35+ Social Media Sites for the Health Conscious
There are a large number of sites out there that connect users with each other and enable people to collaborate their information.
Here is a collection of sites that specialize in the area of health, fitness, and diet.
First up - a big shout out to Israel Lagares - a Diet Blog reader who has created a new information site HealthRanker. HealthRanker allows users to vote for interesting stories or articles (in a similar manner to other sites such as Digg or Reddit).
Fitness
- Gimme20 - Fitness tracking with blogs.
- FitFiend - Social Networking to connect fitness professionals and anyone passionate about fitness.
- FitLink - Connect workout partners.
- Traineo - Popular fitness site with ability to get others to motivate you.
- IntroPLAY - Track exercise. Compete in exercise leagues.
- WalkingSpree - Emphasis on walking and linking with pocket pedometer. Blogs and journals.
- PeerTrainer - Many social networking features. Fitness emphasis.
- FitResolution - Find, add, and share workout plans.
- Run Fat Boy - Share and journal workout plans.
- We Endure - A social training log for endurance sports (see also RunLog).
- MyFitBuddy - Tracking workouts (seems basic at this stage).
- iTrainHarder - Workout and Diet tracking. Fee required.
- iStats - Log and share workout results.
- Gyminee - Workout and Exercise tracking.
- MyFitTribe - Content-based with ability to network with others.
- RunningAHEAD - Track, share, and analyze running workouts.
- Train Hero - Track and share workouts.
- FitSpott - Connecting anyone interested in health and fitness.
Support Forums and Message Boards
3FatChicks, Tincap, Featherish, Low Carber, Daily Strength
Diet & Weight Loss Focus
- Weight Loss Buddy
- Devoted to matching up weight loss buddies based on a number of criteria.
- Weight Loss Wars - Social networking with a competitive aspect.
- Fat Secret - Journaling, chatting, tips, recipes - can be centered around any diet.
- Weight Circles - Blogs and "circles" (like-minded support groups). New.
- Losing It - Social Networking.
- Extra Pounds - Blogging and Tracking.
- SparkPeople - Popular weight loss program with many social networking features.
- Diet.com - Began as the "personality type diet" - but now offers a number of ways to connect with others.
- Diet TV - Track diet and exercise habits and link up with others.
- Weigh Ins - Users can post weight loss challenges and/or take part in other challenges.
- WellSphere - Join groups centered around specific goals.
- The Daily Plate - Diet tracking with social networking aspects.
Other Health-focused networks include: DailyStrength, WegoHealth, RevolutionHealth.
I'm sure there are many more - feel free to make suggestions in the comments below.
More like this in Tips and Tools · Feb 29, 2008
I love Sparkpeople!
So far as the forums, my favorite running forums are at kickrunners.com
ReplyWow ! just what I was looking for couldn't have come at a better time, been looking for social health sites to connect on, be a great time saver this will. Thanks a lot.
ReplyThanks for the shout out J!
Replyok this will be some shameless self promotion, but I am in the business of helping people...so I just want to spread the word. I am finishing up my free emailed workout site (should be lauching by Monday). www.projectfit.org and yes, it's all free.
ReplySparkpeople is awesome!
ReplyCheck out fitday.com
ReplyIt's free and very helpful to anyone who wants to take a scientific approach to diet, weight loss and fitness.
My favorite is thedailyplate!!!! it is so awesome very encouraging! I love it!
ReplyGreat list. Thanks for putting this together!
ReplyThanks for the Featherish link, Jim. We're a really fun and helpful community and there a lot of people with lots of helpful advice and tips for everyone. I'll probably be checking out a lot of those other sites...they sound really cool!
ReplyGreat list! I have been looking for a list like this for a while now. I especially like the Health Ranker site and of course 3FatChicks is a classic
Replyfar and away fatsecret.com is the best, it has all the things you need in one package and a great community to support you
like weight watchers online without the fees!
ReplyI agree that SparkPeople is amazing. It's what helped me lose 70 pounds last year.
I wish you'd included body image acceptance sites in the list, though. Everybody's focused on diet, exercise, etc. Sometimes it's just about self-esteem.
ReplySuggestions welcome.
ReplyI hope that your omission of Livin' La Vida Low-Carb, http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com/ was not intentional. Anyone wanting excellent information, entertainment, and fabulous interviews on the low carb lifestyle needs to bookmark this website. P.S. Do not be afraid.
ReplyNot intentional - Jimmy and I have been in touch for many years. For this post I scoured the web for health sites that offered features where users could 'connect' with each other in some way. Perhaps a blog qualifies.
ReplyActive Low Carber forum is a good resource for those following carbohydrate restricted diets (many different plans find support there):
http://forum.lowcarber.org/
It's also free and has a lot of members offering support to each other.
Replyi love healthcastle.com!
ReplyCheck out the susanpowteronline.com community
ReplyWhat a fantastic list, thanks for sharing. I think social support is the most overlooked part of people's weight loss program. Sites like these make it that much easier to get that support, find motivation and provide inspiration to/from others. Welcome to Weight Loss 2.0!
ReplyThanks for this! FitFiend.com is still pretty early on and there are some amazing features on the way!
ReplyI use Gyminee it is a fantastic site. I myself am a web developer and those guys really came up with something great. I highly recommend you check that one out... I'll have to cruise through the rest of this list and see those others! Great list!
ReplyHere's another fitness social networking site:
Fitconnect.com
ReplyMyPyramid.gov has a new menu planner that looks surprisingly promising (surprising because I am naturally suspicious of the government and it's lobbyists). The format is a little different than others I've seen. I've tried it out for a day and think it's something I could use regularly.
It's not a social site though -- if you want online support as well, you'd have to combine it with something else.
ReplyHave to add -- the more I play with the mypyramid.gov site, the more I like it's potential -- but it's really buggy. Too buggy for me to keep going with it. I hope that will be fixed soon.
ReplyGreat list. Thanks for putting this together!
ReplyThanks for the shout out
Replywow sure looks like there are quite a bit of social networking sites geared towards health.
ReplyComing out by the end of the summer is www.gotalkfitness.com. This site will include a daily workout log, a daily nutrition log and all of the social networking services currently offered on sites such as myspace. You will also be able to seach members of gyms and interact with personal trainers, nutritionists and physical therapists in order to get professional answers to all of your fitness questions. Check it out now to sign up for our newsletter and register to get a free t-shirt.
ReplyI'd like to add Iowa Avenue, a dynamic healthy-living social community connecting people in a meaningful way for a meaningful purpose. It's about health, fitness, and weight loss, with a little fun thrown in for good measure. It's free, so join today! to your list.
Being the owner, I'm definitely bias, but hey, I think it's a great place to connect.............:)
ReplyI've been in and around the fitness industry for 25 years. It's very exciting to see this incredible interest in fitness and community and tracking success.
We put out www.MyTrainer.com, a sports and fitness community around video content generated by the trainers with social networking features.
Free fitness video's for everybody!
ReplyIt's not a social site though -- if you want online support as well, you'd have to combine it with something else.
ReplyWhat a fantastic list, thanks for sharing. I think social support is the most overlooked part of people's weight loss program. Sites like these make it that much easier to get that support, find motivation and provide inspiration to/from others. Welcome to Weight Loss 2.0!
ReplyThanks for the excellent cool list!
Replyfantastic job!
Thank You :)
ReplyJim, this really IS a great list. People who want to get in shape and interact with others to do it can use all the resources they can find! We launched mybodysite.com to give people a place to connect and talk about all levels of fitness. We're working on all sorts of new features for the fall and I hope you will consider adding mybodysite.com to your next list. Keep an eye out for new stuff coming soon, too. : )
John
ReplyI love the online sites that provide personal support and lots of tips, recipes, and other help. My favorite is currently www.prevention.com, which is an offshoot of Prevention magazine - it's good stuff.
Reply