Lifestyle Challenge is a 8-week health promotion program designed to promote increased physical activity, proper nutrition, and healthy weight management. This unique program combines nutrition, physical activity, and teamwork to help participants manage their weight and improve their health using a fun, team-centered approach.

With Lifestyle Challenge, participants form teams of four and keep track of their daily physical activity minutes. Teams compete against one another to see who can accumulate the most physical activity minutes and lose the most weight.

Participants will receive handouts covering topics about physical activity and nutrition. The teamwork and competition involved in this program, along with sound advice from qualified health professionals, give participants the knowledge, skills, support, and motivation they need to help them increase their activity, manage their weight, and improve their health.

Interested in joining the Lifestyle Challenge? Click here, for detailed information. Or register here

In April 2010, 35 individuals joined the 10-week Lifestyle Challenge - a program promoting physical activity, good nutrition, and healthy weight management.

Congratulations to the following winners!!

Team Category Winner: GI Jane / Jax (4,759 points/member) Randi Black, Sarah Eller, Megan Hutchins, Lori Wagner

Individual Category Winner: Stephen Hunt, McWhinney (6,161 points)

Team Category Winner: The $200 Club / McWhinney (6.5% lost) Cyndi Sater-Stanley, Jill Scanlon, Celeste Smith, Ryan Will

Individual Category Winner: Jim Worthen, Loveland Chamber

• Weight Loss: 30 pounds!*
• Number of people participating in the weight loss challenge: 21
• Number of people who lost or maintained weight: 16
• Average weight loss: 1.9 pounds
• Range of weight loss: 0.5 to 8.5 pounds
• Total Activity Time: 1,311 hours!
• Number of people who participated in the activity challenge: 30
• Average activity increased from 171 to 235 minutes per week.
• Percent who reported meeting the minimum physical activity recommendations (150 minutes/ week) increased from 44% to 86%

• 70% report having increased energy
• 65% report increased time in individual physical activity
• 65% report improved muscle tone
• 55% report being happier with themselves
• 40% report improved fit of clothes

• “I loved the program, it was a great encouragement!”
• “Well put together health program with great value!”

In January 2004, MCR began its first Lifestyle Challenge with 500 employees participating in the program. The Challenge was a huge success with the participants accumulating over 1 million physical activity minutes and losing a total of 1,578 pounds! Participants also reported the following benefits as a result of Lifestyle Challenge:

Improved fit of clothes
Happier with themselves
More energy
Improved muscle tone

The initial success of the 2004 Lifestyle Challenge has allowed MCR to continue to offer this program to their employees. They have since implemented eight Lifestyle Challenges in the Fort Collins community with similar success!

Implementing lifestyle management programs can allow businesses to improve employee health, decrease healthcare costs, increase employee productivity, and encourage a fun, healthy working environment.

Decreased Healthcare Costs
Up to 50% of corporate profits are consumed by healthcare costs. Healthcare costs are rising at a rate four times of inflation due to a dramatic increase in the prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases. Physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity are lifestyle factors that contribute significantly to the rising healthcare costs and therefore make a big impact on a corporation's bottom line.

• Bring overweight increased yearly per person healthcare costs by $125.
• Being obese increases yearly per person healthcare costs by $395.
• Inactivity costs $670 to $1125 per person, per year.

Improved Employee Performance
Lifestyle Challenge will not only save your business money by decreasing healthcare costs, it can also save you money by improving employee performance. When employees are healthier, both the quantity and quality of work improve. These are a few of the many ways in which Lifestyle Challenge can improve the performance of your employee team:

• Decrease absenteeism
• Increase productivity
• Give employees more energy
• Improve employee attitudes
• Develop better employee relations
• Establish a supportive working environment
• Create a fun working atmosphere