SparkPeople.com - Best (Free) Support for Losing Weight
By Jan Mayrhofer onThis is the time of year when many of us are trying to live up to our New Years Resolution to lose weight. I find that, for me, the first six weeks or so are quite easy, but after that I am tempted to fall back into the eating patterns that got me in trouble in the first place. What a person needs most are strategies to give them a boost when faltering.
SparkPeople.com is a fabulous, free website for dieting support. It is huge! Besides what I consider the most helpful tool, the Nutrition Tracker, where you log your meals and the totals are tallied, you will discover hundreds of articles covering many health subjects, thousands of delicious and sensible recipes, exercise trackers and tips, and much, much more.
Chris Spark Guy Downie created the website 8 years ago, using his own money. The video that Fox News did about the site (link below), says he sunk $5,000,000.00 into it. Chris made his money by selling an auction website he created to eBay. He is definitely not greedy with his money, as he keeps SparkPeople going strong to help others reach their goals. Not only diet goals, he says, but any of their life goals.
To begin with SparkPeople, you will need to register. Thats it. Then just dig in and have fun! Yes, I actually think the site makes it fun to track my nutrition and exercise. It is so easy. You will be asked your height and weight, the amount of weight you want to lose, and your goal date. With this data, your personal targets will be figured and all you have to do is stay within them. Even this seems easy because of all the recipes that are available, all the message boards with loads of friendly advice and support, and being able to see your progress in the form of colorful graphs at the end of the day.
You can join a Spark Team in your area, too, if you want to. What a great motivator! Many of the teams compete and/or get together regularly for walks,etc.
It is up to you how involved you become in the site. For me, for now, the Nutrition Tracker and SparkRecipes.com are the only areas receiving my daily visits, but it is good to know there is more support there if I need it.
Another important aspect is that you can gear your meal plans to accommodate special health issues such as Type 2 Diabetes. The message boards and special recipes are a great help to thousands of people.
I love the site, recommend it, and send a great big Thank You! to Spark Guy.
