Weight Loss Blogs, and Why We Read Them (Or at Least Why I Read Them)

I forgot to say anything yesterday, but thanks for the studying abroad support! Y'all rock.

When I first starting blogging, one of the types of blogs that seemed to catch my eye was weight loss blogs. The typical story for these blogs goes like this: They start a blog in hopes of tracking their weight countdown and having some emotional support. They go through their struggles, they go through incredible losses. Many times, they plateau, other times they finally reach maintenance. They open up about why they got to be that size, why it's taken so long, and eventually stat to open up themselves.
I know that I'm not the only one who fancies these blogs, they receive hundreds if not thousands of hits. Why are these blogs so popular?

For one thing, they seem to be the majority of blogs. I know many blogs that have transitioned from weight loss to healthy living, and a lot of them I've forgotten were even about weight loss in the first place. Really, the biggest reason why (scuse the pun) is because it affects so many people. If you're not overweight yourself, you know someone who is. Or a lot of people who are.

However, I think the main reason for the appeal of these blogs are the feel-good movie feelings around them. They've struggled, and as you learn more about them their story becomes something you're involved in. You want them to do better. You want them to reach their goals. It's part of the appeal in the blogging world: You don't actually know the people online, yet you feel some sort of connection to them. It helps if their writing is intriguing.

In my own case, I've never had a big problem with weight. I've mentioned it before, but for most of my life I've been average. I lost 15 lbs my senior year of high school, and then made a goal to not gain the Freshman Fifteen during my college career. Heck, that means even my blog has hints of weight related to its origin. I'll talk more about that goal tomorrow, with all of my other goals I've made. Still, food affects me. One of the weird things that has changed as I've gotten older are my tastes. Some foods I used to think were disgusting actually sound pleasant now, and that includes both healthy and unhealthy food. I now think potato salad tastes decent, but I also think broccoli isn't that bad.

I make sure to eat healthily and eat fruits and veggies. Funny thing is, my diet has VASTLY improved since I've started college, despite the unhealthy tendencies a college education may bring. Honestly, part of this makes me a little sad. I used to be able to make a meal out of junk food, now I just can't do it without feeling a haze. One summer, I would make a meal out of Ben and Jerry's. Yeah, ridiculous. Teenagers can do that, and not have to eat anything else for hours. At least that happened for me. (Don't worry, this wasn't a daily occurrence. It happened like, three times during one summer.)
I've even gotten a lot less structured. I eat when I'm hungry, and I don't if I'm not. I used to stuff myself just if things tasted good. Why waste a morsel? Not so much now.

As for my cooking skills? Well.... we'll get into that later.

Do you read weight loss blogs? Why? Or, are you a weight loss blogger yourself?