Getting Fitter, One Tweet At A Time

I love those new Weight Watchers commercials featuring Hunger as an adorable orange monster. (And I’m not the only one!)

Not only does the furry little guy appeal to my ongoing Muppet obsession, and not only does he look exactly like Gossamer, the monster from the classic Looney Tunes cartoons… but he pretty accurately depicts how it can feel when you’re on a weight loss journey — temptation abounds, and for me it’s never ever for healthy snacks. I sit around fantasizing about awful-for-me white flour demon snacks, and it can be a challenge to resist their lure. Life isn’t like that equally funny 50 Million Pound Challenge commercial, where Dr. Ian is there to thwart a would-be dieter’s fast-food sabotage. When temptation comes a-calling, sometimes you have to find motivation from unlikely sources. That’s why I follow a variety of weight loss gurus, diet divas, and exercise experts on Twitter and Facebook. Every day they help me say GET BEHIND ME, hunger monster.

Daily reminders from them help to keep me on track, if I wind up skipping a workout day to camp out in front of the computer all day. Cause y’know, sometimes that happens. Allow me to introduce you to the wonderful and inspiring world of social media’s finest fitness motivators!

The remarkable thing about Twitter is, it’s becoming so enormous that literally anyone you dream up probably already has a profile on there. For example, the other day I wished aloud that Richard Simmons was on Twitter. And lo and behold — he already was! Richard Simmons, AKA The Weight Saint, posts daily affirmations and reminders. It’s a little scary that the man who works a pair of red-and-white-striped shorts like none other is possibly following what you eat, but I’ll admit – Richard Simmons’ tweets have made me think twice about what I was about to put into my mouth more than once before.

Livin The Fit Life, AKA DC’s Toughest Trainer has a rockin’ body and a great blog that covers all aspects of weight loss, diet, and fitness in a real and approachable way. Daily reminders like this help to keep you on your journey, regardless of where you’re at.

Gourmet on a Diet keeps me in the know with healthy recipes and snack suggestions. Her blog is brilliantly written, real, and very helpful.

Manifest Well Being — AKA Deborah Barnett, PHD, is a weight loss psychologist, Personal Trainer is straight outta Chicago and posts nothing but helpful fitness tips, Fitness Guy helps you keep your eyes on the prize, and you can find even more fitness gurus on WeFollow.

On Facebook I’m part of the Sati Life weight loss community, and Facebook gets even more effective on a local level. Through FB I discovered Free Yoga Miami, and I’m taking a class this Saturday! Thanks, Facebook!

Oh, and in case you didn’t know — The 50 Million Pound Challenge has a Facebook group! So you can join to meet others, share your stories, and get that motivation you need when you get sucked into social networking. All you need now is a fitness computer! What will they think of next?

Twitter and Facebook are what you make them. Online networking and socializing can definitely be a source of time suckage and a way for people to mind your bidness, sure. But they can also be an avenue for constant inspiration and motivation, or a way to
put public pressure on yourself to meet your fitness goals. Whatever works for you!

Do you have any favorite Twitter or Facebook fitness groups? Let me know – I’m always looking for more inspiration!