Can Snapping Selfies Be A Useful Tool For Weight Loss?

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Your cell phone camera could prove to be a useful tool for weight loss. New research shows how social media helped one woman shed a third of her body weight.

Gina Licata is documenting her physical transformation for the world to see, snapping selfies, gym pictures and posting before and after shots on Instagram as her followers cheer her on.

"At first I didn't really tell a lot of people in my personal life about it, it was just strangers on the Internet," she told CBS News' Kenneth Craig.

She's lost 80 pounds over the last year and a half and she credits much of her success to that social media support group.

"Just wanted to hold myself accountable and be sort of a member of this community and just have that support," she said. "It helps me think, like, well you know I should get this workout in because then I'll have something to post to Instagram."

A recent study in the Journal of Interactive Marketing finds virtual support communities are in fact helpful and that sharing successes and disappointments online can be a key part of reaching weight loss goals.

"So we were able to see all of their achievements, their milestones, their setbacks, over that year time period," said Sonya A. Grier, PhD, American University. "And we saw that people really used this forum as a way to commit to these goals and achieve them one by one."

Licata has more than 14,000 people keeping track of her progress, encouraging her to "keep going" and calling her ''incredible'' and wishing her "congratulations." Her weight loss secret? Just old fashioned diet and exercise.

"I feel proud," she said.

And her digital followers consider her an inspiration.