Weight Loss Buddy

A weight loss buddy can be a great aid to motivation. This is someone to encourage you, commiserate with you, and help you to stay the course.

“No man is an island…” – John Donne

Why do you think athletes have coaches? Students have mentors? We are relational people at heart, and it takes a special person who can single-handedly motivate themselves toward a goal.

Where Do I Find a Weight Loss Buddy?

Community-based Weight Loss Programs

Thanks to the Internet we can easily communicate with people from all over the planet. However, sometimes we may need someone to be geographically close (particularly regarding exercise). Here are some programs we have reviewed:

Many weight loss sites are now offering “social networking” tools. These allow users to relate and connect with one another easier and write blogs.

Some example sites: SparkPeople and MyFitnessPal.

Success Story

It all started in the cereal aisle at the Shop Rite in Teaneck, New Jersey. I was pouring over the ingredient lists of various brands looking for a whole grain cereal that wouldn’t taste like cardboard. I noticed another woman checking out the cereal ingredients, too, so we struck up a conversation.

We started complaining about cereal but quickly shared our bigger concern: We were both having trouble losing weight. Neither one of us could resist the treats we bought “for our kids,” nor exercise kept falling off the priority list.

Then Wendy had an idea that would change both our lives forever. “Why don’t we be `Weight Loss Buddies?'” she suggested. The very next morning we began taking long walks together and checking in with each other about what we were eating. She gave me a pep talk via cell phone to help me stay on track over the holidays. I helped her find time to exercise when her work got overwhelmingly busy. We tried out low-fat recipes in her kitchen and created a menu that would help us reach a goal-without starting a war with our families!

Over the next several months, I lost 25 pounds and Wendy lost 30. We looked and felt better than we had in years-and we had both made an incredible friend.

Wendy and I founded Weight Loss Buddy to help other people find the same support that was critical to our weight loss success. We know you’ll love working with your Weight Loss Buddy, and we know you’ll lose the weight!

-From Weight Loss Buddy