Based on his diet and fitness book The Spark, author and CEO Chris Downie created SparkPeople.com, now the largest healthy lifestyle community online. With over five million members, the website provides tools, articles, and advice for people looking to lose weight, get in shape, and get healthy.
A Personal Touch
While it shares some similarities with CalorieCount.com and other online communities, it is unique in that Downie directly communicates with members daily, serving as SparkPeople’s “resident motivation expert.” He has written over 10,000 personal messages to users offering encouragement and congratulations on achieving their health goals. I find it very impressive that the CEO cares enough about the users of his company’s website to offer them personal support and feedback.
Devoted to Your Individual Needs
The website also has many other unique features for users looking to gain health and wellness. It is free to sign up, and each user is greeted with a homepage tailored specifically to their goals. The MyTools feature allows you to choose a meal plan to fit your needs, log your fitness activity and daily meals, and enter your weight and other body measurements to view your progress over time. There is also a “Recipe of the Day” feature with healthy recipes submitted by users, along with an “Exercise of the Day” supplemented by an instructional video for performing the activity. The site even has its own YouTube channel featuring how-to videos of people cooking and working out.
Get Healthy, Win Prizes
Though I have just started using the site, my favorite feature is the SparkPoints application, which allows users to earn points by entering their meals and activity, reading articles, posting on the message boards, writing or commenting on a blog, and performing many other activities on the site. This is a great way to motivate people because members can redeem points for prizes such as gift certificates and compete against other users for the most points.
Community Support
There is also a counter updated in real time showing the current amount of calories burned, pounds lost, cups of water drunk, and minutes spent exercising among all members of the site. It’s really cool to watch the counter update continuously as people work toward their health and fitness goals. This website seems like a great tool for losing weight because it makes eating healthy and exercising seem like a fun game instead of a chore. It’s definitely worth looking into whether you are interested in health and fitness or just want to compete and win prizes.
Healthy Living Through Social Media 