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Join our Fittest Loser at Work Challenge

If you have ever followed the progress of our Fittest Loser contestants in the newspaper and thought to yourself "not in a million years," you're not alone.

Even if you are interested in getting healthier and losing weight, the idea of sharing with the world the nitty-gritty details about your journey can be daunting. Not to mention the rigid diets and early morning boot camps required of contestants. The results are amazing, but they don't come easy.

Enter the Fittest Loser At Work Challenge. Now in its fourth year, the At Work Challenge gives individuals the opportunity to work together on a team of co-workers to get fit. The challenge is sponsored by Assurance and is open to teams of five from any type of company or workplace.

This year, we are adding family activities and are encouraging participants to get their whole family involved.

Teams compete against other teams in the friendly 12-week competition that runs parallel to the Fittest Loser Challenge from February to May.

The winning team will receive a $2,000 donation to the charity of its choice, as well as individual prizes.

Since the scores are reported only as a team, a sense of accountability to your teammates helps keep motivation high. The team scoring also offers a bit of privacy - no individual weights are ever published.

Of course, it also helps to find a good team captain. According to former participant Karen Loring from Nicoat, a manufacturing company in Itasca, her challenge as team captain was "to encourage participants to not fall from their commitment, stay focused and keep their eye on the prize."

The results can be tremendous.

Past participant Ed Poczatek joined a team his first year and then came back as a captain for a team at his company, Pump Supply. The Fittest Loser was a "game changer" for him, Poczatek said. Before beginning the Fittest Loser, he struggled with knee trouble due to excess weight and had difficulty walking longer distances, but he has since completed numerous 5Ks, two half marathons and even the 2014 Chicago Marathon.

Think you and your co-workers are up for the healthy challenge? Visit http://events.dailyherald.com/fittest-loser to sign up a team of five or to find more information.

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