Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Scale back MCHD: Lose weight, earn comp time

MOBILE, Ala. -- While slimming down may be its own reward, the Mobile County Health Department (MCHD) wants to encourage employees to take part in this year’s Scale Back Alabama initiative by offering even more incentives to kick-start a healthier lifestyle in the new year.

MCHD’s Nutrition Services division has planned a variety of events and is offering some coveted comp time as a prize to keep teams motivated throughout the 10-week journey. There will be three separate chances for participating teams to win an hour each of comp time during the course of the program that spans from the week of Jan. 20 to the week of April 7.

MCHD Employees should notify Margaret McCulloch by Wednesday Jan. 15 if they want to take part. She can be contacted by email at mmculloch@mchd.org  or by phone at 690-8173. MCHD weigh-ins will begin the week of Jan. 20. Weigh-outs will conclude 10 weeks later during the week of April 7.

“Don’t worry if you don’t have a team yet,” said McCulloch, a registered dietitian with MCHD. “Our staff will be glad to help people find teams to join. Our goal is to sign up 80 employees this year.”

Here’s how to qualify for comp time award drawings:

·         Scale Back teams who sign up by Jan. 13 will be entered in a drawing on Jan. 17 to win one hour of compensatory time per member, for a total of four hours.

·         For teams where all four members each lose a total of five pounds at the half-way point, there will be another drawing on Feb. 28 for another four hours of comp time, or one hour per person.
 
·         The final four hours of comp time -- again with one hour allotted for each team member -- will be awarded to one participating MCHD team at the eight-week point.  To qualify for the drawing, each team member must have lost 8 pounds by the eighth week of the program.

Scale Back Alabama is a statewide weight-loss contest designed to encourage residents to get healthy and have fun along the way. The program is primarily conducted through participating local businesses, including hospitals and health departments. People compete on teams of four to win the chance at cash prizes. There is no charge for taking part. Since the first contest in 2007, state residents have lost more than one million pounds.
 
Besides the drawings, other activities have been planned, including salad bar lunches where employees can sign up to bring an ingredient and then stay for an informative talk from a member of the nutrition services staff. Door prizes will be awarded during the weekly lunches as well.

 “We want to encourage everyone to make healthier nutrition choices, and this is a great way to start,” McCulloch said of taking part in Scale Back Alabama. “Making meaningful changes is always easier when you have friends and co-workers encouraging each other.”

There are dozens of other cash prizes available for those who take part in the Scale Back Alabama contest. Team prizes for the 2014 contest will be announced during a webcast April 25. Individual prizes will be posted on the Scale Back Alabama website after the conclusion of the webcast.

Team Prizes
·           To be eligible for team prizes, each team member must lose at least 10 pounds during the 10-week contest, as recorded by a coordinator at an official Scale Back Alabama weigh-in site.
·               Winning teams are determined by a random drawing from all eligible teams.
·               The first team drawn wins $1,000 per team member, or a total of $4,000 for the entire team.
·               The second team drawn wins $500 per team member, or a total of $2,000 for the entire team.
·               The third team drawn wins $250 per team member, or a total of $1,000 for the entire team.
Individual Prizes
·               All individuals who lose at least 10 pounds, as recorded by a coordinator at an official Scale Back Alabama weigh-in site, are eligible for an individual prize, regardless of their team's achievement. However, individuals that are drawn for a team prize are not eligible to win the individual prizes.
·               From the pool of eligible contestants, 50 individuals drawn win one of 50 achievement prizes of $100 per person.
Prizes For Anyone Who Loses Weight
·               All individuals who lose at least one pound, as recorded by a coordinator at a Scale Back Alabama weigh-in site, are eligible for a prize, regardless of their team's achievement. However, individuals who are drawn for a team prize and one of the individual prizes are not eligible to win these prizes.
·               From the pool of eligible contestants, five individuals drawn win one of five prizes of $50 per person.

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