January 9, 2013
The New Year comes with new resolutions that the vast majority of us fail to keep. As the infographic below shows, losing weight is at the top of the list of the goals for 2013.
Unsurprisingly only 8% of us actually manage to keep up our resolutions successfully. People are signing up for memberships to gyms they will never attend, or buying fitness DVD’s they will never watch, or buy sports kit that will never leave their wardrobe. However before you give up without truly trying, new research suggests that social media may actually be a useful weapon in the battle to banish the bulge or help you maintain other New Year’s resolutions or goals.
Although previous research suggests that too much screen time could lead to piling on the pounds, recent research suggests that social media can help you create a network of support for your diet and fitness, providing much needed motivation for sustaining a healthy lifestyle.
For example, 316 employees at ConAgra Foods Company last year enrolled in a weight-loss programme. The dieters participating in a worksite weight-loss program who joined the Facebook support page lost an average of 1.5 pounds in a month more than those who didn’t go the social media route.*
Two benefits of using social media to support your diet:
1) Utilize group support: – social media can provide an effective way to create a support system within your community. Whether you join a group that aims to lose weight or set up a group for your own personal weight loss having community support makes you more likely to be successful in your goals. Moreover If you are tweeting or posting about your diet to your followers, you have a responsibility to maintain a level of honesty. Facebook ”offers a potentially effective way to create a support system within worksite programs.”
2) Track progress- Keeping a diary of your progress has been shown to help achieve goals. Tweeting or blogging about your progress is in effect an online food diary that others can see and comment on.
So forget about the latest fad diet, give the Facebook plan a go.
Sources
*https://news.yahoo.com/facebook-ing-away-pounds-social-media-promotes-weight-210143104.html
**https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/body+fitness/weight+loss/use+social+media+to+lose+weight,6803