Hi

AkashBittu

Can anyone really get fit by using this app?

springlering62

No. I did not get by using the app. When I use the app, I’m simply sitting on my butt, entering data.

I got “fit” by using the app to actually think about what I was putting in my mouth, paying attention to that, and subsequently making better choices.

I got “fit” by getting off that same butt and exercising.

MFP is a tool, same as my yoga mat, my weight lifting gloves, my swim cap and bathing suit.

It’s how you choose to use these tools that you will make you fit.

The app is not going to do it for you.

Alatariel75

^^^ This.

MFP is just another tool, and if you use it well, it can help you reach your goals. And despite the name, it's more about the food side of things than the fitness side of things - you track your exercise and it will tell you how many extra calories you could/should eat, and there are some exercise videos available (though less than there used to be I think?) but for actual fitness, I believe there are more targeted, better apps.

AnnPT77

What they said.

I got fit - in the sense of physical fitness, like endurance, lower resting heart rate, strength, mobility, even competitive performance in my sport, and more - long before I came to MFP, like a dozen years before. I used advice from sports coaches, group-class instructors, my own reading/research using reliable mainstream sources, and that sort of thing. It was a huge quality of life improvement. I was already in my late 40s/early 50s when that started, so I think people can make those kinds of fitness improvements at any age, and scientific research supports that idea.

But I stayed fat. Guess what? I lost weight before I joined MFP, too, for several months. Most of us know in our hearts what we'd need to do to lose weight: Eat fewer rich, fatty, sweet foods, and/or eat them less often. Eat more lean protein, whole foods, veggies/fruits, fry things less often or in less oil, don't hit the desserts/treats hard every day - that sort of thing. So I lost about 28 pounds, just making changes like that.

But I still had more to lose, and I didn't like that my weight loss rate was a bit unpredictable. That was when I joined MFP, started logging my food, lost another 32-ish pounds . . . sensibly gradually, but more predictably. That, too, was a huge quality of life improvement.

MFP was a great tool for me, and I still use it in year 9+ maintaining a healthy weight. (I was overweight to obese for around 30 years pre-loss, and I don't want to go back. Life is better now, and my health for sure is better now.)

I'd agree that MFP is a tool, and for me it's been a super-helpful one. But fitness is possible - weight loss or physical fitness - without it. It just makes things easier and clearer, for those it suits.

There's zero substitute for putting in the work. There's nothing that turns weight management and fitness improvement into a conveyor belt that we just jump on and ride to a glorious finish, without thought and effort.

Advice: Use the tool. Commit to some work. It's worth the effort.