11 August 2023 , 11:00
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Forget what the skinny celebs and the TV adverts say - losing weight is hard work.
Whether you do it through exercise, diet, or a bit of both, it's extremely challenging to lose those pounds and to then keep them off. Sometimes it can involve changing huge parts of your day-to-day life and it can mean breaking decades-old habits.
But it turns out there's one little thing you can do which will help you achieve your goal - and it's got nothing to do with food or exercise. The experts at WeightWatchers, now known as WW did research which shows many of their members were more successful when they shared regular updates on their new healthy lifestyle online.
They found people who shared a diary of their daily lives with friends and followers were spurred on by positive feedback. More than 50 per cent of people said the support of a weight loss community was crucial when it came to changing their eating habits and 53 per cent shared photos of their meals on social media.
The company's marketing director Claudia Nicholls said: "The support of a community has always proved to be an effective way of forming and sustaining healthy habits, but with the explosion of online communities there has never been an easier or more affordable way to tap into the power of the crowd for support and inspiration. Weight Watchers own social community for members, Connect, which sees over 14,000 daily posts in the UK alone, provides our members with instant access to a community of people who are on similar journeys to them. Bringing little rituals like posting pictures into our lives quickly creates habits that are hard to give up, which can have a life-changing impact, by helping to shape how we live, how we feel and, ultimately, who we become."
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