With over 50 million users, nutrition tracker MyFitnessPal has accumulated a hefty amount of fitness data. There’s an interesting trend in that pile of information: MyFitnessPal users who shared their food diaries with friends ended up losing twice as much weight.
Photo by Don DeBold
The data scientists at MyFitnessPal decided to run a survey to gain more insight into that figure. They asked 2220 users how and why they were connecting with other users, and the responses made a lot of sense. Basically, the users were forming support networks to help each other stick to their goals. They dubbed the support networks Fitness Tribes, and they even combined the data and surveys for a free eBook.
Of course, this has long been a popular recommendation, but it’s nice to know the numbers are on its side. And remember: fitness trackers can be useful, but they’re not a guarantee you’ll shed the kilos, and neither is sharing your goals with a friend. But if you want to lose weight and have a friend that wants to do the same, it’s definitely worth helping each other out.
MyFitnessPal eBook: The Rise of the Fitness Tribe [via Fast Company]
Comments
2 responses to “You May Have Greater Success Losing Weight With A Friend”
Whenever I’ve lost weight, there’s always a good friend around to help me find it again.
If a woman eats another woman’s cake, she doesn’t get the calories as they are not her calories.