Stay Slim by Getting Social with The Biggest Loser’s Jay Jacobs and Jonathan Bailor

Jay: One of the biggest lessons I learned on Biggest Loser was the notion that the truth will set you free. Let’s face it, when you are in front of 50 million people every week and you are going to weigh in, it makes you be easily motivated to eat great 100 percent and exercise because you are going to be accountable, you are going to look great if you do well and you are not going to look so great if you don’t.

So, one of the things that I learned from the show and I did it actually little bit before the show was I used to use my smartphone to take pictures of everything that I ate, take videos when I was working out, text and share things with my friends and family, I post things through social media, it kept me honest in a way of what I was doing because a lot of what goes on is kind of subconscious.

In fact, my family and I wrote a book called Smartphone Fit. It’s not an app. It’s really a book that talks about the simple principles of how you can use your smartphone and accountability through social media through your circle of friends to keep you on the straight narrow. So, after the show was over, it’s regular life, I am not weighing in front of 50 million people. I do post my weight on Facebook, I share things with people, which really helps a lot, but I know you are also a big proponent Jonathan of accountability and using social media and letting people know what you are doing.

So, maybe you could share some of your insights, is there any science behind that, is there anything that really will help us reinforce that the more that we not only eat well, but how we think and how we put ourselves out there with other people, is that a key ingredient that we should consider on the Smarter Science of Slim on being on the plan. I know for myself it really helps, it helps my family, that’s why we are doing really well besides all the science you shared with us. So, love some of your insights about that. I think it could be very helpful for people to hear what you think in the area of putting yourself out there being accountable and being truthful to yourself.

Jonathan: Hey Jay, you are spot on that having support and making a public commitment is a huge aspect to having a long-term healthy and fit lifestyle. Many, many behavioral psychology studies have shown that. These types of public commitments really help keep our mind right when we are transitioning to a SANE and healthy lifestyle. The reason is really quite simple, right? If we tell 100 people that we are going to do something and then we don’t do it, now we know what’s going to happen the next time we see any of those 100 people and that really helps us to keep us focused and the thing to keep in mind though is that when you are seeking support, you want to make sure you seek it from people who will actually be supportive and I know that might sound a little bit silly, but I am sure we have all had the experience potentially with friends, even some family members where when we try to do something to help ourselves, they may be a little bit less than supportive.

So, it’s important to pick who you are going to leverage for your social support and that’s why we actually created a support group specifically designed for people who are going SANE on the Smarter Science of Slim website so that you have a group of likeminded people who are going through the same thing, who are familiar with the same science, who can support you appropriately on your path to SANEity, but the key thing is make that commitment and make that commitment to people who are supportive and then check in at least once a week.

So, maybe you post something on the Smarter Science of Slim support group stating your goals, where you are coming from, your back story, may be you do that Facebook or maybe you send a mass e-mail and then check in every week. It doesn’t always have to be good news, even sharing your struggles can be helpful, but the key thing is share what you are going to be doing, reach out for support and continue to check in. Science plus support really does equal long-term success.