LAKEVIEW — Louise Cerpa lost 71 pounds during her first 2½ years with Weight Watchers.
But by the beginning of this summer, the Hamilton Elementary lunchroom manager had hit a plateau. She gained back some of the weight was looking for inspiration. Cerpa found it in Principal James Gray, who invited her to join a fitness challenge over the summer.
"I had been stuck," Cerpa said. "I got on a team with [Gray], and it gave me the kick that I needed. I was a little nervous; I'm not real big on exercise. But it worked well."
Cerpa started swimming every morning and lost 16 pounds over 10 weeks.
On Monday, she'll re-create the challenge at Hamilton Elementary, 1650 W. Cornelia Ave., with 30 teachers, staffers and spouses. More than half the school's faculty has joined.
From now until Dec. 21, the team will sign up for individual challenges at Undurance, a fitness rally site that helps teams create goals and share progress. Team members pick simpler or harder challenges depending on their fitness levels. These can include push-ups, runs or bike rides.
"There's no prize at the end," Cerpa said. "There's no money involved. And it's not really about 'You have to lose so much weight,' but you're accountable to your peers. It's motivating to see what your co-workers are doing and it'll give you that little bit of push."
Gray said he'll create a bulletin board with pictures and goals so that kids can see what their teachers are up to.
Hamilton Elementary is one of the few public schools in Chicago that requires gym class five days a week, Gray said. The school doesn't allow candy or cupcakes or birthday parties and regularly integrates movement and fitness breaks in lessons.
"I've been with CPS for 11 years, and you see a large number of students that are overweight," Gray said. "If you think about it — there's 25 kids in a classroom and all these kids' families are bringing in cupcakes for the birthdays. How many calories is that over the course of a year, and is it really necessary?"
Gray said it's important for faculty members to practice what they preach.
"We want to be role models in terms of fitness," he said. "Not everyone has to run a marathon, but there's different levels of fitness, and we want to encourage all kids to be active."
Kindergarten teacher Elizabeth Busch said the eight-week challenge will build camaraderie among the staff. She hopes some friendly competition will serve a workout motivator this winter.
"We try to stress that being fit and active comes in all different shapes and sizes," she said. "And it's good for us to model those healthy choices to the students, versus saying 'You have to do this.' They're learning through what we're doing."
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