Online dieting is set to be a new health trend. Sylvia Thompson looks at what's involved
One of the biggest problems for people trying to lose weight is the public scrutiny that usually follows the announcement that they have signed up for a Weightwatchers programme or that they are starting a new diet.
Trying to lose weight while others monitor your progress can at times be motivating but at other times (i.e. those days when you just can't stick to the diet) it's an additional stress that you simply don't need.
Now there's a way that overweight people can embark on a weight-loss programme that is entirely private, tailor-made for each individual and, most importantly, based on sound nutritional principles. One such programme is www.cafeslim.ie which was recently launched in Ireland.
"I spent most of the 1990s in the United States, running nutritional and exercise programmes in a health club setting and I was aware of the limitations of seeing people on a one-to-one basis in terms of tackling the huge numbers of people overweight and obese," explains its founder, dietician Michael Maher.
While in the US, Maher also witnessed the growth in internet usage and the development of online dieting sites.
"The sites I saw were very generic but my idea was to develop something that was a personalised programme based on healthy eating guidelines [i.e. following established nutritional requirements for carbohydrates, fats and protein in the diet] that would incorporate individual likes and dislikes and that would fit into people's schedule," he adds.
So last year - after three years of development - Maher went online with www.cafeslim.co.uk and more recently with www.cafeslim.ie.
"We have about 800 active members - about 500 of whom have signed up in the last few weeks since our Irish launch," he says.
At a cost of €24.99 per month, members are given a personal page with week-by-week meal plans and recipes, daily nutritional and caloric breakdown of the food they eat and shopping lists (once they've selected the supermarket they shop in).
This is carefully worked out to help them lose weight slowly. The plan includes three meals and three snacks a day, with the option of three treats a week.
Debbie McColgan (23) was an early recruit to www.cafeslim.ie. "I lost over two stone in six months on the programme. The personalised meal plans are great in that I don't like fish and don't eat cheese much so none of my recipes include these. Basically I just stuck to a number of recipes I liked and I have managed to keep the weight off," she says.
Weight loss is monitored by dieticians who check on the members' weekly weigh-in amounts and give them feedback as they go. But what if members simply key in a different weight than they are? "It's essential to be truthful and upfront about your weight. And, really you're not fooling anybody but yourself if you aren't," says Maher.
He also believes the isolation associated with online programmes is offset by a number of feedback options members can sign up for.
"I wanted to create the type of experience that a client would have in a one-to-one consultation and get past the idea of an impersonal screen with no-one there so we have an on-site 'community' with a message board so people can respond to other members.
"We also have a buddy system which you can sign up for. And, apart from sending members weigh-in reminders and follow-up emails, there is also an 'ask the dietician feature' and online meetings which members can attend."
Maher also stresses the exercise programme option which, he believes, is as central to weight loss as diet plans.