WASHINGTON – Epiphany in Baltimore, Skinny Kat, Diet Chick and Juju
share more than unusual names. All want so much to weigh less – or at
least to try to reach a healthier weight – that they are willing to
document their efforts on the Web.
"It gives me accountability," says Anne, author of the blog Hello, I Am
Fat (www.plork.blog spot .com).
Anne dishes out some very personal information, including the fact that
she's lost 50 pounds and regained 48. But she's shy about divulging her
full name. "I'm uncomfortable with that," says the 31-year-old library
assistant, who began her blog in 2004. "I can call myself fat," she
says, "but I wouldn't like other people to do it."
Like those trying to achieve a healthier weight, bloggers agonize over
food cravings, struggle to find time to work out and often give
themselves a public flogging for taking nutritional detours. Like
bloggers everywhere, they share their triumphs and tragedies.
Many of these blogs appear and disappear faster than a box of popcorn at
the movies. But others, including the Skinny Daily Post and Epiphany in
Baltimore, are written by "successful losers," who simply want to share
what they have learned.
"When I began this journal, I was a 310-pound fifth-year senior at
Michigan State University," notes the 28-year-old high school English
teacher who pens Epiphany in Baltimore (www.epiphany
inbaltimore.blogspot.com). "I had a depressed year that year, living in
... clothes I had outgrown. I was ... starting to work out at Gold's Gym
next door. I started to get a little happier as that year ended, and
interned at Lansing Eastern High School the following year. The regular
schedule and rewards of teaching agreed with me and, in a way, saved my
life."
Epiphany moved to Baltimore, landed his teaching job and whittled his
waistline. "My second year, when I hit the 110-lb. weight-loss milestone
and felt svelte and happy in nearly every way, was one of the highlights
of my life. My third year, last year, I crashed pretty hard."
His blog documents a bad breakup, near-bankruptcy, an unsuccessful
lawsuit against him and a health scare that threatened his vision. "I
work hard, play hard, and try to work out hard," he writes, "but I've
gained 15 pounds since my fittest days and I'm completely obsessed with
that."
To those in the weight-loss field, these personal stories can be very
powerful motivators, notes James O. Hill. He directs the Clinical
Nutrition Research Unit at the University of Colorado Health Sciences
Center in Denver and is co-founder of the National Weight Control
Registry – a database of 4,000 "successful losers" who have shed 70
pounds and kept them off for five years.
But Dr. Hill is concerned that blogs give readers only limited
perspective. "These blogs are generally about helping people restrict
certain foods to lose weight," he said. "I worry that in reading a
personal story people will think this strategy works for everyone, and
that's rarely the case."
Dr. Hill would like to see more blogs focus on keeping off pounds that
have been lost, often the hardest part of achieving a healthier weight
for good. "Most of what I have seen are blogs that are geared towards
weight loss," he said. "I'd like to see some that are about weight
maintenance."
The Lean Plate Club is devoted to healthful eating and boosting
activity. To learn more, and subscribe to our free e-newsletter, visit
www.washingtonpost.com/lean plateclub.
Find a car
