As of July 2010 Mark Zuckerberg reported that a whopping 500 million people all around the world actively use Facebook to stay connected with friends. Add in twitter users — recently estimated as over 25 million users worldwide — and it is safe to say that social media is here to stay.
As a social media mom, I use Facebook not just to reconnect with family and friends, but for weight loss. Whether you caved to pressure from your kids to set up a Facebook or you live and breath social media, the possibilities for using social media are immense. Since I use Facebook all day for work and frequently work on FB at night, I have found a way to use Facebook to aid in my weight loss goal.
Yes, that’s right Facebook can be a weight loss tool. Here’s how: CalorieStory has found the secret to achieving health and diet related goals: social media. Facebook application CalorieStory has just released a new free online calorie counting tool that uses the power of your social network to keep you on track with health and dieting goals.
“After 7 years in the weight loss industry, I realized that the social network was the most significant thing to happen to weight loss since the invention of Weight Watchers,” stated Adam Yap, co-founder of CalorieStory, “A community has always been one of the most powerful tools in staying on track with your weight; now with Facebook, your support network is always there.”
With CalorieStory, anyone with a Facebook account can look up and log food calories using a free application on Facebook. People can then share their progress with their friends, make public pledges, and even nominate friends to be CalorieBuddies to keep each other on track.
The results can be startling. Already, CalorieStory has found that users who have been invited by their friends are 52% more likely to use the Food Diary feature, and when they do, they record 58% more foods.
CalorieStory has created the New Year, New Me Challenge, with the objective of helping people meet their health goals for the new year using social media. The Challenge is open to all Facebook users. Once a user installs the application, she chooses three health and fitness related goals, and tracks her progress for a month. Three winners will be chosen randomly at the end of the challenge. Prizes from The CarbLovers Diet Book, Eat Smart Scales, GoodBelly, YogaPulse and LARABAR will also be awarded from @CalorieStory on Twitter.
Ten bloggers have also been chosen to share their journeys on the challenge. They will be blogging throughout the Challenge on their progress in meeting their New Year’s resolutions.
For more information, or to join the Challenge, visit CalorieStory on Facebook.
I started using the CalorieStory food diary application late last year. With 2011 now here, I plan to continue using the CalorieStory food diary application to keep me on track. How about you? Are you up for a challenge to lose weight or get healthy? Come join the #NewYearNewMe Challenge today!
I work for CalorieStory on social media projects.
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