How to use forums to build yourself a supportive friend community

toe1226

I logged on MFP for a long time before I ever made any friends here. I had never been a part of an online community before, and just wasn't sure about it.

Eventually, I grew tired of reading the same things up on the boards over and over again, I wanted advice that didn't turn into a debate or argument, and I wanted to see what people who I perceived similar to myself were doing for meals and exercise.

SO, I started by digging around the thread topics that I was interested in.

I sent friend requests to people who did the things I did, not just in fitness, and but in life!

-people who consistently replied to threads in a way that I appreciated, saw eye to eye with, fundamentally agreed with
-lift heavy
-run
-eat high protein meals
-play music
-rock climb
-cook
-experiment with drinking/nondrinking
-were a similar height to me (tall)
-had similar goals/goal weights/start weights
-lived in an area near me or where I had lived (to share weather gripes!)

Once I made my initial friend group, I started to see who was responding to their posts and could also identify more people with similar goals.

Advice: If you're going to friend request someone, INTRODUCE YOURSELF. I don't have friends to just sit their and look at their name pop up, I have them to learn through them, from them, educate them, support them, be supported by them. I can't support a ghost.

Adding friends to my MFP community has totally helped keep me on track and has given me a lot of real world insight I just couldn't get elsewhere. So thats what I have to say about that.