Dear Readers,
If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know how much of a challenge it can be. Although I have yet to try it, I have heard that having a weight loss buddy can help you to achieve your weight goals.

Today I am talking to the creator of the Facebook group, Journey To Lose It – 2017 Weight Loss Support.

Please welcome Monica

Hi. I am 39 years old living in San Francisco. I am a flutist. I’ve been teaching students ages four through 89 in the bay area. I love sharing my knowledge with the next generations. I play a variety of concert and world Flutes. I have over 70 in my collection. Everything from silver Flutes to more exotic Flutes like Egyptian Flutes and Native American flutes. I have recorded on seven cds and I am currently working on a tutorial book I need of American flute.

I’ve struggled with my weight all my life, and this group has been great support and accountability for me as I go through this part of my journey.
Please tell the readers a little about the group.

Please tell the readers a little about your group.

Journey to Lose it was created in mid- January of 2017. It started off with just a few members, mostly family and friends who I knew were also trying to lose weight. However I knew there were many more trying to lose weight especially with the New Year, so I opened the group up to others. As of now we have 2,200 members and add about 50-100 members a day. We have members from all over the United States, UK, Australia, and really all over the world.

I love this group! I only had a few rules, one was no negativity. With that being said, I never had any problems in this group. Everyone is so supportive. It amazes me how many people will take time out of their day to give a compliment to someone they do not know. Or share a recipe and give a weight loss tip. In turn it is also a place to get support when you are having a rough time or share a success. Not everyone has a support system in their day to day life. This is a non-judgmental place anyone can turn to for support or advice from others that understand.

We have members that are losing weight in so many different ways. As what works for one person is not really the right fit for another. For me I am a vegetarian and try to follow a plant based healthy diet. For others they are doing Paleo, Whole 30, Keto, Vegan, ect. It has been really interesting for me to see and learn from so many others.

This weight did not come on over night so for many this is a very long journey and not everyone has the support in their day to day life. These Facebook groups offers that to people on a daily basis.

What inspired you to create the group?

I am a person who needs maybe more support and accountability on this personal journey of mine. I have struggled with my weight all my life. I have lost and gained the same 100 pounds so many times! This last 2016 I lost 55 lbs, and I hope to lose another 45 this year. I am fortunate this time to be able to find and afford an amazing nutritionist. She has helped me greatly, but I know not everyone has that resource. She is also the chief wellness officer at a tech company called AVA (www.eatwithava.com) and asked me to be part of
their first beta test. I was able to text in a picture of my food, and get the calories and feedback from a real person. Since I had to take a picture of all of my meals it made me much more aware of my intake. I also loved having their positive supportive comments throughout the day. Things like “great healthy meal choice, next time try the multi grain roll”. They would even give me suggestions of meals while I was out to eat. I just had to text them and say, I am at a Thai restaurant here is the menu, what should I order. It was amazing! However they are in-between beta tests, and I was missing them. They really help keep me accountable. In the meantime and even after I start again with their 2nd beta very soon, I know I can get instant support from the awesome members of my group! But really the inspiration was a personal need for myself to have another support system.

So the Facebook group was a great addition to my support and accountability. We have a fun Healthy Eating Challenge where members post pictures of their meals to stay accountable. It also gives other members ideas for things to make. It has been fun!

*IMPORTANT UPDATE ON AVA – NEXT BETA AVAILABLE VERY SOON. Readers can access this for free! For this next beta, you have to have an iPhone or an iPad and be in the United States. Just sign up on the wait list and choose Weight Loss Program, use this code AFHP. www.eatwithava.com You’ll get an email invite to the next beta soon
AVA | Your intelligent eating assistant
AVA is your personal nutrition coach, powered by the expertise of highly skilled registered dietitians and cutting edge artificial intelligence.

What would you like the group to accomplish?

I would love for everyone to reach their health goals and to learn to be gentle on themselves during this journey. It is easy for us all to be very hard on ourselves.

Thank you Monica for taking the time to tell us of this important group.

Click on the link to find this Facebook group – Journey To Lose It – 2017 Weight Loss Support

*This blog post is part of the Blogging From A-to-Z Challenge (2017)

*The Internet is a useful tool for creating online support groups. Please lend a helping hand by sharing this blog post in the hopes it reaches someone who may benefit from this group.

*If you are interested in sharing your Facebook group with my readers please email me at pluckingofmyheartstrings@gmail.com

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