Coach Alba, a self-improvement company that specializes in using technology to influence behavior, today announced a partnership with Philadelphia’s Einstein Healthcare Network to help employees lose a ton of weight — literally.

In connection with Einstein’s annual “Greatest Loser” weight loss competition, Coach Alba’s adaptive SMS platform is being enlisted to help participating employees reach the goal of losing 2,000 pounds collectively. All Einstein employees and their families — not just those in the competition — are welcome to use Coach Alba’s smart-texting engine for support in sticking with their weight loss goals during the 10-week competition for free and throughout the rest of the calendar year.

“As a healthcare organization, we are always looking for effective ways to help our employees take charge of their health and make meaningful and sustained behavioral transformations in their lives,” said Kathryn Brady, manager of health and wellness at Einstein Healthcare Network. “We want our employees to be examples of excellent health, and we recognize how hard it can be to stick with a weight loss plan with the everyday distractions and demands of life. Coach Alba’s text messaging system is assisting our participants in sticking with their plans.”

Coach Alba combines proprietary behavioral research and sophisticated mobile technology to help users survive “crucial moments” of weakness that derail weight loss goals. Coach Alba learns about users’ individual vulnerabilities with every text message and sends personalized support and ideas at strategic times when users are susceptible to giving in.

“Coach Alba is built on proven behavioral principles that will help Einstein reach this lofty but important goal. I am a living testament to the fact that this approach to sustained weight loss really works,” said Vincent Han, who founded Coach Alba on the same behavioral principles that helped him lose 55 pounds.

According to the U.S. National Weight Control Registry, 4 in 5 of the country’s 100 million dieters fail to stick with their diets over time, suggesting that Coach Alba addresses a pervasive problem in the American battle with weight loss.

“Research has highlighted the fact that most weight loss plans work very well if the participant can find a way to stick to that plan. That’s where Coach Alba comes in,” Han added. “About 95 percent of the time, people do very well at keeping their eyes on the prize. It’s the other 5 percent of the time that leads to trouble.”

As a text-based service, Coach Alba is available to any cell phone user with SMS capabilities — making it accessible to many more dieters than a mobile app that requires a smartphone and data plan — and the smart text platform is more effective at reaching users during quiet moments of vulnerability.

Coach Alba also offers users a more private alternative to virtual weight-loss services that push information to online social networks. Coach Alba has already helped thousands of beta users make life-altering changes in how they approach their health and weight-loss goals.

About Coach Alba

Founded in 2010, Coach Alba is a behavioral change company that builds innovative Web and mobile technologies to help people achieve life-changing goals. Headquartered in Provo, Utah, Coach Alba leverages powerful proprietary research and an adaptive, personalized SMS messaging platform to help users recognize and overcome the day-to-day challenges that keep them from attaining sustainable, positive change in their lives. For more information, visit www.coachalba.com.

About Einstein Healthcare Network

Einstein Healthcare Network is a 1,203-bed integrated delivery network with more than 8,500 employees serving the communities of Philadelphia and Montgomery County, Pa. The network’s primary location, Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, is one of the largest academic medical centers in the Delaware Valley, providing training and education for more than 400 residents and fellows each year. The network also provides a comprehensive range of healthcare services through the brand-new Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, Einstein Medical Center Elkins Park, MossRehab, Belmont Behavioral Health, Willowcrest, outpatient facilities such as Einstein at Germantown and Einstein Center One, and a network of more than 500 primary care physicians and specialists employed through Einstein Physicians and Fornance Physician Services, Inc. For more information, visit www.einstein.edu or call 1-800-EINSTEIN.