Being a member of SparkPeople is free. All you need to do is create your own page (easy to do) and get started blogging about your weight loss efforts. There are also dozens of groups and forums you could join. If it’s related to weight loss, health and exercise you’ll find a group or team on SparkPeople.
The community section is just one of the great “tools” you’ll find on SparkPeople. You’ll also find great healthy recipes, charts to keep on top of your exercise and nutrition goals, articles, videos, blogs written by other members and so much more.
Are you looking for a weight loss buddy or someone to walk with? You can interact with other SparkPeople members and find people in your local area who have the same goals are you do.
It doesn’t matter if you are on any programs (Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers…) or trying to learn to eat better, you’ll find many valuable tools to assist you to help you reach your goals.
I honestly think that best feature are the groups and teams. It’s hard enough trying to lose weight. To know people who are in the “same shoes” that you are makes it a lot easier. It’s great to have people to support you, encourage you and help you through the rough patches.
Chris Downie, the founder of SparkPeople, has written a great book to help “spark” people into wanting to lose weight and get healthy. The book is called The Spark: The 28-Day Breakthrough Plan for Losing Weight, Getting Fit and Transforming Your Life.
One thought I walked away from learning about Chris is a quote from the chapter…”Your daily actions and words impact more people then you ever realize“. Think about that one for a moment. You don’t realize that until someone puts it in front of your face like that.
In The Spark Chris shows you how to set goes and get your mind set on losing weight, exercising and getting healthy. He also shows you have to develop and inner “fire” and a positive outlook which will help you become more successful at reaching your health and fitness goals.
There is a plan within the pages of the book that helps you to determine how many calories you need to eliminate from your diet in order to reach your goals and how many calories you need to maintain your weight loss after you have lost the unwanted pounds.
Another favorite chapter of mine was Lifestyle Change. When it comes right down to it it’s not so much a “diet” or “exercise” plan you need to help you lose weight. Ultimately you need a lifestyle change. Chris help you to develop some positive lifestyle changes to help you bounce back from set backs, become more positive and how to find supportive people.
The Spark also features information on foods, recipes and exercises and my personal favorite a section dedicated to those who have lost 100+ pounds.
I realize that there are more “weight loss” books on the market then we can count. Trust me, I think I’ve read them all (ha ha). But I know that SparkPeople has really helped A LOT of people to lose weight. I have met plenty of people over the years who have sworn by how effective SparkPeople can be, most especially the community section.
If you are looking for proof that it works you should check out the before and after section in The Spark that features real life SparkPeople members with brief contributions from them about their SparkPeople experiences. If you need more proof that they are actual SparkPeople members the book even includes links to their SparkPeople pages.
I can’t tell you how motivating it is to see people around my weight and height who are not a more “normal” size. The before and after pictures are a huge motivator.
The Spark: The 28-Day Breakthrough Plan for Losing Weight, Getting Fit, and Transforming Your Life is available on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and other book retail locations. 
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