I am new to the online support community. When it comes to losing weight is this online community more helpful compared to your "real" family (husband, wife, kids, mom, sisters, etc...)?

Yes and no .... I've learned soooo much here. My family is wonderful. Everybody tries my food and once in a while someone exercises with me. My husband approved of buying a fitness centre and my sons put it together.
But yer 'man on the street' doesn't really know that much about nutrition and exercise. I get wisdom here. I talk with gals in the same boat as me. I talk with gals who are where I've been and gals who are where I want to be.
Good support both places, just different.

I don't have offline support really... I live alone and in a different country to most of my family, I see them every couple of months and they comment on my weight loss when I do, but they're not there day to day. Strangely I think this helps me because when I shop I can shop exclusively for me and there's no-one sabotaging what I'm doing by bringing unhealthy stuff into the house. I can be in complete control of the food that's available to me, which is very useful!

My family is so supportive. My husband makes sure I have plenty of time for exercise, my kids willingly try new foods, and they all cheer me on in general. I couldn't have come this far without them.

What I find valuable about online support is having a network of people who have been through what I am going through, experience very similar frustrations and accomplishments, and who share their ideas and knowledge about weight loss, nutrition, and exercise. Plus, there are so many inspiring stories shared that help me stay focused.

Both support systems have their place in my journey but, like someone has already said, they are just different.

Both methods are good. I am home alone alot of the time right now so this place gives me a place to read up and get inspiration and ideas, but really my family knows me on a personal level and that type of support is great. The only thing that I really feel is missing out is someone who will actually push me to do things when I really don't want to (like working out which I haven't done in about 2 weeks now).

I think that I truly NEED both. My husband has been very supportive, as are two friends that I see on a weekly basis. But, none of them are on a diet so I can't talk about it as much as I would like with them - they get bored with my questions or little celebrations about sticking to my goal every day. That's why I think this place has been so helpful - losing weight and being as healthy as you can be is the whole point, and that's what everyone is focused on when they come here. I need the online and offline support to keep me going.

I feel bad about gaining weight, so I don't talk about it much with friends and family. My husband hears when I've lost weight.

Online support is great for me. The challenges, the weigh-ins, the information. 3FC is kind of like a ritual. Count up my calories from the day before, track my progress on a spreadsheet, log on to 3FC and check the daily thread I'm on, read other posts, and then be motivated for the day.

I think what I like the most about my online support is that it is always here. I know there is always going to be someone who has been where I am and who is willing to help out. In real life, people are kind of flighty.. I guess. Even though most of the people I know WANT to lose weight and are supportive of me losing weight, they are as consistent about it as 3fc is.

I have to agree with Grey Eyed Girl. My family and friends are uber emotionally supportive, but none of them have gone through anything like this. So when I have specific questions or want to know if things that are happening with me normal or not, I turn to this forum

Affectionately,
LL

My situation exactly. Even at my highest weight I was still thinner than most of my family so I've haven't gotten a lot of sympathy with my weight issues (I kind of felt stupid letting it depress me so much until I realized that it's all relative). I know they would mostly just roll their eyes if I started talking about my weight. On the other hand, whenever I see my mom she asks me how much I've lost, tells me how good I'm looking now and she seems interested in my workouts, etc.

Bottom line: I would feel self conscious if anyone in my "real life" knew how obsessed I've become with working out, tracking my food, etc. I don't want to bore anyone else with the details so I come here instead where everyone else is just as obsessed.

I feel the same way as most of the people who posted here . . . it is important to me to have support both online and offline, but while the support of my boyfriend is incredibly valuable to me, he gets bored out of his mind when I chatter on about how many calories I ate today, and doesn't understand why I get so excited when I lose another pound. So while I need him to help me get motivated to go to the gym, or to resist the temptation of junk food, I need this forum to talk to other people as obsessed as I am, and who have been through the same things.