Local accounting firm races to lose weight

by Kelli Cheatham (kcheatham@wsbt.com)

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Kruggel, Lawton & Co. lose weight, get active for WSBT's Why Weight program

Kruggel, Lawton & Co. are working together — challenging one another to get active, and lose weight. (WSBT photo)

By Tiffany Griffin

Have you filed your income taxes yet?

If you think you're stressed about tax day, think about accountants. They're trying to meet with clients and keep themselves healthy.

Kirk, Kelli, and Cari are not accountants, but they are at the end of Week 10 in WSBT’s Why Weight challenge.

They have a little over two weeks left in their 12-week medical weight loss program. That's about the same amount of time left in a health challenge for the employees at one local accounting firm.

They're using their busiest time of the year to get healthy.

Accountants are working around the clock at the Kruggel, Lawton & Co. accounting firm in downtown South Bend.

"I'm now 10 pounds down,” said Tax Manager Ben Silver.

Partner Doug Osthimer is planning ahead.

"I've also decided I wanted to do the half-marathon at Sunburst," he said.

Audit Manager Margene Zink is also ahead by losing.

"Since early January I’ve lost 14 pounds," she said.

All that on top of the normal tax time grind, working six — sometimes seven — days a week.

“It's very stressful. We work a lot of long hours which makes it harder to eat well because you're always trying to do things as fast as possible,” said Zink.

But this year, employees are working together in their quest to get healthy.

"I'll talk with Margene who's in the office next door about what we're doing in terms of our diet plans or how things are going,” said Silver.

"I think it's just been a greater emphasis on trying to maintain fitness level, trying to get a little more activity this time of year and also just eating a little better than probably we've done in the past,” said partner Kevin Kruggel.

They've also decided to ditch the elevator and take the stairs instead.

"Not only does it help with our individual goals of wanting to lose weight, but we have the support and the cohesiveness of everybody in the firm,” said Silver.

And they're using that teamwork in a dead sprint toward the April 15 deadline.

In 9 weeks, the employees have lost 139 pounds and logged 402 hours of physical activity.

Kruggle, Lawton and Co. also enters a team in the Sunburst every year. They're expecting an even larger turnout for this year's race.

For more on the competition between Kirk, Cari and Kelli, including tips to help you lose weight and get healthy, visit WSBT.com's Why Weight section.

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Why Weight?

Who do you think will lose the highest percentage of weight at the end of the 12-week program?

  • Kirk
  • Cari
  • Kelli