Post National Healthcare Reform Conference & Thrive Research

Oct. 22, 2010 - PRLog -- KEEPING IT OFF AND WELLNESS: SELF-EFFICACY IS THE KEY TO LASTING BEHAVIOR CHANGE
Biggest Loser Winner Season 2 “At Home” Winner Pete Thomas and Thrive Research at the 2nd Annual Corporate Wellness Conference
Pete Thomas is a real-life Biggest Loser, keeping off 185 lb since his 2005 win on the popular reality show.
He was the keynote speaker for the Employer Healthcare Congress/Corporate Wellness Conference and inspired folks at the best attended session of the event.
Pete shared stories of his struggles as the child of a mentally ill single parent, often fed fast food or left to fend for himself. Not surprisingly, he never learned about nutrition and turned to food to fill numerous voids.
His life changed after becoming a contestant on the Biggest Loser’s second season. In the keynote, he candidly shared stories about his teammates and their challenges keeping up with Gillian’s killer workouts, and avoiding the “temptation foods” placed throughout the ranch. Ask him about Jordan almonds and you’re sure to get a smile.
After being voted “off”, he continued practicing the skills he learned at the ranch. Returning several months later for the live finale, he became the “At Home” winner by losing the largest total percentage of weight of all the contestants--46%.
Five years later, he’s still at it. Now a full-time motivational speaker and teacher, he encourages folks around the country to, “Master your mind, Manage your mouth, Multiply your muscles.”
He’s a firm believer that educating children and giving them tools for lasting behavior change is the key to combating obesity. He’s involved in programs in his native Midwest and is speaking at the NIH in October.
In both the keynote and our sit-down, Pete echoed a theme heard throughout the Corporate Wellness Conference--self-efficacy.
What is self-efficacy? It’s a fancy term for the idea that you need to find what works for you. And, it’s also about having heroes and positive role models, from reality show contestants to co-workers around the water cooler.
At the conference, employers spoke repeatedly about the importance of self-efficacy in successful corporate wellness programs.  Leaders such as Black & Decker, offer employees $1200/year in “Healthy Rewards” toward a choice of gyms, exercise equipment or other programs of their choice.  Wellness tool provider Limeade reiterated self-efficacy's importance by detailing how companies like REI and the State of Washington are using personalized approaches to get widespread results.
Pete embodies many of the values, including self-efficacy that Thrive Researchteaches and draws on in our online adolescent programs.  He’s living proof that with the right mix of training, techniques, and perseverance, everyone can Thrive!
                     
About Thrive Research
Thrive Research produces online solutions to teach behavioral skills for adolescent wellness. Developed with Stanford's Behavioral Sciences Department, Thrive translates research into programs that help each child achieve his/her potential.

Contact:  Debby Dodds or Rhonda Shrader
Phone: (650) 941-6300               
Email: debby@thriveresearch.com, rhonda@thriveresearch.com

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1st National Healthcare Reform Conference™, (http://www.healthcarereformconference.com) that takes place September 20-22, 2010 in Los Angeles, and is the first National Healthcare Reform Conference™ to take place in the US.