It’s no secret that the concept of social networking has taken off.  Admittedly, there is a lot of junk and inappropriate content out there in cyberspace, but don’t let that deter you from checking out the wealth of free resources that are available to you from individuals who share your interests and goals. I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you:

Facebook- There are many fan pages available to inspire and motivate you. One I like to check out on occasion is Dr. Oz Health Tips. You can find all kinds of information, from how to lose weight to how to remove wrinkles.  Additionally there are fan pages for Zumba, Body Pump, or anything else you might be into.

Instagram- As an avid “phonetographer” I immediately took to Instagram.  It is a free application that can be downloaded to your iPhone or Android mobile phone. You are able to upload photos and follow people who can motivate you with their weight loss success stories. You can also obtain free advice from personal trainers and view recipes.   

YouTube – You can find videos on just about anything on YouTube and subscribe to many different organizations or personalities who have fan pages. One of my favorites is Divaslimsdown. I came across her channel by accident and was immediately drawn in to her story of losing more than 150 pounds. 

Sparkpeople – Sparkpeople.com is by far my favorite online weight loss resource. It is free to join and provides meal plans, fitness tips, workout videos and motivational groups. Sparkpeople also offers two free applications for your mobile phone. The Spark Recipes application offers a multitude of healthy recipes, and the Sparkpeople application allows you to track your food and fitness goals. This site is awesome for goal setting.  I became a member in 2008 and have since tracked 23,786 fitness minutes. It is awesome to look back each year and see what your goal was and where you finished. My goal for 2012 was 2,800 fitness minutes – I finished at 7,862 minutes!

I hope you will explore some of these tools during your personal weight loss journey.

Update on my progress November – December 2012:

I managed to make it through the holidays without gaining any weight.  This is a first for me in at least three years.  Although I did not lose any weight, I am still happy.  I had a great time on vacation, enjoyed the foods I love in moderation, managed to work out at least five days per week and I look better in my clothes. I’ll take that!