What has been the most useful tool in this app for you and why?

wesserlinglk

I'm new and trying to figure out this app during my free trial to see if I want to continue.

KareninCanada

The food logging, and the peer interaction via the recently-removed newsfeed.

Lietchi

Well, the calorie counting aspect obviously. Linked to that, I'm a big fan of the weekly nutrition view to balance higher and lower intake days.
And having my fitness tracker synced is a big asset.

Also, the boards here help keep my head in the game.

None of these things require a premium account, these features are available in the free version.

The barcode scanner is a premium option, at least in some countries like the US. Some people like that feature. I'm only a partial fan, for my country (Belgium) the results are often wrong (wrong nutritional data or even the wrong product) or I even get zero results - with the manual search you at least get multiple results from which you can pick the correct one.

KareninCanada

Oh! Yes, automatically liking between apps is a big one. I use Runkeeper to track my walking/biking and it syncs over to here very smoothly.

HeidiCooksSupper

The food diary, without doubt. If I count calories I lose weight. If I eat with reckless abandon, I have trouble keeping my circumference less than my height.

springlering62

Calorie logging of course, but what turned it around for me was getting a fitness tracker and syncing it to MFP.

That was when I learned the four or five laps around the neighborhood didn’t offset the sweets I’d be eating when I got home. Didn’t even make a dent.

Learning the “cost” of food in versus the effort of calories burnt was…..epic and mind blowing.

The two never would have converged with the ability to sync.

I also took the time to log a few typical “before” days. I’d given myself a calorie allowance of 1470 to start. It was like the Roadrunner had dropped an anvil on my head and heart to learn I was easily consuming 10-12,000 calories a day or more.

I’ve gone on to lose a substantial amount, from a 22W to a consistent size 4 and I maintain by logging every. single. day.

Old me still rears her head once in a while- like when I ate almost a whole “pallet” box of ginger thins on the spur of the moment this weekend, but you know what? I also knew I had a ton of extra calories from earlier in the week I hadn’t used, so didn’t have a moment’s guilt over it.

(Can’t say the same for the resulting tummy ache. New me can’t hack that behavior any more. 😅)

tfsmwtntk2

What is the MFP?

jacruz1209

MFP = My Fitness Pal

AmunahSki

I’ve only ever used the free version, and it has everything I needed.

For me, it was a) the ability to easily tot up my calorie intake and monitor it on a daily/weekly basis (using the database, my meals, my recipes etc), and b) reading this forum for advice and inspiration (particularly Success Stories) which got me through the tougher times, and I am still an avid reader. Compared to the challenges others have faced, it keeps me humble.

springlering62

AmunahSki wrote: »

…reading this forum for advice and inspiration (particularly Success Stories) which got me through the tougher times, and I am still an avid reader.

This!!!!!!! I’ve read every. single. post.

And can identify with almost all of them! Agree, when the scale wouldn’t budge, that thread kept me going.

I used to bank posts to read for those times.

AnnPT77

Food logging, and the MFP Community here. Tracking my food changed my life - improved my quality of life, because I could lose weight predictably once I learned how to use it. The Community, because I learned so much from the "old hands" when I was starting out.