TheBuzz
TheBuzz
The happiness that
comes with losingThe 23 losers at Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties are all smiles these days, especially 15 of them in the Leeward office in Aiea.
They've lost weight, bad eating choices, sedentary lifestyles and smoking habits.
The losing made them winners of the state Department of Health's "Start Living Healthy" 10-week corporate challenge.
"We challenged nine other corporate teams to eat healthy, work out, lose weight and be smoke-free," Marketing Director Melissa Chang said.
The Coldwell Banker team lost the equivalent of a co-worker, 192 pounds.
They also lost the highest percentage of weight -- 5.45 percent of the team's starting weight -- and had the highest percentage of members who met the daily exercise, water-drinking and five-a-day fruit and vegetable consumption.
The winning team also included two new nonsmokers, more than any other team, according to Chang.
DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Employees of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties took the prize in the state Department of Health's "Start Living Healthy" corporate challenge. In the center is William Dowdell, who lost the most weight, 30 pounds. In the first row, left to right, is Joyce Kobashigawa, Dowdell, Melissa Chang and Judy Goodhue. In the second row is Faye Fujimoto, Agnes Ushijima, Anne Jones, Rosita Valdez and Cora Ishinaga. In the third row is Shelly Freitas, Joan Esperas, Larry Arinaga and Husao Okamoto.
Through the Health Department program, Weight Watchers leader Anne Jones was tapped to oversee the Coldwell Bankers team and taught them about the program's system of assigning a point value to different foods and exercises. Each participant was given a daily food point total depending on starting weight and desired weight loss.
Weight Watchers "gave them the tools and they did the rest," Jones said.
Aside from the team's spirit, she noticed that snacks in the break room went from croissants, doughnuts and other high-fat items to bagels, fruits and low-fat dips, she said. "They started living what they were doing."
The weight loss was led by Realtor William Dowdell, who lost 30 pounds and aims to lose eight more to reach his 210-pound goal.
The 6-foot, 2-inch Dowdell spent 21 days of the 10 weeks visiting family on the mainland, attending graduation parties and causing concern among family members because he wasn't eating as much as they thought he should be.
"Willpower is not going to the Chinese buffet," Dowdell laughed.
Nevertheless he did enjoy some Haagen Dazs butter pecan ice cream on his birthday. "I had to pay for that" with additional exercise, he said.
After losing the weight, he didn't need to buy a new wardrobe but did tighten his belt two notches. "One more to go," he said. "I may have to get a new belt."
Chang also found herself exercising more. "I'd rather exercise than give up my food, right?" she said.
The tobacco-free wannabes attended daily pau-hana smoking cessation classes at Queen's Medical Center. Participants talked about common struggles and viewed clinical slides depicting the ravages of cancer.
"It was mostly psychologically motivated," said Cora Ishinaga.
She had wanted to quit for a long time, she said. The program was excellent, she said, and she was "focused for the first time in my life to actually quit."
A corner of the office lobby is stacked with trophies.
To encourage team members now that the campaign is over, Jones offered this bit of wisdom: "A good habit is just as hard to break as a bad habit."
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com
