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Tipping the scales |
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Written by CHRISTINE SKOREPA
Citizen staff
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
Some of the biggest winners in the weight-loss challenge at the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre include, left to right, Terry McKay, Rod Gray, Christine Gladue and Val Unruh. (Citizen photo by Brent Braaten )
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are much lighter on their feet after weight-loss challenge
Their uniforms don't fit and PGRCC staff couldn't be happier.
The Prince George Regional Correctional Centre is holding a friendly weight-loss competition -- its own version of television's Biggest Loser, and 64 out of 150 staff are participating.
Organizer Christine Gladue wanted to put a more positive spin on it (she doesn't like the word loser) so she decided to call it the Re-Guarding Weight Loss project, in honour of the correction centre guards.
"In this program, there's accountability through positive reinforcement," said Gladue. "And so many people have inspired me." She started a weekly newsletter so people can share their stories to inspire others. "It's been great for team spirit."
Along with the guards, there are nurses, like drug and alcohol counselors, administrative staff -- almost all employee groups are represented.
The program started with the first weigh-in on Jan. 14 and will end mid-May. There are 16 teams of four people. Each person donated $40 as an entry fee. The individual winner will get half of the $2,560 and the winning team will get the other.
The weight loss is based on percentage of body mass, so if a 100-pound person lost 10 pounds, they lost 10 per cent of their body weight. That levels the playing field somewhat when considering the heaviest man was 351 pounds at the start, going up against women whose start weight was considerably less. For each inch lost, a person gets one point, for each percentage point lost, they get one point. When that sum of inches and percentage lost is added together, that is the participant's score. Whoever has the highest score wins.
Gladue feels emotional about how the program has affected the staff because she can relate to the challenge. She was overweight most of her life, weighing more than 200 pounds and then 10 years ago decided to make a change. Gladue lost more than 50 pounds in about seven months and has maintained a healthy weight and lifestyle ever since, but said she still vividly recalls how it felt to never be good enough.
"Clothes never used to fit properly," she said. "I hated myself."
She said she was always filled with envy when looking at a fit, trim woman. Gladue wipes away tears as she talks about the struggles and achievements of every person in the contest because she said she's not forgotten her battle.
The whole mood of the corrections centre has changed because of the program, she said. There's a real sibling-type bond that has occurred, she added, and most can't wait to talk about their weight-loss achievements.
In order to provide incentive, Gladue came up with the idea of linking together paperclips (one paperclip equals one inch) as a demonstration to show the inches lost by an individual or team and posting them on the bulletin board to encourage others and also to show off a little, as the paperclip chains head for the floor.
Val Unruh and Rod Gray are two participants who are in the running for the biggest winner.
Unruh has lost 39 pounds, went from a size 18 to a 12, just recently ordering her new-sized pants for work, and tightened her belt four notches. She said she has so much more energy now, and has found a new beau who loves her new shape. Her job has changed so she's not sitting at a desk anymore and that helps, too.
"I'm all over this building and I never take the elevator," Unruh said, who used to be fit years ago and just recently fell off the fitness wagon. "There's an elliptical machine in my living room, so I can work out when I watch TV, and I use small weights."
Gladue exercises every day, too, a small price to pay to be happy in her own skin, liking who she is.
Gladue said Unruh wasn't a very happy person when she was overweight, but now she's an outgoing, cheerful woman.
As for family, Unruh said her daughter has inspired her and keeps her motivated.
Gladue feels the same way, as she recalls it was shortly after having her second child when she decided enough is enough.
Unruh said when she goes to Mexico this summer with her 17-year-old, who's at a healthy weight, she'd like people to wonder if they're sisters.
"That's my goal," she said with a grin.
Gray, who wants to leave the total amount of pounds lost as a surprise for the last weigh-in, was the biggest man on staff at the prison at 350.9 pounds. He's tightened his belt beyond the last notch, had to punch a new hole in his belt to hold up his pants, has lost 25 inches and went down seven pant sizes -- so far.
Everybody, it seems, has a pair of skinny jeans in their closet, and Gray recently tried his on, just to satisfy his curiosity. Done up he could pull them down over his hips. When he announced that to the group, a collective cheer of victory rang out.
He said the support of his family is of the utmost importance. He's got support at the jail, but at home is where it counts during those crucial snacking hours. When it comes to his family, he is leading by example and they're following it, he said.
"I'm being a little bit more assertive about what comes in as groceries," said Gray. "Everybody's got a goodie cupboard and that's a little more on the healthy side now."
He said the family has started reading the nutrition facts on packages now, making them aware of what is going into their bodies. There's a gym in the basement that's seeing some use now, too.
Gladue, who can relate to how finding the right foods to eat can make such a big difference, said Gray's struggles are just like everyone else's and she said many people have been inspired by his success.
"Why can't we just accept people for who they are? Why can't we celebrate a 30-pound weight loss from a body that weighs more than 300 pounds? Why aren't we idolizing him for his willpower, his determination? Why do we value the size-zero model and nobody else?" Gladue asked questions everyone wants answers to.
As part of his job, Gray has taken on the role of teacher in a way, he said, and one of the subjects is substance abuse management.
"I can honestly compare anything I've ever gone through in my life with cravings, or inability to succeed in the food department, to addiction and I have used some of those principles with what I'm trying to do now. So, I'm teaching that to my son right now. He's in his formative years and he's picking it up and learning," Gray said with a small smile of pride. "A big part of what we preach is a support system and if I don't have it, I'm pretty sure I'll fail again. And if you don't have a support system naturally, you should invent one -- create one. And I could've said no to this (interview), but by putting myself in the limelight with this, I'm creating more support. I've got to do it now."
At the beginning of the program, Gray started by only drinking three meal-replacement shakes a day, and quickly realized he had made a big mistake, feeling weak and dizzy. Gladue and Gray sat down to figure out his intake was less than half of what he needed a day, and promptly came up with a meal plan together so he wouldn't feel ill, while still losing weight.
The relationships between the employees has taken a distinctly emotional turn. Gladue, the organizer, said the people at work are like family to her.
"I love these guys," she said.
"She's like a little sister," said Gray.
Terry McKay has lost 25 pounds and 14 inches, and is just a few pounds from his ideal weight of 199. He said it helped to have the support of his family. He's going to wait until he's down to 199 before ordering smaller sizes of his uniform.
McKay recalls how big changes have occurred as far as the kind of food brought into the lunchroom. Traditionally, he said, each person brought a dozen donuts with them during overtime shifts.
"If there was six of seven people doing overtime, there were six or seven dozen donuts on the table and they were gone after the first break," McKay explained, shaking his head in disbelief. Now there's bottled water, veggie trays, fruit, and fibre bars on the table. There's also a whole new outlook to fitness as people use the stairs instead of the elevator, and do pushups or crunches during their breaks, and have a more positive outlook in a place that can sometimes get the better of a person's mood.
To celebrate, the Re-Guarding Weight Loss project participants will have a potluck dinner and dance near the end of May at the Moose Hall.
There will also be an official ceremony, announcing the biggest individual winner and team shortly after the competition concludes. Gladue said it's important to keep everyone motivated to maintain or continue their weight loss, and there will be another incentive program and followup to help all participants stay the course.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 May 2008 )
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