I have a love/hate relationship with food. It all started around September 1988 when I left the comforts of Boston for college at the University of Michigan. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I had gained the freshmen ten – heck, who am I kidding fifteen pounds.

Since then, my weight has been like a roller coaster ride – sometimes up and sometimes down. The frustrating thing is that I don’t really overeat or binge on cookies, chocolate, etc. I just don’t always make smart choices about what I put in my mouth (i.e. given the choice between a baked potato and french fries — I’d take the fries!). So, with each cycle, I get frustrated. I hate the fat stages. My self-esteem dips, most activities make me uncomfortable and really I just want to hibernate.

But I think I’ve found the solution to help manage my weight and turned it around for good. I’ve coined it the Facebook Diet. No it has nothing to do with weaning oneself away from the popular social media site due to other personal or professional commitments. It’s more about making conscious choices when it comes to food because I don’t want to be “the fat one” in the pictures!

The reality is that I am a single woman with a lot going on and I can’t be on Facebook all the time to quickly untag myself in unflattering photos. Also, I don’t want to go to the extreme and not allow myself to be tagged.

And so while sort of shallow, I’ve been following the Facebook Diet since January 2011. This has really forced me to look at food in a new light and really work on getting my weight under control through healthy eating and exercise. I can’t say that I’ve got everything figured out or that I haven’t tried a crazy food plan since then to lose a few pounds, but pleased with progress to date.

Therefore, I can’t afford to let things backslide — not just for vanity reasons but for health reasons as well. I’m getting older and it is getting harder to lose weight. Plus excess weight is a contributing factor in many health conditions. Thus, I need to maintain and continue to lose until I reach my ideal body weight. With twenty more pounds still the shed, the objective is to reach target by January 2012.

Once I reach goal, maintenance will begin. And while I’m sure I’ll have some difficult days/weeks/months/years — the thought that I might be once again “the fat one” in the picture will be enough to get me back on track.

So you see — Facebook isn’t all bad. It is helping to keep me accountable and motivated. Thus it has become one of my secret weapons in living a happier and healthier life!