What Makes MFP Work For You?
SoCalSwimmerDude
Posts: 507 Member
I've been on MFP for about 2 months now and have had better/healthier results than anything I've done in the past. Sure, I lost 50 pounds yrs ago, but I did it by basically going on a carrot and rice cake diet. Obviously, that didn't last... but MFP is different. I really started thinking about this when seeing family members do Weight Watchers (I'm not against WW at all... I just see differences). What's really interesting is that MFP isn't a "diet plan" or "exercise plan" that we buy at a store. ITS A CONGLOMERATION OF PEOPLE WHO WANT A TOTAL HEALTHY LIFESTYLE WITH UNLIMITED WAYS TO GET/STAY THERE. I'll try to explain...
I'm not sure if the creators of MFP purposely created it for some of these reasons (I'd love to get their thoughts on this), but there are 'factors' that are simply fascinating to me. Here's a few things:
1. I get to see what other people eat: Not only is it inspiring to see others eat tasty and healthy, but it shows that a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to be a boring or abnormal lifestyle. It shows that you can eat like that for your entire life... not just to lose weight.
2. I get to see what others do to workout: You name it! C25K, 30 day shred, treadmill, swimming, elliptical, insanity, walking the dog, water aerobics, biking... I could go on and on. Again, it shows that its not about WHAT you do, but HOW you do it... and that YOU ARE doing it. I got tired of only swimming for excercise (former swimmer), so I did the unthinkable... and ran (could NEVER run)... and ya know what? I can run! So now I'm thinking about triathalons!
3. Free friends: Ha, I say free because you usually have to pay to join a "weight loss program" where you find people in your shoes. My friends list isn't very big and I'd like to keep it small enough to really know the people on my list. I have MFP friends that are swimmers, vegetarians, vegans, very overweight, only a few pounds to lose, traithaletes, etc. I get to know their goals. I hope for them and thankfully, they cheer me on as well!
4. Goals reached daily: Every day on MFP I see people get halfway to their goal. I see them lose 0.5 lbs or 2 lbs. I see them reach their final goal. I see them do their first triathalon. I see men and women who have lost over 100 lbs... how cool is that? I SEE THAT IT CAN BE DONE.
5. Instant & Ongoing gratification: I'd say 'ongoing support' because we clearly have that here, but the gratification aspect is often overlooked. I can't tell you how many times I've posted my killer workout on my wall and I'll go back to see what others have said. It doesn't take much. It's just a "great burn!" or "good job!" that makes me a feel just a little better than I already do.
6. Anonymity: Kinda weird to say this, huh? The fact is that we all have friends on MFP, but there's a good chance we'll never meet them... or at least a majority of them. I'm sure some people disagree w/ this statement (and thats OK), but what other program would a 29 year old guy w/ 20 lbs to lose be friends with a 45 year old woman with 100 lbs to lose (ha, and no I'm not talking about any of my friends specifically). Again, we're all here to be healthier... whether being healthier is simply a better diet, losing tons of weight, training for a tri, etc. I've seen people talk about bowel movements, men wearing band-aids over their nipples while running, chafing thighs. Ha, and its all good!! Where else can you do that? I doubt you're going to talk to your neighbor about it!
7. There is no secret: We've all seen the repeated posts about "what works for you?" and "to eat or not eat exercise cals" and "is eating fruit worth the sugar?". When I first got on this site, I would read people say, "Listen to your body" or "do whats best for you". I hated that advice. I felt like saying, "No, just tell me what works, and I'll do it." But in all seriousness, there is no secret and a vast majority of MFP folks know this. While there's always going to be the weird uncle, we all basically have come to the conclusion that were all a bit different, different diet/exercise work for us, and that we all know that moving more while eating less, in all of its simplicity.... works!
8. It never ends: I was thinking the other day, "Self, you're basically at your goal weight. You really only need to lose a little fat in certain areas and build muscle... do I need to stay on MFP after I get there?" Well, I still haven't figured that question out. But I will say this... I have MFP friends that have alot of weight to lose. And they are losing the weight! I would LOVE to be on MFP a year from now when they reach their goals. How friggin cool would that be?!
Bottom line is this: MFP, at its core, is a calorie counting website. But its evolved into a community of people with one goal in mind: BE HEALTHY. That community, with the awesome updates to the site over the years (you just have to read through the creators blog to see whats been added over the years), has become the be-all mecca of weightloss and a healthier lifestyle.
Still, while it makes perfect sense in my own mind, its kinda hard to explain in a post. So what is it about MFP that made a difference for you? What made it 'click' whether intentially or unintentially??
I'm not sure if the creators of MFP purposely created it for some of these reasons (I'd love to get their thoughts on this), but there are 'factors' that are simply fascinating to me. Here's a few things:
1. I get to see what other people eat: Not only is it inspiring to see others eat tasty and healthy, but it shows that a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to be a boring or abnormal lifestyle. It shows that you can eat like that for your entire life... not just to lose weight.
2. I get to see what others do to workout: You name it! C25K, 30 day shred, treadmill, swimming, elliptical, insanity, walking the dog, water aerobics, biking... I could go on and on. Again, it shows that its not about WHAT you do, but HOW you do it... and that YOU ARE doing it. I got tired of only swimming for excercise (former swimmer), so I did the unthinkable... and ran (could NEVER run)... and ya know what? I can run! So now I'm thinking about triathalons!
3. Free friends: Ha, I say free because you usually have to pay to join a "weight loss program" where you find people in your shoes. My friends list isn't very big and I'd like to keep it small enough to really know the people on my list. I have MFP friends that are swimmers, vegetarians, vegans, very overweight, only a few pounds to lose, traithaletes, etc. I get to know their goals. I hope for them and thankfully, they cheer me on as well!
4. Goals reached daily: Every day on MFP I see people get halfway to their goal. I see them lose 0.5 lbs or 2 lbs. I see them reach their final goal. I see them do their first triathalon. I see men and women who have lost over 100 lbs... how cool is that? I SEE THAT IT CAN BE DONE.
5. Instant & Ongoing gratification: I'd say 'ongoing support' because we clearly have that here, but the gratification aspect is often overlooked. I can't tell you how many times I've posted my killer workout on my wall and I'll go back to see what others have said. It doesn't take much. It's just a "great burn!" or "good job!" that makes me a feel just a little better than I already do.
6. Anonymity: Kinda weird to say this, huh? The fact is that we all have friends on MFP, but there's a good chance we'll never meet them... or at least a majority of them. I'm sure some people disagree w/ this statement (and thats OK), but what other program would a 29 year old guy w/ 20 lbs to lose be friends with a 45 year old woman with 100 lbs to lose (ha, and no I'm not talking about any of my friends specifically). Again, we're all here to be healthier... whether being healthier is simply a better diet, losing tons of weight, training for a tri, etc. I've seen people talk about bowel movements, men wearing band-aids over their nipples while running, chafing thighs. Ha, and its all good!! Where else can you do that? I doubt you're going to talk to your neighbor about it!
7. There is no secret: We've all seen the repeated posts about "what works for you?" and "to eat or not eat exercise cals" and "is eating fruit worth the sugar?". When I first got on this site, I would read people say, "Listen to your body" or "do whats best for you". I hated that advice. I felt like saying, "No, just tell me what works, and I'll do it." But in all seriousness, there is no secret and a vast majority of MFP folks know this. While there's always going to be the weird uncle, we all basically have come to the conclusion that were all a bit different, different diet/exercise work for us, and that we all know that moving more while eating less, in all of its simplicity.... works!
8. It never ends: I was thinking the other day, "Self, you're basically at your goal weight. You really only need to lose a little fat in certain areas and build muscle... do I need to stay on MFP after I get there?" Well, I still haven't figured that question out. But I will say this... I have MFP friends that have alot of weight to lose. And they are losing the weight! I would LOVE to be on MFP a year from now when they reach their goals. How friggin cool would that be?!
Bottom line is this: MFP, at its core, is a calorie counting website. But its evolved into a community of people with one goal in mind: BE HEALTHY. That community, with the awesome updates to the site over the years (you just have to read through the creators blog to see whats been added over the years), has become the be-all mecca of weightloss and a healthier lifestyle.
Still, while it makes perfect sense in my own mind, its kinda hard to explain in a post. So what is it about MFP that made a difference for you? What made it 'click' whether intentially or unintentially??
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Replies
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That almost brought a tear to my eye. I feel the exact same way about MFP.
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Just about everything you wrote about applies to me also. Good job!:flowerforyou:0
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Yep there is a tear in my eye as well.
You know, this might sound weird, but I basically consider my MFP friends to be my best friends, and I have only been on here for a month!
In the morning when I wake up I get EXCITED to log on to MFP and see what everyone is up to.
We all have a common goal of making each other more educated and knowledgeable in the areas related to healthy lifestyles.
Thanks for posting this! I couldn't agree more!0 -
MFP works for me because of my dear friends. I stay on MFP to help others. Actually a year ago I was voted president of MFP but I think all those friends are almost gone now (lol). As logn as there are people to help I will be on MFP.0
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What a great post!! I would have to say I agree to everything you said. And I think it's exactly why it works! I like that the mobile app is available for most smart phones, and that you can also go web-based. Oddly, this program keeps me VERY accountable. Yesterday, I had logged everything I ate, honestly....and at the end of the day when I ran out of calories (in fact went over), I remembered that I had an aprictot with my lunch that I totally spaced and forgot to log. EVen though my day was done, I logged it! I feel as if I'm "cheating" (myself) if I don't log! It's a great program, no doubt about it! Thanks to whomever developed it! 0
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i feel the same way 0
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Great post and very insightful! Thank you for sharing! 0
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awesome post!!!! MFP works for me because of the accountability. Just knowing that my MFP friends are going to see my food intake and workout log makes me want to eat healthier and workout more!!0
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I've done Weight Watchers with a neighborhood group and actually signing up for the weekly meetings. It worked for a while but counting points just didn't do it for me. I'm good at exercising but I guess I really didn't know "how" to eat. The calorie counting on this site is what did it for me. There is so much information and I love reading forums and blogs from others. I've learned so much just from reading. I'm at 5 weeks with this site today and have lost 8 lbs. I feel like I finally get it. I've always hated keeping food journals but this is so different. I'm almost addicted to this site. It just makes so much sense to me.0
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I had an obsession with black licorice.........but it has been replaced with my delicious friends.................they are what makes it work!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love them!0
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I hope the admins are reading this thread. There are so many things MFP does right. I heartily second all the things that were listed in the first post. A few more thoughts...
1. It is a very simple, very clean site. Not a lot of clicking to get to what I want, e.g., the forums, my diaries, etc. It's not cluttered at all.
2. You're helping people track the right things...weight, nutrients, etc., stuff I understand, stuff anyone can relate to.
3. The moderating on the forums is unobtrusive. I know there has to be some, because the discussions are so reasoned and helpful. I know that doesn't happen without some oversight. Nice job.
4. The price is right. Okay, that's obvious. But I've paid a lot of money for similar sites and STILL had to see a lot of advertising. I hope MFP is getting enough eyeballs. I know it certainly has mine.
5. I've also used a similar free site (from a very high-profile organization) that was so cumbersome and buggy I just gave it up. The tech folks here are doing a good job. (You might make it easier to post pictures. A lot of discussions focus on that.)
Keep up the good work.0 -
Well written! I am new to the site, but I hope to make friends over course of my journey. So far, the support has been fantastic. I haven't seen negativity anywhere.0
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I started MFP because it is so easy to use and when I'm on the go, I can use the app version. And it's FREE! I had 25-30 lbs when I started. Enough that I wanted to lose, but not so much I would pay the big bucks some other programs charge. The database has EVERYTHING. I've never searched a food and not found something at least very similar.
That was all before I got connected with the community. Sure, most of my friends have similar goals or are at a similar place in their journey simply because we can relate to each other, or we have similar interests like swimming or rookie tris. And I learn SO much from everyone here! I LOVE reading articles online, but I have found that I can find most answers to my questions from more experienced people on here.
My name is Britta Stamps, and I am an MFP addict.
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seeing that i've counted calories and lost then gained it back i have to say its def. the friends, i have a good 300+ friends here that motivate me encourage me congratulate me and keep my awesome ego pumped. its almost like this isnt a fitness site because i'm always here like an addict and when i see everyone eating right and burning calories and posting success stories it motivates me and keeps me going0
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What a fantasic post! I, too, used WW for years and it was getting really stressful to count p*ints and not get results. This site is amazing, as you can see exactly what you are eating, what nutrition you are getting, and if you are over (like sodium), it tells you and it's something you can work on. Hubby and I have been eating more healthy for some time, and this site, and my friends and message boards, are such a boost as well.
I have recommended MFP to some of my friends and hope they come on board. I did visit another free site similar to this one, but as another poster mentioned, it was so hard to navigate. Thank you, MFP for a great website!!0 -
You are completely on the money. Everything you said is the reason this site has worked for me so far. I have lost weight plenty of times on various diets and just gained it right back. I wish I had found MFP a long time ago and saved myself all of that money and time. I don't feel like I am on a diet and this is why it is working for me. I am able to live my life eating normally but healthier and I can see all of the relevant nutrients I'm eating. I love the support I get from my MFP buddies. I learn so much by just lurking the boards. I love everything about this site!0
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love everything you wrote i love the sense of community and that i learn from others everyday 0
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:bigsmile: Thank you for this post. I love the support system on this site for sure:happy I can log in on the road and still keep track of my calories and exercise! MFP is the best!0
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