Retrofit In The News

The Next Big Thing You Missed: The World’s Best Weight-Loss Technology Is Shame 3/24/14 - Jeff Hyman has a message for anyone trying to lose weight with mobile apps and tracking gizmos: Without a human in the loop, you’re probably going to fail.New mobile technology that tracks your daily behavior certainly can help you lose weight and keep it off, he says, but you also need face-to-face support from real live experts who can provide tips, moral support, and accountability. … Excess weight and diabetes are huge contributors to medical costs, and organizations can drive down these costs with app like Retrofit. Hyman and company have already signed up Google, Salesforce.com, the NFL Players Association, and the American Medical Association. Using GoToMeeting video conferencing software, employees can elect to meet with their advisers as part of support groups, driving costs down to $56 per month … Read The Story

Retrofit Helps Trim Different Kind of Corporate Fat 1/16/14 - Jeff Hyman, CEO at Retrofit, explains how his company works with corporations to create a healthier workforce on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg Surveillance" … Read The Story

Up-And-Comers: To Your Health! 1/6/14 - Jeff Hyman RETROFIT - A visit to a weight-loss resort inspired Hyman, 45, to start a service that gives its users personalized programs to lose 10% to 15% of their weight in 12 months, interacting with coaches through Skype. He says more than 90% of his clients have shed an average of 20 pounds within a year, and half of them are men. Retrofit has raised $15.7 million, and it nearly tripled its customer base in the past year. … Read The Story

Retrofit Targets Corporate Flab, Weight Watchers, and 'Stupid Diets' 1/2/14 - We all started the year full of resolve, didn't we? 2014 is going to be THE year. Those extra pounds are gone, baby, gone, starting today! Promises like these are at the core of the $20 billion weight loss business. But one stumbling block to success is the speed at which these promises are broken. After all, recent studies show that just 8% of people actually keep their New Year's resolutions. But this year, remorseful overindulgers have a new option – one whose early results ought to worry the likes of Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig. Fortune has learned that Retrofit, a two-year-old Chicago-based company that takes a personalized approach to weight loss, is this morning announcing Retrofit Group, a new, behavior-driven program that targets companies seeking to drive down their health care costs. … Read The Story

Retrofit to Help Companies With High-Tech Approach to Health 12/20/13 - One Chicago startup, Retrofit Inc., is working with corporations, instead, to help overweight employees shed pounds and develop healthy habits using Web, mobile and wearable technology. It has raised $5 million in new venture funding to take on Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and other corporate wellness programs in the U.S. that focus on weight loss. … Read The Story

Retrofit Saves Employers Millions in Obesity Related Healthcare and Productivity Costs 12/20/13 - Retrofit is packing on the dollars to help you shed the pounds. The provider of corporate weight loss programs closed $5 million in new funding. Retrofit works one-on-one with employees to help them achieve their weight loss goals, and keep those pounds off over time. It takes a data-driven approach to the matter, using wireless tracking devices to monitor users’ weight, activity, and sleep. This biofeedback is combined with personal consultations from highly trained health professionals, such as registered dietitians, exercise physiologists, and behavior coaches. … Read The Story

Melt Your Gut for Good 10/17/13 - Belly too big? Think small. Choose from our list of easy, expert-approved, research-backed waist reducers, and shrink your gut in no time flat. … Retrofit Behavior Coach Matt Lawson uses the analogy of a personal fuel gauge as he offers expert tips for using visualization techniques for weight loss in the October issue of Men's Health. … The Retrofit Hunger Gauge helps individuals better understand the gray area between being empty and being full. … Read The Story

How the Quantified Self Movement Has Weight Watchers Running Scared 8/20/13 - The 50-year-old weight loss stalwart is under attack from new, free fitness apps, but a Chicago startup may offer some clues on how it could fight back. … Almost like a modern foil to Weight Watchers' decades-old model, Retrofit launched about two years ago with a service that combines regular online meetings with dieticians, exercise physiologists and behavior coaches in addition to sensor-based devices. The regular check-ins with coaches keep dieters accountable much like Weight Watchers' weekly meetings, said founder and CEO Jeff Hyman, but they give people more convenience and privacy. … Read The Story

Retrofit Uses Technology for Weight Loss Goals 5/16/13 - Retrofit CEO Jeff Hyman has created a weight-loss tool for corporate professionals - and it’s growing rapidly in popularity. … Read The Story

The Perfected Self 6/1/12 - Retrofit users track their eating and exercise online and have weekly Skype sessions with a registered dietician… (If a client loses 10 percent of his or her weight by the end of the year, Hyman doubles these three employees' compensation for that particular client.) After the year is up, clients can still arrange occasional consultations, and Retrofit continues to monitor their weight via wireless scale, so that a coach can reach out if the number starts to rise. "We have no interest in helping you lose weight temporarily," says Hyman. "We want you to keep weight off." Read The Story