Information Technology Dark Side

The streets of Toronto are a vibrant, exciting place to be in the evening. At least they seemed to be, the one night I was able to sneak away from the conference and check out the city on foot. There were people everywhere in the shadow of the CN tower, the world’s largest building. Okay, it didn’t actually have a shadow at night, and it’s pretty well lit. Maybe it has more of a glow. Anyway, it was a really cool place to be.

Before leaving the hotel, I met some of my colleagues in the lobby of the hotel. While we waited, we did some people-watching. The lobby was very busy – a large group of Canadians was gathering, all of them speaking French animatedly. It occurred to me that they were all very healthy looking – thin (in a healthy way) and basically attractive. Then later, outside, and at a bookstore, I observed the same thing. Everyone out for the evening was at least sizes smaller than the average American (at least those in my vicinity). Man, Canadians are skinny! I thought. Then it hit me – Americans are fat. It’s true. We are. We are the fattest nation on earth, and my trip to Canada was a strong visual reminder of that.

Ironically, this observation occurred just days before the final weigh-in of a “biggest loser” competition in my office. Twenty two of my coworkers and I each paid $125 to be in the competition. We lost a collective 430 pounds or so, and I lost 20 pounds. The entry fee went toward the prizes, which ranged from $1200 cash for first place to getting to take home the official bio-metric scale for seventh place. That was me – five-tenths of a percent more would have landed me with my entry fee back. I’m happy with my scale and my now-baggy wardrobe.

An interesting side-effect of the competition that I didn’t expect was the camaraderie that developed among the participants. Of course, we tempted each other by delivering donuts to each other’s desks and other tricks, but really we all were extremely supportive of one another. It was a very fun competition, and we were all amazed at how much better everyone who participated looked and felt. Several people with chronic problems, including me, found those problems go away after only 10 pounds. It was really cool! We couldn’t help but be excited for the progress everyone made, and it has made a visible difference in the team.

I was also surprised by how easy it was to find participants. As word spread (through the grapevine), lots of people wanted in. It grew all on its own.

Here are some things I learned, that you might consider if you try this on your own.

1) Women and men lose weight differently. I would set up different gender based prizes rather than have them compete against each other.

2) We used percent change in weight, body fat (as measured by the fancy scale I won), and inches lost (at the belly button for men, and at the hips for women). The idea behind this approach is that the more fat you have (the heavier you are), the easier it is to lose it. I don’t think this is valid (not to be interpreted as bitterness – just a lessons learned). Twenty pounds seems just as hard to lose for a 300 pounder as it is for a 200 pounder. You might consider grouping prizes in weight classes, so that the really big folks and the medium folks aren’t competing against each other. At any rate, it makes sense to have some sort of criteria for determining who can or can’t play.

3) Have an official “statistician.” She should be neutral, not part of the game, and probably not a manager of anyone participating. Ours sent out weekly reports on progress and was fantastic. Attention to detail is important for this role.

This was a great competition and was extremely beneficial for all who participated. I recommend trying it in your organization – for your health and your happiness.

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