When Sen. Claire McCaskill decided to change her lifestyle and lose 50 pounds, she turned to her nearly 60,000 followers on Twitter to hold her accountable. In addition to tweeting about congressional committees, town hall meetings and the St. Louis Cardinals, the Congresswoman also posted updates about her nutritional choices and fitness goals. In a recent post on the Chart, McCaskill's trainer Charles D'Angelo talks about how Twitter helped the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri lose 50 pounds in five months. He says:
What every program is missing is what holds it all together. It's like a stool - one being exercise, the other being diet. It's missing the third leg to keep the stool balanced. You have to hold yourself accountable. Claire used social media to keep herself publicly accountable.
Sustaining long-term lifestyle changes can be a tremendous challenge but social media such as Twitter and Facebook can help users tap into support networks, added D'Angelo.
Those two things, for free, you create an accountability group ... It's a wonderful tool to bring about unity. The comments, it only fuels the fire to keep with it. It's a wonderful tool to keep with a mindset.
McCaskill reached her goal earlier this month.
Previously: Jane Fonda: Using new media to deliver fitness message
Tweet from @clairecmc
