Receta Using Social Media to Lose Weight, Meet Your Healthy Lifestyle Goals
Is it good to tweet what you eat? Can you pin to get thin? Will snapping an Instagram photo of your meal or taking a selfie help you stick to a new healthy eating routine? You bet.
Social media has been transformative in many ways – changing the way we get information, connect with friends and engage with companies. But it can also be a powerful tool to help you lose weight and meet your healthy lifestyle goals. That was the topic of my latest post for WebMD — hope you”ll check it out.
Rebecca Regnier used Twitter to help her lose 20 pounds. She chronicled her story in The Twitter Diet, and blogs about how you can use social media to aid weight loss at Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat? Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill started tweeting her diet and exercise routines and eventually lost 50 pounds.
It makes sense. Studies show that social support is a huge factor – so why not turn to your online friends to help motivate and keep you on track. There’s also something about publicly declaring your intentions to make you more accountable. You’ll practice what you preach when you preach it online, says Regnier.
There’s power in groups — and that came to life in an experiment conducted by the folks at Cooking Light magazine who created the Social Diet. The staffers lost 128 pounds using food and fitness apps like MyFitnessPal, LoseIt!, and FitBit that hooked them into a network for some friendly competition and encouragement. The lonely work of weight loss became an animated, purposeful social project, said editor Scott Mowbray, who lost 20 pounds on the Social Diet.
Pinterest may be known for showcasing double-stuffed cookies, cake pops, red velvet desserts and other indulgent creations, but registered dietitian and uber Pinterest user Mitzi Dulan (with over 3 million followers) says this popular social media platform can be an effective source of inspiration and support for losing weight. In The Pinterest Diet, Dulan maps out a plan for pinning healthy recipes, exercises, inspirational quotes and products to help with weight loss.
If you’re spending a lot of time online, why not use those hours to support your healthy habits. Head over to Real Life Nutrition at WebMD to read my tips on how you can maximize social media to help meet your goals: