Losing weight after having a baby

Weight Loss Support Groups Types of Weight Loss Support Groups Pros and Cons

Support groups are available for just about anything, including weight loss. If you have already read my weight loss tips then you know that support is important to help you stay on track during your weight loss journey.

With the proper support you have ways to find new ideas, vent your frustrations and meet people with similar or the same problems when trying to lose weight.

Weight loss support groups can be found through online weight loss programs, on site meetings, chat rooms, forums or even build your own support system.

There are literally thousands of groups you can find online with many of them free to join. These online weight loss support groups vary from specialized groups for specific diet plans like Atkins Diet, Tom Venuto’s program, etc. to specializing in weight loss surgery members to regionalized support groups.

Some of these online support groups offer much more than support. Many have weight loss tools like the ability to log and track your weight, log your food and exercise and more. With these online weight loss support groups you can also join specific groups, join weight loss contests and more.

Most online weight loss programs also offer a means of online or onsite support, including those programs highlighted in the weight loss reviews on this site. If a full blown weight loss program is not what you are looking for then use the links below to explore some of the many online weight loss support options. Below are some of the larger directories listing many online weight loss support groups.

Google Health Directory

This directory will list the sites by Google page rank, meaning the most popular sites will be listed first. You can also sort the list alphabetically.

Dmoz Open Directory

This list is sorted alphabetically. You can narrow the list down by selecting links to chats/forums or by specific categories.

Yahoo Health Directory

This directory is listed by the size of the group with the largest groups at the top of the list. You can also search the list to find specialized groups that you are interested in.

Forums and Chat Rooms for Weight Loss Support

Using a forum or chat room for your support is another online support option. Many websites offer either a forum or a chat room or both. The advantage to using a forum for online weight loss support is they are free to join and they offer a variety of topics where you can read and post comments.

A forum generally has a moderator that watches and monitors the posts, removing anything irrelevant or offensive.

The disadvantage of forums is that they are only as good as the people who post to them. You will often find some forums with little or no activity or only the same handful of people who post comments which are often times about what their cat did the other day and not related to weight loss issues. Another disadvantage is that if it is not monitored by the moderator often you will run across irrelevant or offensive comments.

Chat rooms have similar advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that the chat rooms are usually chaired by an expert in the weight loss arena so you are getting relevant and accurate information regarding weight loss. However not all chat rooms are chaired by the experts but are sometimes chaired by the members. Another advantage to chat rooms is that the information is real time, meaning you get a response or answer right away, unlike forums where you have to check back in to see if your post has a response or comment. However, being real time is also a disadvantage as there are those people who like to aggravate others in chat rooms. They will join a chat room just for fun and may or may not be there for some real weight loss support.

Onsite Weight Loss Support Groups

Onsite support groups probably offer the best of all worlds. The reason for this is that they are led by an expert or someone who has actually been through a weight loss struggle in the past. They are also very structured with a set agenda and generally limit the size so that the group is effective.

The information and interaction is real time and you get to actually meet the people face to face, making it a more personal and social event. The disadvantages to onsite support groups are that they are scheduled for a specific day and time that may not match your schedule, they often require a weekly fee and you have to drive to their site so is less convenient for you. This may also not be for you if you have social anxiety issues or are not comfortable speaking about your weight loss in front of other people. The onsite groups are not for those who want to remain anonymous. Below are some links to weight loss programs that offer onsite weight loss support meetings.

Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers offers both onsite and online support. There is generally an initial fee to join Weight Watchers and then you pay a weekly fee for their program and the onsite meetings. At the meetings you will meet face to face with other Weight Watchers members and there is a weekly weigh in. You will receive tools and paper work to get you started. Be sure to read my review on Weight Watchers first.

TOPS

TOPS stands for take off pounds sensibly which is the company’s motto. Like Weight Watchers, TOPS offers weekly onsite meetings and additionally they encourage phone calls, emails and letters of encouragement for additional support. The meeting prices are less than $5.00 a week as they are a non-profit organization so the cost is very affordable. Visit TOPS to find a meeting near you. Their web page also offers some online tools and information.

Jenny Craig

Jenny Craig is a meal replacement type of weight loss program. One of the disadvantages of a meal replacement program is you do not really learn how to eat healthy as all the choices are made for you. So when you end this program there is a higher risk of gaining the weight back.

When you join Jenny Craig you will meet one on one with your personal consultant. You can visit a local center to meet with your consultant or using their Jenny Direct system you can meet one on one over the phone from the convenience of your home. You will then meet weekly with your consultant to review your results and progress. Visit Jenny Craig website for more details.

Build Your Own Weight Loss Support Groups

Another option you have is to build your own personalized support group. This can be friends, family members, coworkers and neighbors. An advantage to this type of group is it will be with people you already know and like. You can make your group as big or as small as you want. The people you ask to be in your group need to be supportive and positive. They can be people that are also trying to lose weight or just your loved ones that you want there to support you and praise you when you do well.

A disadvantage to this type of group is that the feedback they offer can be taken the wrong way or can be negative instead of positive. Try setting some ground rules if you want so that the support remains support and not become a way to discourage you.

Your weight loss support group can also be a combination of all these methods. No matter what you select having the proper support can be a very helpful weight loss tool.

Be sure to read all the weight loss reviews on this site to see what they offer for weight loss support groups.

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Weight Loss Motivation One motivational tip to lose weight is to build your own support system. Find out other ways to motivate yourself to lose weight and keep it off.

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