Online weight loss resources?

January 19, 2004 4:19 PM

As a follow-up to the many diet threads, can anyone recommend good online weight loss resources? [more inside]

Specifically interested in websites that help track and encourage progress. Weight loss journal/weblog resources? Fitness logs? Progress charts/calculators? Diet guides? Decent message forums?

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

posted by jca to health (6 comments total)

FitDay seems to have pretty much everything but the forums. I've used them in the past but pretty much do everything in a spreadsheet now that I've kinda gotten the hang of things. CheckWeight forums has a great (and active) group of people.
posted by NsJen at 4:37 PM on January 19, 2004

I just started a diet, too, and my wife gave me a newspaper clipping which mentions this government run site. I've not actually looked at it, though.

Tangent: For two years I used an old Mac-based program called Diet Balancer, and it really helped me visualize all the calories I consumed and expended. It was great. Now my Diet Balancer disk is dead, though; nothing will read it. I'd love to find a copy of this program online.
posted by jdroth at 5:38 PM on January 19, 2004

SparkPeople is a small company based in Cincinnati that does online diet/fitness management.
posted by benjh at 5:45 PM on January 19, 2004

I will second the fitday reccomendation. I have been using it since beginning of Jan, and it has helped me to lose 10 pounds just by helping me monitor how much I eat.

I also have been using http://www.weightlossforgood.co.uk/index.htm
It has some good resources, especially the BMI calculator (yikes!) and a calorie intake calculator.
posted by Quartermass at 10:41 PM on January 19, 2004

Boy am I glad I didn't weigh in (heh) on the low carb diet thread because now I would TOTALLY feel like a shill, instead of just mostly feeling like a shill when I suggest Weight Watchers eTools on-line service.

Pros: Weight tracking, progress charts, journals, recipe search, recipe tools to figure out the nutritional info of your favorite recipes, fitness trackers, tons and tons of articles about food and fitness, a decent community section with lots and lots of boards divided into special interest areas, inspirational articles and tons of before and after stories (these help me a lot), menu planners if you desire that will also generate shopping lists for you. No special foods or supplements required, and WW advocates eating a balanced diet and "lifestyle" update to any kind of food-group elimination or quick fix fad dieting.

Cons: Pricey, you have to convert everything to "points" to make their program work (although as some one who has an easier time keeping track of smaller numbers, I think this is a pro).

I lost 30 pounds using the etools, then switched to traditional meetings to lose 25 more. It's good stuff. I'm happy to evangelize more about it via email.

PS I'm not a shill, just thinner, healthier, and more productive. And very grateful.
posted by jennyb at 1:10 PM on January 20, 2004

The Diet Blog tries to make sense of all the diet confusion.
posted by danec at 11:00 AM on January 21, 2004