Sticking with MFP

RetroSnowflake

1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?
I came home from school and stepped on the scale and realised that eating Oreos and watching Netflix all day wasn't very healthy.

2. What made you stick with MFP?
I liked how I could calorie count everything and the forums were really helpful.

3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?
Yes. Once I can get my eating habits in shape, I probably won't need to count calories anymore.

Alyssa__Lauren

A. I really don't know why after years of tolerating being overweight I suddenly became motivated.

Me too! I don't really know where it came from exactly. I've been overweight since I started college (I stopped being a vegetarian and gained the Freshman 40 instead of the Freshman 15 :embarassed: and then struggled with that for years). But I gained extra weight from a bad breakup and Hurricane Sandy and it just got to be too ridiculous, I guess

Thank you for the great responses everyone! I love hearing people's stories about why they decided to change their nutrition/exercise habits! Keep 'em coming!

TravelDog14

1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?

June 2012 I was looking down the barrel at turning 50 in 9 months and then was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. That was the kickstart, it flipped some kind of switch in me that I needed to take control of my health. I didn't want to be 55 years old and so overweight that I couldn't hike, or walk, or move easily.

2. What made you stick with MFP?

Its ease of use. I found MFP by googling "best weight loss app" or something similar and up MFP came on the Googlerator so I registered and it was simple to understand and use.

3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?

Yes, I'm in maintenance now, reached my goal about a month ago. I can see using MFP for the long haul as it keeps me honest and it's become a daily habit.

Direnscure

1. I always talk down about myself, and every now and then I'd always fall into a pit of depression here and there. I'm 6' 3", pretty big/broad guy...I have an amazing foundation to build from, and it got me depressed seeing that I wasn't doing anything about it. I wanted to lose weight, I wanted to look and feel better, and most of all I wanted to up my chances of living longer.

2. How easy and extremely helpful it is to use. Seriously, my biggest change was using MFP, seeing how many calories I would normally eat in a day, and be disgusted in myself.

3. Yes, it takes about 5-10 minutes out of my day to use MFP and to make sure I'm still on track. Once I reach my goal I still plan on using MFP...it's too good not to use.

GormanGhaste

1. Other half was worried about my health.
2. very easy to use and motivating
3. yes

bwogilvie

I lost weight in my 20s by starting to exercise more, without watching what I ate. I gained it back in my 30s when I stopped exercising without changing my eating habits. I lost a little bit after I turned 40 and returned to regular exercise, but a middle-aged metabolism doesn't shed pounds as easily...so I decided I needed to count calories.

I had tried SparkPeople as an exercise tracker a couple years ago, but found the "gamification" to be offputting. Browsing through Consumer Reports at my sister's house over the holidays, I saw a review of weight loss programs that had good things to say about MFP. I thought I'd give it a try. When I discovered it had a companion iPhone app, I was pleased, since logging as soon as I eat something is the best way to ensure I don't forget any calories.

I stick with it because it's easy and because I'm getting results. It's not the only tool I use. I read John Walker's "The Hacker's Diet" (free online), which emphasizes calorie counts, and am using Beeminder to track my weight every day and to calculate an exponentially smoothed moving average. (My graph is at https://www.beeminder.com/brianogilvie/goals/weigh, if anyone wants to see what it looks like; the skinny purple line is the weighted average.)

I do plan to keep using MFP and tracking my weight against an exponentially smoothed weighted average after I reach my target. Experience has taught me that if I don't watch what I eat, I gain weight. The chapter in Walker's book on "Perfect Weight Forever" explains why it's a good idea to weigh oneself daily after reaching your goal: if your daily weights are mostly above the average, that means you're putting on weight and can address it before it becomes a big gain. I don't know if I'll count calories all the time, but I will start counting as soon as my average is 5 lbs. over my target, or for that matter if it drops much below the target.

NonnyMary

the best part of MFP is when you track your day's food, it gives you the message, "If you keep eating like this you will be _____ in 5 weeks (and its like 10 pounds lower than I am at now). it is totally the carrot before the horse encouragement. Funny how that is encouraging. 5 weeks does not seem very long at all and Im seeing an actual number before me to attain.

I like to see my progress and I can see my food choices as the days go by. It will be interesting to see what I'll be recording in the months to come, and compare. If i happen to blow a day, i just say well, here is where i can improve a bit and i use the numbers to help me sort it out.

I went to a few other weight loss websites, but I just feel like I'm part of a group here that cares about each other (even the brutally honest ones lol . I do keep my profile on private because I want to use it to record my personal feelings as the days go by and I'm too embarassed for you all to see it and then i couldn't really be honest if i know someone might read it. i still am embarassed about parts of me.

twinmoon

Great questions.

1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits? Hit my highest weight; felt terrible and was really unfit; miserable.

2. What made you stick with MFP? It's easy to use; tells me how much i'll weigh in 5 weeks; love the community & enjoy reading posts; I learn a lot on this site; and now, I'm an MFP addict.

3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now? Yes.

sisa1965

1. I weighed for the first time in 5 yrs and that along with being diagnosed prediabetic was a smack in the face , and a wake up to do something before it was too late. Plus at a work health assesment I had a fasting BS of 180 and I knew I was headed for serious problems. Thank goodness this all happened within a couple odfdays of each other to drive the message home!!

2. the first time in my dieting career I had results and they happened pretty quickly. It was a life style change I could live with. Plus this is the most weight i have ever lost at one time.

3. YES!!

Winston1717

I lost 50. Comes a time where you feel so crummy everyday. ..I have been in the up and down cycle and have conquered it...honestly
Without MFP. But I like the extra support and the tracking. Also need to keep healthy for my six year old and wife.

DakotaKeogh

1. Vanity. I had a health episode when I was nearly 300 pounds. I found myself in a situation where I was shirt off, heart monitor probes taped all over me, a sea of puffy, pale underbelly, surrounded by five very, very fit firemen. It was utterly humiliating and I swore it would never happen again.

2. MFP just worked. Watching the numbers made the lifestyle change a game. And it was fun to rack up the exercise minutes and calories day by day. And I have great connections here that I don't want to let down.

3. Yes! I reached my goal nearly two years ago. I don't trust myself. I'm sticking around to be sure I don't fall back into old ways.

Wildflowerangel

1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?

I was driving home with my nine year old daughter. She told me that the night before, her dad had come downstairs and found her eating a meal at about 1 am. He told he (and it still hurts to write this) that if she kept eating at night, she would weigh FOUR HUNDRED pounds, like her mother.

I didn't weigh four hundred, but I was four pounds shy of 300. So I started out of anger.

2. What made you stick with MFP?

Seeing the changes in me, changed me. I began doing it because I was not just mad, I was seeing results and for the first time, I was not feeling like I couldn't do it. I didn't need diet pills, shakes or whatever. I was just counting calories and working out. Plus, since I got p***ed off at my husband, I bought a pool membership for $500 a year and started swimming. I felt really good about using money on myself for a change. Felt the same way when I bought my bike.

Plus, I see the daily progress of those on my friend list. I read their food diaries. They read mine. It's a support net that really hold my weight and I love it.

3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?

I think that I have to.

I can't imagine how I'd respond if I were in your situation. It just hurts to read what your husband said to your daughter. Good luck with your weight loss journey-- you can definitely achieve whatever goals you put your mind to!

Hotdawgnothotdog

(.1) I just started jumping on my trampoline out of like nowhere and from it, lost 14 pounds, not changing my eating at all. Then, I got more and more into it, it was a change over many months.
(2.) I had an on and off relationship with MFP until about late April, until I hit a plateau, I hopped back on and lost gradually, I don't plan to leave again any time soon.
(3.) I'm not sure. If I get to gaining weight without it, definitely, if I can maintain my weight without it, no.

popsicklestar

I've consistently worked out for awhile, but my weight usually fluctuated between the highest weight for my height to not be overweight and 5-10 pounds overweight. I was still in good physical shape due to my working out, but could definitely stand to lose at least 10 pounds. I had just finished a month long cleanse and lost 10 pounds, and kind of wanted to keep losing weight and keep it off and not lose the same 10 pounds over and over again every year. I had a conversation with a trainer at my gym who logs all his food, and I recently got a new smart phone, so I decided to give it a try.

I honestly didn't expect it to work so well. I didn't ever think it was even possible for my body type to fit into a size 4-6. I always thought counting calories would be an annoying chore, but I actually like it now. It's interesting to know exactly how much you've eaten during the day and how it breaks down nutritionally. I also don't want to be that annoying person who's constantly talking about their diet, so it's nice to have the mfp social aspect, so my friends in real life don't have to constantly hear about it. I definitely plan on continuing with mfp because it's so easy to overeat when you're not tracking. It also takes away the food guilt I normally experience when I eat things like pizza and ice cream. I used to think I had to forgo junk-type foods entirely if I wanted to be super fit and lean, but I realize now that I can have treats sometimes and still maintain the weight I want.

artsycella

1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?

My husband and I started talking more seriously about having children soon. And I realized that being overweight would make that harder in a lot of ways--harder to conceive, harder to be pregnant, harder to give birth, and harder to be a good role-model and teach children how to have a healthy, nourishing and sustainable relationship with themselves, their bodies, and the food they consume.

2. What made you stick with MFP?

Actually, after doing some real soul searching, I've realized it's because I'm not happy at work right now. I know that sounds weird and unrelated, but I feel very unhappy with my work and I think I was subconsciously looking for something I could do well, something I could exercise some control over (no pun intended). MFP provided me with the tools to do that. Now that I've been doing it for 3 months it's become habit and I hope that even if my work situation improves I won't give it up, but I really think that's what gave me the initial motivation/stubbornness needed.

3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?

No. Eventually I hope that I'll be able to use MFP to teach myself how to eat well and sustainably and maintain my weight without the need for the tool. I'm far from my goal weight right now, but once I get there I plan to wean myself off calorie counting slowly. Eat at maintenance for a while, then start logging after eating rather than before, then logging at the end of the day, then at the end of the week, until I've got it figured out. This is a fantastic tool, but it's one I hope to outgrow. I feel the same way about my scale.