August 15, 2011—New York, NY—SELF, the women’s well-being and fitness magazine published by Condé Nast, introduces the SELF Diet Tapper, the first ever consumer text-based diet program. The program, created by Editor-in-Chief Lucy Danziger, will provide SMS texts five times daily to send a friendly reminder for users to simply “Eat! Drink! Move!” during the course of their busy lives.
For 10 cents a day, the SELF Diet Tapper sends messages to let participants know exactly what to eat (every 3-4 hours), drink (every 2-3 hours) and do (move) providing easy and specific directions to help lose weight. The goal is to remind users to take healthy actions that will result in effortless weight loss.
“The SELF Diet Tapper is like getting a gentle reminder tap on the shoulder from your healthiest girlfriend, but in this case, she’s a registered dietitian or a fitness trainer. And who doesn’t react and respond when a good friend texts them?” says Danziger. “What’s most appealing is that users will be in control so they can choose whether to act on the gentle tap. Yet they don’t have to think about any formal diet plan or second guess themselves. It’s simple and fun… a little tap reminder to eat now, then drink water a little later and then make sure to exercise sometime today. We know that SELF’s audience of 10 million women are going to love this playful approach to becoming healthier and fitter with small steps each day.”
SELF recognizes that mobile tools, and the intimacy and immediacy of the text functionality, can be effective for sparking life changes. Research shows that dieters who received their weight loss plan via texts throughout the day lost five times as many pounds as those who didn’t. A study in the Archives of Dermatology revealed that people who received a text message to wear sunscreen were 26 % more likely to actually apply their SPF. Another study published in the British medical journal The Lancet found that people who received motivational texts to help them quit smoking were twice as likely to remain smoke free six months later.
SELF’s expert editorial team including contributing RDs Willow Jarosh and Stephanie Clarke, and Fitness Director Meaghan Murphy will be delivering timely and motivating meal plans and fitness tips daily. Sample texts include:
- Eat! Fix your fave 350-cal breakfast. Hint: Sprinkle nuts on cereal or yogurt; healthy fat in nuts helps you feel full.
- Move! Bang out 45 min of cardio. One idea: Walk 5 min on an incline, then 30 sec easy. Repeat 7 times.
- Drink! Back away from that brownie! Bust your 3 o’clock crave with a healthy snack, like 1/2 apple w/ PB and a tall glass of water.
The innovative program will work on all cell phones, and feature automatic renewal with payments of $2.99 per month at www.self.com/diettapper. To further support the “Tappers,” SELF will provide magazine and online extensions: an in-book column featuring tips; a dedicated Self.com page with additional recipes, workouts, shopping lists, tips and blogs; and a social media campaign giving users the ability to compare their progress with other tappers in real time, share favorite menus and strategies, and post a Facebook widget on their profile telling friends they are into the “TAPR.”
About SELF
Reaching 10 million readers and online users, SELF provides the information and inspiration to help women take charge of her life, reach her well-being goals and to become her best SELF. SELF is the founder of the Pink Ribbon for breast cancer awareness and an ASME National Magazine Award winner for excellence in journalistic achievement in print and online. SELF is published by Condé Nast, home to some of the world’s most celebrated media brands. For more information, visit www.Self.com.