LIVESTRONGTM.COM compiles tools to help users maintain healthy living

Jan 7 2010

Each year, millions of people designate January 1 as the day they are going to make a change. Stop smoking. Save money. Exercise regularly. Whatever the pledge, countless Americans try—and frequently fail—to make changes in their lives. Most start strong, but by February have all but abandoned their newfound goals. LIVESTRONG^TM.COM, an online destination for health, fitness and lifestyle-related information, says the key to success lies in the proper tools used for support. LIVESTRONG.COM has those tools to back consumers in every New Year’s Resolution imaginable, from losing weight to spending more time with family, exercising more and even quitting smoking.

“Dare to Quit Smoking. “One of the key elements of eating well is to understand what you are putting into your body”

The popular site launched New Year's on LIVESTRONG.COM, a one-stop-web-shop to give users a leg up on this year’s resolutions. New Year’s on LIVESTRONG.COM compiles the site’s best tools to help users maintain healthy changes that will last well beyond the holidays. Users can join more than 2 million registered users who are already utilizing the site to make lasting changes in their lives.

“One of the biggest hurdles people face in getting healthy is a lack of motivation,” said Dan Brian, general manager of LIVESTRONG.COM. “Interactive tools on LIVESTRONG.COM like the Daily Plate and MyPlate D help quantify results so that users can literally watch their health improve. This kind of feedback is instrumental in helping people change their behaviors in the long term.”

Studies have shown that people are significantly more successful at making changes when they set clear, measurable goals. LIVESTRONG.COM enables users to track their progress from day to day, and set short term weekly and monthly goals to stay on track. Furthermore, LIVESTRONG.COM provides its community with a support network and the tools to share daily achievements with friends and family, via Facebook connect and Twitter integration. The support and real-time feedback on LIVESTRONG.COM enables users to efficiently identify what works and what does not so they can modify behaviors.

LIVESTRONG.COM’s unique tools provide users with all the tools necessary to make and continue healthy, lasting changes, including:

• MyPlate on LIVESTRONG.COM—An interactive calorie tracker that draws from a database of more than 625,000 food items and 2,500 exercises. Users track their nutrition against an individually calculated caloric goal, inputting the food they consume and different fitness activities throughout the day. MyPlate provides a breakdown of calories, carbohydrates, proteins and fats, enabling users to view a comprehensive snapshot of their nutrition.
• MyPlate D – A newly launched tool, this feature is set with complete nutrition tracking for people with diabetes and enables users to monitor their glucose and track insulin.
• LIVESTRONG.COM Loops—A web application that enables users to map exercise routes in their local areas and beyond. Loops also allows members to track distance completed and match that against their nutritional intake and helps members discover new routes and paths to expand their workouts.
• Mobile Applications for BlackBerry, iPhone and Android—The Calorie Tracker applications provide support anytime, anywhere. To date, more than 1 million applications have been downloaded, and 30 percent of all food and fitness tracking come from mobile applications.
• Dares on LIVESTRONG.COM—A site differentiating feature that provides motivation, goal-setting and community support by enabling users to challenge themselves, and others, to tackle actionable objectives. Dares connect members with similar goals, and provides them with a discussion forum, and guidance from experts. To date, more than 175,000 Dares have been taken, including more than 6,000 members who “Dare to Quit Smoking.

“One of the key elements of eating well is to understand what you are putting into your body,” said Alyse Levine MS, RD, and LIVESTRONG.COM nutritionist. “LIVESTRONG.COM takes the guesswork out of calorie tracking so users can see exactly what they eat and how it affects their bodies. This enables users to make healthier choices to improve their lives.”

To date, LIVESTRONG.COM users have successfully lost more than 5 million pounds, and burned almost 3 billion calories by tracking their exercise and food on LIVESTRONG.COM.