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Some of the participants in Farewell to Fat include, from left, Karen Agostini, RN, Mary Anderson, RN, Fran Chafe, RN, Tina Steele, RN, Paula McShane Lambert, RN, and Stephanie Andrews, RN.
In a “Biggest Loser” inspired competition, 54 NICU nurses collectively shed a whopping 475 pounds and gained healthier eating and exercise habits.
“I’m a night nurse, and it’s hard to lose weight when all you want to do at home is sleep,” said Mary Anderson, BSN, RN, who developed the competition out of love for the popular NBC series. “We’re supposed to be role models and health promoters for our patients, and many of us really want to live a healthier lifestyle.”
To help them achieve their goals, Anderson organized a 20-week competition that ended in June, dividing the 54 participants into teams of six. Because participants each had different goals—some wanted to drop five pounds and others more—the competition was based on percentages.
Each person chose their own methods, some using Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers programs, and others joining a gym and attending exercise classes together.
“It’s hard to lose weight on your own,” Anderson said. “We see each other more than our families some weeks, and we can motivate each other and hold each other accountable.”
Each week, Anderson would send out “Monday Mail,” an e-mail to all participants to inspire them. Every two weeks, participants e-mailed Anderson their weights, using the honor system, although the last weigh-in at 20 weeks was verified by a team member.
That’s because prizes were at stake. Each week, participants put $5 into a pot. A portion of the money at the end went to three charities near and dear to the NICU: Team Grace, a team that walks for a cystic fibrosis foundation each year in honor of the daughter of a NICU nurse; the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Fund, in honor of a participant’s mother, who passed away from breast cancer last year; and to nurse educator Marie Field’s close friend, who is serving in Iraq. Her unit received supplies and morale boosters to help celebrate July 4 far from home.
Due to high demand, the program will likely return this fall, with many of the same participants, and some new ones, ready to get back in the game.