Any advice for introverts?

RodaRose

@DPHender People who like to have "Friends" can have their notifications such that "Friends" get notices of any of these:

I become friends with someone
I reply to a topic on the message boards
I create a new topic on the message boards
I create a new blog post
I commented on someone else's news feed update
I wrote on someone else's profile page
I have not logged into MyFitnessPal for an extended period
I have logged in for several days in a row
I have lost weight
I have completed my diary for the day
I perform a cardio exercise

You can get notifications of their MFP days.
And you and your friends can write comments.
The friend-thing does not work for everyone.
Some simply sort of check in with each other by
hitting the "like" button. And they find that useful.
I am not a good friend because I am barely doing the like-thing.

lois1231

I am also an introvert and starting over.

KetoneKaren

@AnnPT77 You are one of the inspiring people plus you have a great sense of humor. Love your posts.

IronSmasher

I don't think anyone can be put into a introvert/extrovert box and we are all on a sliding, constantly fluid scale.
Maybe you feel or act more introverted than others most of the time, but I don't think that is who we are, anymore than our mood.

You can get ideas from friends, support, solutions and understanding. Counting can sometimes not be understood fully by your family, or perhaps you just need somewhere to vent frustrations.
Being nice to you friends and having them be nice to you, helping others makes you feel good and believe you can be part of this getting healthier community.

AnnPT77

KetoneKaren wrote: »

@AnnPT77 You are one of the inspiring people plus you have a great sense of humor. Love your posts.

(Blush) Awww . . . you're so sweet!

dubird

I'm an introvert, and I prefer online communication. It's easier for me and I don't have to look people in the eye! ^_^;

There's a lot of good advice on here, as well as a lot of bro science and bad advice. I did a LOT of lurking when I first started, and learned a lot about my process. Thing is, everyone has a different process for losing weight. What works well for one person won't work for others. Our bodies are all different, so that's normal. Looking around at what other people have done that worked for them is a good way to get ideas to try for yourself. If it works, awesome, if it doesn't, that's ok too. Just take advice with a grain of salt and research everything you can. Look for peer-reviewed scientific articles for your research, not random news articles. (though, random news articles can give you different points to start from) You can talk to us, we don't bite unless asked! ^_^

lauralawless917

I'm an introvert as well. I've learned and am still learning quite a bit from others. Plus social interactions online are not as exhausting as in real life. Can always shut it down for a while.

fattyclatter

I have no idea if I'm an introvert or extrovert, all I know is that I find it helpful to have "friends" who'll like or comment on the updates I post. I'm not an "OMG that's awesome amazing fantastic xoxo let's do this woohoohoo!!!" kind of person but I'll like a post or comment on an update when I see them, because it's nice to have our achievements and/or struggles acknowledged. Like others have said - for the most part no one IRL cares about our calories or macros or methods of eating. It's beneficial for me to have somewhere I can come, talk and have people be interested or at least willing to engage. And it's on my terms.

jbendetti

abc3825

BABetter1

I learn things I wouldn't have even known to web search. For example, maintenance break . . . I didn't even know that was a thing until yesterday when I saw it on a forum post. But, I suspect it, a maintenance break, would have been very helpful to me a couple years ago when I hit that 6 month plateau. I also find group challenges motivating, so there's that for me.

enterdanger

I'm a rampant extrovert. I find having friends on here useful. It helps when I see people struggling with the same issues as me and how they handle it. I also like being able to see people's food diaries. It gives me cooking inspiration when stuff starts to get old.

CSARdiver

A virtual network is more beneficial in many ways to real life. For many of us whose real life friends have conflicting goals and needs it is difficult to find that mutual motivating element when it comes to working out and eating within a budget. Being introverted does not equal isolation by any means and we still react to positive and negative influences.

Find a group of people you identify with and stick with them through the highs and lows. Allow them to challenge your biases and beliefs and learn from one another.

Soy_K

arditarose wrote: »

For me, yes. I have had some friends on here for two years. We share stories not just about fitness, but about life. One thing I learned about weight loss and fitness, is that it's kind of a lonely road. No one really cares about your macros or can understand what you are doing...and sometimes it's really good to be able to share your success, troubles, struggles.

I agree with arditarose -no one in my real life cares about my macros or what kind of exercise I'm trying out - in real life it's pretty TMI. Seeing what others are doing in terms of nutrition and fitness and reading struggles, success stories is often inspiring and motivating to me. Being able to share stuff that's on my mind that I'm pretty sure folks in my real life would be uninterested in hearing over and over again (like my tiny incremental fitness progress) gives me a kind of release.

feisty_bucket

Big ol' introvert here. What I appreciate most about my friends list is their consistency. They don't have to say much of anything, and I don't really need outside advice or encouragement. And I rarely post anything of note beyond just logging. But seeing the ones with year+ long log-in streaks, grinding it out in my feed, day after day, putting in the work of being fit - that's helpful.

That can become your peer group for this part of life, and we know from studies that the quality of your peer groups is very important.