Dr. Sherry Pagoto is a professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and co-founder of the UMass Center for mHealth and Social Media.

She is also a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in behavioural counselling for obesity. Her research has been funded by the NIH for 13 years and she has published 148 peer-reviewed papers on the science of health behaviour. Her current research is examining how technology and social media can be leveraged for health promotion and disease prevention.

During todays interview we talk about the role social media can play in supporting your clients weight loss journey and Sherry tells us the biggest mistake people make when trying to lose weight. We discuss some strategies for creating healthy habits, plus we talk about Sherrys online challenge –  PlankaDay.

PLUS later in the show, I chat to one of our listeners, Ben Ritchie from Genesis Fitness in WA Australia – Ben tells us why podcasts have made his car, a centre for learning.

Top Tips From The Show

• People don’t always have others around them for support, therefore a Social Media community can help provide some of the support they need.
• In a Facebook group or online community, you don’t have to spend a ton of time creating content, you can often just lead the conversation.
• Creating a new habit means you need to create space for it.
• Work with your client to anticipate potential obstacles that may get in the way of a goal.

Inspirational Quotes From The Experts

“A Social Media community can help provide some of the support people need” Dr Sherry Pagoto

“Podcasts turn my car into a centre of learning” Ben Ritchie

Resources Our Experts Shared In The Show

Dr Sherry Pagoto
Website
Twitter
Facebook

Ben Ritchie
Website
http://bjfogg.com/

Book Recommendation by QFF Kayley Riddle
Good to Great by Jim Collins

Show Sponsors
ILR
Precor

Flashback Show
Show 36 – Sean Bestor

Shows Mentioned
Show 13 – Darren Shaw
Show 50 – Adrian Antigua
Show 3 – Dr Paul Bedford

Tweetables – Share The Experts Knowledge To #STRENGTHEN

[Tweet “Creating a new habit means you need to create space for it @DrSherryPagoto”]

[Tweet “On social media you are the band leader keeping everyone engaged @DrSherryPagoto”]

[Tweet “If your plan isn’t sustainable, then weightloss won’t be sustainable either @DrSherryPagoto”]

[Tweet “Have a specific plan about who you will exercise with, when & where @DrSherryPagoto”]

Share Your Thoughts

Tell us your #1 Takeaway from this show or what success you have had from implementing an idea you heard here! Comment below and you could win a 3 minute interview on the Fitness Business Podcast!