Picture yourself with your favorite technology. Maybe you’re catching up with friends on Facebook or reading articles here at MyPanera.com. Maybe you’re playing a game on your iPod or using it to listen to music. If you’re like most people, you probably pictured yourself sitting down while using that technology. But did you know that technology can help us to move and in other ways lose weight? Here’s how.

Find Motivation on Facebook
What’s on your mind? is the phrase we see when we visit Facebook. If what’s on your mind is losing weight, saying so to a hundred or more friends might motivate you to stick with a diet and workout plan. A recent study showed that people who texted updates about their weight loss and received encouraging texts in response lost more weight than those who only kept a food journal - a long-established weight-loss helper.

To try it:

• Post your weight-loss goals. Then ask your friends to hold you accountable. Check in frequently for feedback and cheerleader-like encouragement to keep you on track.
• Join weight-loss support groups. Watching others succeed - and even struggle - can be both motivating and inspiring. And along the way, you may pick up tips, strategies, recipes, and new friends.

Stay on Track with Twitter
Twitter asks you to communicate in short snippets of information - just 140 characters - but don’t think that makes it ineffectual. It can be a great (quick) source of support and weight-loss information.

To try it:

• Tweet for help with temptation. Instant feedback from others can be especially powerful to you in weak moments. (“Tell me I shouldn’t have the piece of chocolate cake calling my name, friends.”)
• Seek out inspiring Twitter feeds. A few particularly good ones for weight-loss motivation are @PreventionMag, @loseweight123, and @sparkpeople.

Get Support with Smartphone Tools
Up to 15 percent of cell phone owners use apps to manage their health, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center. But experts expect that number to grow quickly. The great part about enlisting your phone in your weight-loss effort is that it can be with you wherever you go - the perfect partner.

To try it:

• Install weight-loss applications (or apps). You can access them easily on the go - in a store while trying to make food choices, for example. Two popular (free) apps are MyFitnessPal and Lose It!, both used to log your exercise and food intake (and more). Other favorite apps include Cravings Manager and of course the Panera Bread^® Nutrition Calculator.
• Download podcasts on fitness and nutrition. You can listen to some of the more inspirational-type audio programs during a commute. Use others - like those produced by the makers of the Couch to 5K app - for a great coach while exercising.