Using technology to use, track and maintain your weight is an amazing way to stay focused on your goals. You can connect with others struggling with the same issues, and you can reach out when you want to celebrate your successes or need the added support. Using social media is a great way to find support, accountability, resources and so much more!
Here are FIVE Tips for Managing Your Weight Using Social Media Outlets
Adopting Healthy Habits
Adopting healthy habits has never been so easy using social media. These days, we can find recipes on Pinterest and Facebook, see photos on Instagram, and use all kinds of platforms to share new ideas. This can help support your mission to live a healthier lifestyle.
Also, when it comes to fitness, Pinterest has exercises that you can access and download to follow. YouTube can be an additional way to squeeze-in home exercise with access to many free video tutorials such as Yoga and other streaming workouts. You can also find specific body workouts that tone your abs/core, upper body, lower body, or even help you with cardio.
Furthermore, you can find tons of information on social media about portion sizes, eating a well-balanced diet and incorporating fitness into your weight management plan!
Accountability and Sharing Your Journey
When posting on social media (whether it be Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat), you add-on another layer of accountability. When you post, it shows you are following through — and if you haven’t posted in a few days, your followers may wonder what happened to you. This helps you stay on-track if you are seeking additional support from your social media following.
Group Support and a Weight Management Community
Group support is fantastic for managing your weight because you can post when you are doing awesome or ask for help/accountability when you’re struggling. Facebook is great for having support groups and a community to fit your needs.
Whether you are looking to be “fit over fifty,” find support as you prepare for your first marathon, or just looking for a “hardcore fitness” group to help you build muscle, there are groups designed for just about anyone’s goals. This is great because you can easily ask questions and get information from those who may be more experienced, all while staying on-track with your own specific goals.
Please note: Group support should not be a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice. Most individuals in a support group are just like you and give information based on their own experiences. If you are having issues that need medical or psychological/psychiatric attention, make sure you reach out to a licensed provider to ask specific and individualized questions.
Track Your Progress
There are so many apps to help you stay on top of your health and fitness goals that also have a social media component. Now, you can add friends to your Fitbit to run challenges or use My Fitness Pal to track and connect with others. There are plenty of other social media platforms that use apps so you can track your progress using a smartphone or other piece of digital technology.
Access to Resources
When managing your weight, you want access to additional resources. Social media is where you can find them! If you have a question or want to research whether a specific plan is right for you, you can gain new information in an instant.
Also, having access to information makes you a well-informed consumer and gives you an opportunity to learn and grow in some situations. If you hear about a specific online platform, resource, or product/service that is not free, this gives you the ability to see what other people are saying from personal experience rather than advertising. This will give you authentic consumer insights rather than product or service-based marketing.
About the Author:
Kristin Lloyd, MS, LPC/LMHC, PhD-c has been creating outstanding results for individuals, couples and organizations for over 10 years as a highly-accomplished psychotherapist, transformational mindset mentor, college educator and consultant. She is now leading bariatric patients and candidates through massive mindset shifts to help them create lasting behavioral changes and emotional adjustments for happy and healthy lives. You can find out more about Kristin at www.bariatricmindset.com.
