Can Social Media Help You Drop Some Pounds?

We've talked about how social media can help you connect with friends, business colleagues, corporations, and even government officials -- but can social media take that connection in a direction that is personal and intimate? In a country that is burdened by obesity in children and adults, can social media become a positive power that changes lives?

Is There a Group For That?
With the advent of Facebook, it seems there's a group for just about everything, including weight loss. The Virtual Weight Loss page has more than 600 fans, with most posting about other weight loss sites or avenues, but a few posting about their own struggles. The page directs users to an application where they can upload a photo of themselves and see how they will look a few pounds thinner. An interesting concept, but is a photo enough motivation to lose the weight?

Weight Watchers stands out with more than 175 thousand fans, many posting before and after pics and words of encouragement to each other.

How To Do Squats, Pushups and Eat Right

YouTube is a great place to check out exercise and nutrition tips. There are videos for nearly every aspect of weight loss, including this one on David Elmore Smith's 400lb+ weight loss:

David Smith's story is an inspirational one, shared not only on YouTube but also various news shows. He now works as a personal trainer to help others lose weight. His story is told in detail on trainer Chris Powell's Stax website.

Support Is Just a Click Away

In addition to the aforementioned Facebook groups, there are support groups created just for people trying to lose weight. Support groups work to help provide, well, support for the weight loss journey. People who otherwise might never have an opportunity to meet or converse suddenly become a critical link to someone who is struggling with an "overeating" day or needs extra motivation to get off the couch. One of these groups is Twit2Fit, a community of Twitter users who tweet about their weight loss and offer or receive encouragement and movitation.

How Many Calories Does Blogging Burn?

A quick search for "weight loss blog" on Google turns up more than 46 million hits. Not all of them are personal blogs, of course, but many are. Hollie's Weight Loss Blog comes up high on the list and features posts by a young woman trying to lose weight. She started blogging in 2008 when she was 333 lbs, and now is around 290. She has also blogged on SparkPeople, one of the most popular community sites with message boards, blogs and tons of great information on nutrition and exercise.

Social Media Can't Do It For You

Although social media obviously has great options for support and instruction, it's important to note that spending a lot of time blogging about weight loss or reading about exercise will defeat the purpose of actually getting up and moving. It's a little too easy to get caught up in talking about something rather than doing something. But of course, there's an app for that, so you can just take it with you while you walk.