2014 St. Luke's Weight Loss Challenge winner did it her way

It's no surprise that the No. 1 New Year's resolution is to lose weight. While this is a worthy aim, one study shows that only 8 percent are ever successful at achieving their New Year's goal.

Even if the steps to get there may be small and reasonable, it takes dedication and commitment. It takes a certain mind-set. A five-month program like the St. Luke's $10,000 Weight Loss Challenge can be a great motivator and support system.

But at some point, that switch in your head needs to come on.

"I wanted to fit back into my ski pants," Sandra Chess said. "I did not want to go buy another size."

Chess - a 48-year-old mother of two grown sons, and married for almost 30 years - put her mind to it and won top prize in the Challenge's female category by losing 60.8 pounds. That was more than 31 percent of her body weight.

"They don't fit now, but for the opposite reason," she said.

And though many people have to psych themselves up for such an undertaking, for Chess it came across as much more spontaneous.

She had heard the Challenge commercials on the radio hundreds of times at work. She ate lunch at her desk every day and never exercised when she worked at the office.

"I worked too many hours and didn't give myself any time to take care of myself," Chess said. "I guess it wasn't as important to take care of myself as it was to take care of my job."

But then, after all those commercials and after all those lunches at her desk, that switch came on the day before the deadline, and she signed up.

While most trainers recommend surrounding yourself with supportive family and friends, she really wanted to do it alone. She worried she would be too tied up in the support of her fellow entrants.

"I just didn't want that to be something I depended on," Chess said. "I just had to do it myself."

And when she said she wanted to do it herself, she meant it.

"No one knew I joined the Challenge," Chess said. She had not even told her husband. "I only told him two weeks before it was over. Then he understood my fitness craze."

She said it really wasn't that hard, as long as she stayed committed to regular exercise.

The Memorial Day three-day weekend near the end of the Challenge was one of the hardest periods. "That was because I still hadn't told anybody," she said.

At that point, she had survived more than four months of peer pressure and the temptations that come with social gatherings.

"I didn't change the people I hung out with. I didn't change the restaurants I went to. I just changed what I ordered," Chess said. "I ate a lot of salads."

She also ate lean, white meat and "a lot of fish."

"It's a complete change," she said. "You've got to change your habits."

Habits like cutting down on all those microbrews - although it may seem a little harsh to eliminate all those tasty local beers.

"I didn't say 'cut out,' I said 'cut down,'" she says.

And even though her husband was unaware of her bigger goal, he did join in on the diet changes at home. "He didn't have a choice. Because I do all the cooking," Chess said.

She managed to get her husband exercising, too, and this past September they participated in the annual FitOne run/walk/stroll event.

"And hopefully, we'll be running in it next year instead of walking," she said.

While the regular Challenge email tips helped remind her what she was doing and why, and helped her gear up for those monthly weigh-ins, her biggest change came at her work desk.

She said one of the best things she did was buy a tall work desk for her home office and put a recumbent bike "chair" under it. (The Exer-peutic 400XL costs about $150 from Amazon.com.) It's now nothing to go 10 or 20 miles a day on that bike.

"You're moving versus sitting in an office chair all day long," Chess said.

To add to that exercise regimen, she also takes to the treadmill five days a week for another two miles a day. And on the weekends she likes to hike or ski or do some other activity.

She has stuck with this now for many months, and this year she is going to sign up again to compete for the Keep It Off Cash awards at this year's Challenge. Those who can meet this challenge will win a share of a $10,000 pot.

So what did she do with last year's $2,400 prize money?

"I did something for myself that I've wanted to do for the last 10 years," Chess said. "I've always wanted a specific lens (for her camera)."

She usually takes landscape photos, but in this case, she wanted to take wedding photos for a friend who was getting married shortly after the Challenge was finished.

"The timing was right," she said. "That helped keep me motivated."

Chess also has discovered that her success has motivated and inspired some of her friends.

It's also been quite a learning experience for her.

"I learned a lot," she said. "I don't hate clothes shopping anymore."

She has more confidence in herself, she's no longer self-conscious about speaking in front of people and, of course, she feels healthy.

"It was surprisingly easy to replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones, and life and my job didn't suffer simply because I took time out of each day to take care of myself. Actually, both improved," Chess said. "I still get my job done, but I take a moment in the morning, at lunch and on weekends to make sure I get my exercise in."