Schaumburg’s Waist Management wins team challenge

Family members and friends of Schaumburg Park District’s Waist Management team erupted into cheers and applause as the team was announced the 2013 Fittest Loser Community Challenge winner at the Fittest Loser Celebration held May 1.

To seal the victory, the team lost a collective 133.6 pounds, 15.02 percent of their total starting weight. The team, consisting of team members Melissa Long, Linda Lozar, Ed Montoya and Ed Poczatek, came to the stage noticeably thinner than when they started.

The team was led by Schaumburg Park District trainer Lee Collins, who was all smiles as he accepted the award alongside his team. Though not required by the rules of the Community Challenge, Collins held weekly weigh-ins as part of his team workout sessions to keep his group on track with their weight-loss goals throughout the challenge.

Waist Management of Schaumburg’s four team members each lost more than 25 pounds with individual losses ranging from almost 12 percent to more than 20 percent.

The team had barely made it back to their seats when one of the team members had to return to the stage to claim another prize. Ed Poczatek of Schaumburg’s Waist Management and Stacey Sosa of Schaumburg’s Mission Slimpossible tied for the greatest percentage of weight lost of all the participants in the Community Challenge. Sosa lost 44.8 pounds and Poczatek lost 44.6 pounds, for a respective loss of 20.18 percent and 20.38 percent of their starting body weight.

Sosa’s team was right there with her, placing second in the Community Challenge with a combined loss of 11.2 percent.

Bartlett’s Lifecenter Gang, Wood Dale Warriors, Elk Grove’s Witness the Fitness, Itasca’s iFit Buddies, and Hoffman Estates Park District team were the runners-up.