The Season 2 At-Home Winner Will Encourage Genesee County Residents to “Get Moving” at County-wide Fitness Challenge Kick-off Event September 12, 2011!

CLICK HERE to see photos from this event!

Ann Arbor, MI— Pete Thomas, the Season 2 At-Home Winner of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” is putting all Genesee County residents on notice:  “Get ready to MOVE!”  On Monday, September 12, 2011, Thomas will rally the troops and lead Genesee County residents in a corporate physical activity challenge during the Commit to Fit! kick off event.  The event takes place from 12 Noon – 1:00 pm at Kearsley Street Flat Lot in Downtown Flint.

Pete Thomas will join City of Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, the President & CEO of HealthPlus, Bruce Hill, and Kirk Smith, the President and CEO of the Greater Flint Health Coalition, in launching the Commit to Fit! Fall 4 Fitness Challenge –a four week community-wide business-to-business challenge that runs from September 12 –October 7.

During the kick-off event, Pete Thomas will encourage the 30+ participating businesses and organizations, and facilitate the Corporate Physical Activity Challenge consisting of push-ups, squats and an obstacle course.  Three local fitness organizations –Genesys Athletic Center, Hurley Health and Fitness Center and the U of M Flint Recreation Center will lead the three competitions.  Thomas will announce the winners upon completion of the challenges.

Thomas expressed his enthusiasm for the Challenge and looks forward to being a part of this unique initiative.  “The Fall 4 Fitness county-wide business-to-business challenge is a great concept,” Thomas shares.  “Weight-loss and wellness are best achieved and sustained in a team environment.  Each participating business is a team, and ultimately—the 30+ businesses collectively are a team.  Together they can achieve phenomenal results for Genesee County!” Thomas states.

Each Fall 4 Fitness Challenge participant is encouraged to reach the goal of 30 minutes a day. During the Challenge individuals will keep track of the amount of time they are physically active and the organizations with the highest levels of participation will receive trophies, and their employees will receive additional raffle chances for $3,000 in cash prize drawings!

About Commit to Fit!
Commit to Fit! is a community-wide health behavior improvement initiative launched by the Greater Flint Health Coalition and its partner organizations. The initiative is designed to address Genesee County’s low health status rankings by engaging residents in fun, simple ways to practice healthy behaviors and help residents realize that a few simple lifestyle changes can set the path to improved health. Learn more at www.commit-2-fit.org.

About HealthPlus
HealthPlus is a licensed not-for-profit health and wellness company, providing health care coverage to more than 215,000 members statewide and beyond. HealthPlus arranges for the delivery of health care through a variety of employer group, individual and government plans. For more information, visit www.healthplus.org.

About Pete Thomas
Pete Thomas is the Season 2 $100,000 At-home Winner of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” and the President of Pete Thomas Wellness—a multi-faceted weight loss education and consulting company.  As a highly skilled TV personality, teacher, certified trainer, weight-loss coach and consultant, Thomas helps organizations and corporations design and implement wellness programs—including “Biggest Loser” style weight-loss and teambuilding programs— that get results!  His company also provides cutting-edge content for health and fitness oriented blogs, books and magazines—including the best-selling “Biggest Loser” book series.  Of the former Biggest Loser contestants, only Pete Thomas has personally created other “Biggest Losers” through his teaching and coaching programs.

Pete has appeared on ABC’s The View, The 700 Club, and eXtra, as well as being featured in People Magazine, Runner’s World, TV Guide, inTouch Weekly, Real Health and commercials nationwide.  A full time motivational speaker, weight-loss coach, consultant, and product spokesman for companies such as NordicTrack,  Pete travels and spreads his “Winning Principles” to organizations worldwide—both in person and through his website at www.PeteThomasOnline.com.  For an interview with Pete Thomas, contact Anita Lane at 646.450.6214.

Washington, D.C. — On October 23, 2010, Pete Thomas, the Season 2 At-Home Winner of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” teamed up with Executive Chef Robert Hedetniemi of the National Institutes of Health, and Ambassador for First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” Campaign—to encourage healthy eating to the nation’s next generation of scientists and engineers at the Inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C.

As Pete shared the secrets and the science behind his 185 pound weight loss, Chef Hedetniemi cooked up an entire day’s worth of simple, healthy meals to show the audience just how delicious healthy eating can be.  On the menu for the day was:

 Breakfast
Pomegranate and Fig Parfait
(Plain low-fat yogurt with granola, pomegranate and figs)

 Lunch
Apple Encrusted Autumn Salad
(Mixed greens with toasted pumpkin seeds, red, yellow and orange peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, chicken breast, avocado and cinnamon apple chips—served with a dressing made of olive oil, apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper.)

Dinner
Vegetable Pasta Sauté  
(Whole wheat Gobetti Pasta with shallots, asparagus, scallions, mushrooms, spinach leaves, tomatoes basil and Parmigianino cheese.)

Pete and Chef Hedetneimi had fun engaging the audience along the way.  The duo even had a surprise appearance by Sprocket, the walking, talking Robot who heard the “ Biggest Loser” was on stage and came to greet him.   Pete and Sprocket had an entertaining conversation about what it takes to “fuel” the body—at which point we learned that Sprocket runs on a rechargeable battery fueled by electricity. 

In just 50 minutes, Pete and Chef Hedetniemi were able to dispel the myth that healthy eating is expensive, tasetless and time-consuming.  Instead, the duo demonstrated how very tasty, economical and time-conscious healthy meals can be.

About the USA Science & Engineering Festival
Hosted by Lockheed Martin, the USA Science & Engineering Festival is the country’s first national science festival. It is the ultimate multi-cultural, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary celebration of science in the United States designed to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.  The Festival culminated in  a two-day Expo in the nation’s capital that contained over 1500 fun, hands-on science activities, over 75 stage shows and performances and exhibits. The Festival is a grassroots collaboration of over 500 of the nation’s leading science organizations. The Festival also has a bipartisan Honorary Congressional Host Committee with over 100 Congressional Members supporting its efforts. Learn more at http://www.usasciencefestival.org/.

About Pete Thomas
In 2005, Pete Thomas walked away from the finale of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” a winner – and a loser. He won $100,000 for losing the most weight of all contestants that season. What he lost was 185 pounds in nine short months! Five years later, Pete has kept the weight off and he’s creating other “Biggest Losers” through his teaching and coaching programs and has dedicated his life to helping eradicate America’s obesity epidemic through motivation, inspiration and education.

Pete’s amazing energy, endlessly upbeat tone and extremely positive message have transformed him into a highly skilled TV personality, teacher, certified trainer, and a much sought-after motivational speaker to groups and corporations around the country. Pete has appeared on ABC’s The View, The 700 Club, and eXtra as well as being featured in People Magazine, Runner’s World, TV Guide, inTouch Weekly and Real Health. In addition, Pete has completed two full triathlons, a full marathon and several half-marathons since his time on The Biggest Loser.

Pete spreads his “Winning Principles” to organizations nationwide through www.WinningMan.com.

For an interview with Pete Thomas, contact Anita Lane at 646.450.6214.