| IntroductionLosing weight is not rocket science. It | | | | from people like us who have managed to change |
| requires no special diet, no special foods and no | | | | their attitude and eating habits, and who can explain |
| special exercise program. All we need to do is eat | | | | how to overcome the problems involved. Above all, |
| less calories than we burn. Despite this, as well as an | | | | we need a safety-net if we fail. We need shoulders |
| ever growing number of diets and weight control | | | | to cry on and "tough love" to help us win through. In |
| plans, obesity continues to grow. And the vast | | | | short, we need the support of a real community.Join |
| majority of dieters find it almost impossible to lose | | | | An Online Community ForumIn my experience, |
| weight without regaining everything within a matter | | | | dieters who join a good online community forum can |
| of months. Why is this? Answer: because we don't | | | | expect to lose 400-500 percent more weight than |
| get enough support.Get Proper Help To Lose | | | | those who go solo. In addition, if they maintain their |
| WeightOur greatest need when dieting is | | | | community membership after achieving their goals, |
| encouragement. We need people to cheer our | | | | they have an excellent chance of maintaining their |
| successes and help us overcome our disasters. | | | | weight loss indefinitely. This is because an online |
| Amazingly, most online weight loss programs fail to | | | | community can provide a number of specific benefits. |
| address this need. Instead, they focus on what we | | | | First, as stated, it offers personal advice and |
| should eat, how many calories we should consume, | | | | encouragement. Secondly, it offers members the |
| and what exercise we should take. And while this | | | | opportunity to help other people - something that |
| advice is useful, it's not critical. Because most of us | | | | typically works wonders for their self-esteem and |
| know this stuff already. What we have difficulty | | | | understanding. Thirdly, most community forums are |
| with, is motivation. We know what to do in order to | | | | self-run. Members may progress to become |
| lose weight, but we can't sustain it. Maybe we lack a | | | | moderators or resident experts. This too is a real |
| strong incentive, or perhaps our family situation | | | | confidence booster as well as a great incentive to |
| interferes with our weight loss plans, or maybe we | | | | maintain weight lost. But by far the major benefit is |
| hate cooking and eat out too often. Whatever | | | | the fact that online forums are in action 24 hours a |
| difficulty we have, it's not likely to involve food or | | | | day, 7 days a week. So support and human warmth |
| exercise. It's much more likely to be a motivational or | | | | is available whenever you need it. They are real 24/7 |
| lifestyle problem. Yet as I say, most online programs | | | | safety nets, especially Anne Collins forum which has |
| don't offer motivational or lifestyle support. And even | | | | members from all time zones of the world.Features |
| when they do, their advice can often be expensive | | | | To Look ForThe best forums are active, |
| and quite uninspiring!Survey Of DietersThe value of | | | | well-managed and provide quality advice and support. |
| proper support was highlighted in a recent survey of | | | | Activity is best judged by checking the number of |
| members of Anne Collins online weight loss program. | | | | "active" members, rather than total membership. And |
| The program includes a 24/7 community forum | | | | the greater the number of recent threads (topics) |
| specializing in motivation and lifestyle support, with | | | | and posts (messages), the better. Assessing the |
| several thousand topics and approximately 100,000 | | | | management and quality of the forum is a bit more |
| posts. Subjects were asked to assess the personal | | | | difficult. To do this, open a recent thread, scan the |
| benefit they had obtained from the forum. A total of | | | | posts and look for the following. First, how quickly do |
| 1,348 subjects responded, of whom 81 percent rated | | | | members and/or moderators reply to questions |
| the program's community forum as "important" or | | | | asked? Second, are the questions and answers |
| "very important" in helping them to lose weight, while | | | | reasonably serious, or more frivolous? Generally, a |
| less than 5 percent said it "made no difference." | | | | well-managed forum will have a higher percentage of |
| While in no way conclusive, the results indicate the | | | | serious posts. Other questions to ask yourself include: |
| practical value of a "community" approach to weight | | | | how "personal" does the forum appear to be? Do |
| management.Weight Loss MeetingsFor urban dieters, | | | | you feel a sense of warmth and caring? What |
| Weight Watchers is probably the best option. Their | | | | age-groups are most active? Take a good look |
| meetings are specially designed to help dieters | | | | around, and don't hurry. Finding the right forum for |
| overcome difficulties, but even Weight Watchers has | | | | yourself is crucial to your weight loss |
| its limitations. First, it's not cheap to join. Secondly, | | | | success.Summary: Focus On What MattersThe secret |
| members typically attend only once a week. So if | | | | of successful weight loss is to focus on what |
| your diet-wagon loses a wheel on Saturday night, | | | | matters. So don't waste too much time or money |
| you may have to wait several days for the next | | | | trying to find the "perfect" diet. I mean no disrespect |
| meeting to help you out. Like eDiets, Weight | | | | to any dietitian or nutritionist but, for most people, a |
| Watchers now offers an online service, but again - at | | | | diet is a diet is a diet. As long as it's reasonably |
| something like $250-300 a year - it's not cheap.Not | | | | balanced and includes a reasonable number of |
| Easy To Change HabitsChanging our eating habits is | | | | calories, it'll do fine. What really matters is support - |
| no easy matter. Sure, it helps to know that a cup of | | | | to help you cope with temptation and disruption |
| fat-free milk contains 40 percent fewer calories and | | | | during your journey. An excellent option is to join an |
| 16 times less fat than whole milk, or that lean ground | | | | online weight loss forum and be part of a real |
| steak contains half the calories and 4 times less fat | | | | community. Because when you have tons of friendly |
| than regular cheddar cheese, but how does this help | | | | people cheering you on, you can move |
| us to say No to a second helping of pizza? How does | | | | mountains.Anne Collins, 54, is a qualified nutritionist |
| it quench our desire for a double cheeseburger and | | | | and full time weight management consultant with |
| fries? It doesn't. Because facing down temptation | | | | over 24 years experience. attracts 9 million unique |
| requires a change of attitude, a change of priorities. | | | | visitors per annum, and her weight loss forum is one |
| And in my experience, this takes time and as much | | | | of the most active communities on the Internet. |
| encouragement as we can get. We need to hear | | | | |