Log On to Lose Weight: How Blogs Can Save Your Diet

The Downside of Blogging

As useful as blogging can be, there are downsides. The commitment to write regularly -- at least once a week, if not every day -- takes more effort than some novices realize. I try to post daily, but sometimes, life (an ailing relative, a sick cat) gets in the way. If I skip too many days, I feel guilty, which often makes me hungry. Worse, readers will occasionally leave negative feedback. "It isn't fun to be lectured by people who have a different take on the weight-loss experience than you do," says San Francisco-based Monique van den Berg, who publishes a weight-loss blog called "Mr. Ointy" (mopie.com/ blog/ointy.html).

Perhaps the biggest drawback is having unrealistic expectations. Maintaining a blog is not going to miraculously slim you down. You still have to do the hard work of cutting calories and exercising. If you're just reading, keep in mind that blogs reflect only a single person's experience. Just because some new diet fad works for one person doesn't mean you should rejigger your weight-loss plans to incorporate it.

Blogging has given me the confidence to stick with my diet goals and pursue other challenges, like magazine writing. Plus, I think it's made me a better companion. I work through my frustrations at the computer, not the dinner table, which I'm sure my husband appreciates. Most important, I've learned a lot about myself, like why I crave chocolate (stress) or how exercise makes me feel (great). Blogging's not for everyone, but for me, it was just the thing to get the scale moving again.