Twitts

In an effort to lose weight before his own wedding, Alex Ressi, 33, launched TweetWhatYouEat.com in January 2008.

Unable to find a simple way to keep a food diary online, the New York-based developer created his own site that lets people keep a Twitter-based food diary by sending messages via mobile text or the Web.

Although people can choose to keep their messages private, by default the TweetWhatYouEat Web site broadcasts, in real-time, members’ messages about their meals and caloric intake. Now, the site has about 12,000 members, some of whom have lost 40 pounds, he said.

Ressi said the goal was to make users more aware of what they’re putting in their body. But he acknowledged that another force is also behind the site’s effectiveness: Shame.

“There is that component of shame,” he said. “Perhaps if your food diary is open and public, it may affect what you eat.”

******

But If you’re tired of calorie counting, try eat stop eat lifestyle.