Wednesday, December 19th, 2007...4:29 am
4 Reasons You Should Be Writing a Weight Loss Blog
Whether you are looking to lose that “Freshman Fifteen” or are in the 100+ Pounds-to-Go Club you should be writing a weight loss blog as a critical component of your weight loss plan.
A weight loss blog is not a food journal or a food diary. Keeping a food journal can also be important and in fact will most likely be suggested to you by your doctor or dietician. A food journal is where you log your daily meals and snacks. It is where you account for all the calories you ingest. It can be important, especially at the start of a diet, because most people underestimate the amount of food they actually eat in a day. A well kept food journal will help the dieter properly plan their intake so as to lose weight.
A weight loss blog is much more than a food journal. A good weight loss blog deals much more with the emotional aspects of eating, exercising and getting fit. It is the human interest side of the story.
These are the 4 reasons you should be writing a weight loss blog:
- Building a Support Network. There are a lot of great weight loss blogs out there. Some of the authors have been blogging for a long time and have great inspirational stories of success to share. Others are just starting out and are struggling with the same issues you may be struggling with. When you write a weight loss blog you are joining a community of like souls who support each other through comments, emails, and links. A good weight loss blog tells a story that interests people; a story they want to see through to completion. The story of your success. Most dieters have a support network that rarely extends beyond the four walls of their abode. The size of a weight loss blogger’s support network is only limited by the effort they are willing to put in to build it.
- Gaining Accountability. Let’s be honest, the hardest part about writing a weight loss blog is, well, being honest. It’s also the most important part. Force yourself to write about your weight gain, even though nobody would know if you fibbed and wrote that you lost weight this week. Tell the world how you felt when someone snickered at you for your size. Get out there and write about how you slipped up and ate the entire bag of cookies. Take accountability for your decisions and their impact on your weight loss plans. And then take action to make better decisions. Going through this thought process is very difficult if you aren’t documenting it. Writing a weight loss blog gives you the vehicle for documenting and improving upon the daily decisions that are the difference between success and failure.
- Recording History. As you lose weight and become healthier you will take certain things for granted such as climbing stairs without being winded, being able to easily say “no” to seconds, or to being satisfied with just that one small piece of pizza. You will forget that only a year ago you couldn’t do 100 crunches at a time. You will forget that you used to need two Big Macs to get through lunch. And then one day you’ll have a bad day, or a bad week, or maybe even a bad month. And it may be bad enough to cause you to get discouraged and quit. As the story of your weight loss journey unfolds in your weight loss blog, however, you’ll have continual reminders of how far you have come. How by looking at the long term view you can still see your success, even through all of the ups and downs along the way. It’s easy to forget if you haven’t recorded it. A weight loss blog gives you the means to record and review that history when you need it the most.
- Ensuring Success. All other things being equal, the dieter who blogs openly and honestly about her weight loss journey will be more successful than the dieter who goes it alone. The support network you will build will motivate you to be successful as you won’t want to let others down. The accountability you will gain from being open and honest will keep you on track. The story you are recording will be the reminder of how good you really have it now. All of this will add up to the success you are looking to achieve.
Has your weight loss blog helped you? Please share your story in the comments; I love to read about success!
If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing. Thank you for visiting!
Like this post? Give me the Thumbs Up! 
Similar Posts:
34 Comments
December 19th, 2007 at 5:51 am
After years of not being able to get a diet kick-started this August I started a blog dedicated to my journey from fat to fit. In the course of writing about my journey and finding other people out there struggling with the same issues I have struggle…
December 19th, 2007 at 6:25 am
December 19th, 2007 at 7:12 am
I never could keep up with one of those things. The closest I’ve ever come to maintaining one was my diet for blockheads. But that was so simple I didn’t need the sheet after a day or two.
http://totaltransformation.wordpress.com/2007/07/12/complete-blockheads-guide-to-eating-or-the-simplest-diet-ever/
December 19th, 2007 at 9:33 am
December 19th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
December 19th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
December 19th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
December 20th, 2007 at 7:02 am
December 20th, 2007 at 8:11 am
Steve - great point - and unfortunetly I’ve lived it before. Not this time though.
Michelle - Great attitude Michelle! But are you kidding me? You are already an inspiration - blogging about such a personal topic while putting your picture out there for all to see? Not easy to do. Losing 66 pounds? Damn girl, that’s awesome.
TB - 2 pounds is a blip, especially this time of year. You’ve got the right focus to get back on track.
Groovy - looking forward to watching your continued success!
December 20th, 2007 at 8:40 am
December 20th, 2007 at 10:11 am
December 20th, 2007 at 10:19 am
http://digg.com/health/4_Reasons_you_should_be_writing_a_weight_loss_blog
December 20th, 2007 at 11:33 am
But support is definitely an important aspect of successful weight loss. While losing I was active on the Weight Watchers message boards and the support there was a key component of my success.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:49 am
December 20th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
December 20th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
December 20th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
I find blogging and reading blogs to be very therapeutic. Sometimes someone will mention something and it will open a door in my mind and help me work through an issue. Seeing the success of others pushes me to work harder and keep going even when I want to give up.
I’ve “met” a lot of wonderful people by blogging and I want to cheer them all on, not only to victory on the scale but to the true reward of better health.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Those are some great reasons to start a weight loss blog. As everyone can see from your progress they obviously work.
One the food journal thing, I know that many people are against them. But I for one am a big supporter of it (at least in the beginning). Too many people under estimate the amount of food and calories they eat. Then they’re disappointed when they don’t lose the amount of weight they expected to.
Once you grasp the concept of portion sizes and can gauge a little more accurately the calories in what you are eating just by eyeballing it. Then it’s time to drop the food journals. That’s my experience anyway.
I’ve also dugg and stumbled your post. I’d like to see more people support you. Great job.
December 26th, 2007 at 5:52 am
Hello, This is Mary
I am 36 years old with 2 toddlers. My youngest just started day care last week- which still feels a little strange. I haven’t had this much time to myself in years. First thing I want to do is lose the extra pounds I put on during the last pregnancy. One of the girls next door has suggested I join her walking group two days a week. After my first pregnancy I lost around 35 pounds using the Herbalife products, but when I called the man that sold them to me three years ago he told me this week he doesn’t sell them anymore. He told me to look on the internet. It’s disappointing because he was really nice and he called me regularly to make sure I was using their products correctly. It was nice to have someone checking in with me every week to see how I was and it kept me motivated.
I searched on the internet for someone that sells Herbalife in New Jersey. I found many websites but I don’t want
just to buy the products, I want to find someone trustworthy that sells the products so I can also meet them and get started again.
Could anybody here recommend someone in New Brunswick?
Thanks, Mary
December 26th, 2007 at 5:59 am
December 28th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
December 28th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
December 29th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
December 30th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
December 31st, 2007 at 4:34 pm
What do you write about on the days you feel you haven’t done anything worth writing about-good or bad?
January 1st, 2008 at 11:54 am
January 21st, 2008 at 1:28 am
January 21st, 2008 at 8:20 pm
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:39 pm
January 29th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
February 7th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
February 7th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I put a link to your article on my page, if I’d read this sooner, I might’ve been blogging sooner.
I had to download an RSS reader just yesterday, so I can keep up with other folk’s journeys. LOL!
March 12th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I really wish more people would hear this message and start their own blogs. I really think it’s one of the best kept “secrets” of any weight loss program.
Take care,
NMFD
March 13th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Leave a Reply