Weight loss programs are a profitable business. About two-thirds of adults in the United States alone are overweight and nearly a third are obese, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). A person is considered overweight if their BMI is greater than 25 and obese if their BMI is greater than 30. Look for my related article on ‘How to calculate BMI’
Many weight loss programs have sprung up over the years, promising weight loss, with words like ‘fast’, ‘easy’, ‘effective’ attached. But we know that this is not really the case.
If you’re looking to join a weight loss membership site, here are a few things to consider.
The monthly membership fee. Are the rates affordable? It really doesn’t make sense to pay hundreds of dollars every month just to join a membership site. It has to be affordable (in the range of a couple of dollars to less than $30). Anything else is not really worth your money because we know that there are many other ways to search for information on how to lose weight.
Membership Benefits. Each of us is different. Do they have features that can be customized to suit everyone? Some membership sites follow popular weight loss programs (I won’t mention any here, but think about blood type and you get a picture). If such information can be easily found online, why bother paying these sites for FREE information that is available everywhere?
Track your progress. Some sites allow you to enter information so you can track your own progress. You need to keep an eye on input details such as your weight over the last month, goals, exercises you did, food you ate, etc.
Healthy recipes. Since your weight is directly related to your diet, there should be a good variety of recipes to help you lose weight. In fact, this is a must for weight loss membership sites.
Recommended exercise programs. To lose weight you have to exercise! Do you recommend any type of exercise in particular that will help you lose weight quickly? At best, workouts should be accompanied by videos and images. You should also find information on how many calories you will burn when you do a particular exercise, for example jogging.
Forums This will allow you to communicate with other members. You can also share tips or even find a friend in your neighborhood. One good thing about these forums is that there is constant motivation. “Hey guys, I just lost 3 pounds over the weekend…” The entire forum will be roaring with activity with all the congratulatory messages coming in…
Location. If you can find a weight loss site from your country, that would be great! Some sites host meetups and fitness programs for members to get together and socialize. If you live in the US, there’s no real need to join a site from, say, Hong Kong.