snader. Lose Baby is our ninety-day contest that focuses on healthy weight loss. We keep a confidential record of percentage weight lost per individual, and help one another stay on track with informative and educational materials on proper diet and fitness. Our top priority is overall physical and mental health, being positive, supportive and encouraging throughout, and keeping our eye on successfully working as a team to be a healthier company. We look forward to another Lose Baby competition in the summer. Until then, stay healthy and Lose, Baby!
