Last updated : Thursday, October 28, 2010

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Is Social Media the Best Diet of Them All?

For someone who has worked for the past three years to lose weight, you’d think her morning routine would be different. Images of early morning jogs and energy drinks come to mind – maybe a fitness class at the gym. No, not for Kelsey Shannahan, rather, the 26-year-old spends her morning with her coffee and her computer, swapping stories with her online community whom she credits with helping transform her lifestyle.

“I had learned about Weight Watchers online from a coworker, who showed me the program,” she said. “It seemed so easy.” So easy, in fact, that three years later and 32 pounds lighter, Shannahan still tracks her points (the system Weight Watchers uses) today.

However, what started as a simple way to calculate her consumption of food turned into Shannahan’s discovery of a community of like-minded people who provide support, encouragement and advice for each other as they strive to live healthier lives.

After perusing the content on the site, Shannahan found a message board where people would share their menus from the day before and discuss them. “I saw the thread and I thought, ‘Wow, I could get into this,’” she said. “Now I check in every day and we all read each others’ menus and that gets the conversation started. Sometimes people will want their menus critiqued, or they’ll want ideas for recipes, so it’s great in that everyone helps each other track their goals.”

And Shannahan is in good company: Weight Watchers online currently has more than one million global subscribers, according to Weight Watchers International. However, this idea of reaching weight loss goals among a community of people connected virtually extends far beyond Weight Watchers online, which is a paid service.

Tina Haupert, who writes the daily nutrition blog, "Carrots ‘n Cake," started her weight loss journey by tracking her calories online using fitday.com. After losing 23 pounds, Haupert no longer counts calories, but she continues to photograph nearly all of her meals and posts them to her blog, which she started in 2008 as a personal weight loss diary. “It keeps me accountable,” she said. “There are days when I don’t want to eat healthily, but knowing I’ll have to post photos makes me think about what I’m eating.”

She credits much of her success to all the support she’s received from her readers. “It’s been amazing,” she said. “In the blogging community, everyone wants to help you. If you throw out a question you’ll get all kinds of comments, or people will tweet you.”

Even Twitter, which may seem superficial in its brevity, can actually enhance a person’s experience in the quest to be fit. “Twitter is all about the conversation,” Haupert said. “If it’s early in the morning and I don’t feel like doing a three-mile run, I’ll tweet my complaint and I’ll instantly get all kinds of encouraging messages from people.”

In addition to reaching out to “followers,” Twitter members can join programs like “Twit2Fit,” which connects them to others who have similar mental and physical goals.

“The more people you have supporting you, the better you’ll do,” said Stephanie Harris, a nationally certified personal trainer, who works with clients in New York City. “I had a client who would post pictures of himself to Facebook. He would get all kinds of supportive comments on his progress.”

Harris went on to explain that one of the hardest aspects of losing weight is establishing consistency. But this doesn’t necessarily mean hitting the treadmill bright and early. With smart phone apps available, the advent of platforms like Google TV will make it even easier to steadily stay health conscious. After all, for many, it’s simply about logging onto a blog, a Twitter account, or a weight loss message board.

“At the end of the day, I know I have to share what I ate with [the message board],” Shannahan said. “So it keeps me hardwired and feeling accountable for what I eat … there’s no sugarcoating.”

For more, go back to the Wellness section. 

 

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