View of MFP from non MFP'rs

batgirlmama

I get some positive and negative comments. The best way I can describe is that its similiar to WW except its free and fun!

Heatherbelle_87

I get positive and negative comments, from people who have never heard of MFP and those who have used it/are using it.

The ones that are negative are typically those who have A) Never calorie counted in their life (making them naturally skinny or heavy and dont care) or Have tried calorie counting but have failed. Now they could have failed due to lack of desire, or because they fell off the "band wagon" and dont have the support to get back on or for many other reasons. When I run into the whole "calorie counting is hard I just do WW" comments my response is usually "WW was harder for me! I had to look up the food to find out how many points it was to add it to my diary and if it wasnt in the WW book it was impossible to figure out! Atleast here I can always find something similar." and I LOVE the community support on here, for weight loss and things we go through in our own personal lives. I also have issues with the new WW system having fruits as 0 points. It does encourage more fruit and veggie consumption but you could easily eat a 5 "point" day but have eaten well over your calories in fruit.

MzBug

When you stop and think about it, it's kind of funny...people are willing to torture themselves on a quick fix short term diet. Most are not willing to do something as simple as change 1 bad eatting habit. "If it was that easy there would be no fat people!" is the comment I got when I told an inquiring person how I was doing it. They wanted to know the "real secret"... the "horrible things I ate"... *whisper* "what pills are you taking"... :laugh: I just shook my head and walked away.

docdevore

I like the people who think counting calories is this negative terrible thing. The most important part of losing weight is being aware of your caloric intake so you can create that deficit. That's why those systems like Weight Watchers & Nutrisystem that keep you ignorant of your actual calories and tell you what to eat only last as long as people are willing to do it. MFP means you have to know this yourself and a lot of people would rather not find out that their poor eating habits are what is making them overweight. I expect the negativity because I know most people really aren't ready to deal with the truth. So the stigma of calorie counting on MFP does not surprise me in the least.

I'm with you on this. MFP is just a tool, but the commitment has to be with me. Most people want to know what program or diet I used to lose 150 pounds. I tell them that I didn't - I just watch what I eat and exercise. No magic. Very simple. But most people won't make the commitment. Now, after 13 months, this is my lifestyle and MFP has been a very useful tool.

MisterDubs303

Read my ticker.

seventwenty

This is more of a general weight loss comment.

I was puzzled as to why people shied away from calorie counting, until one of my friends started MFP and nearly *kitten* 2 bricks when she entered her calories in for the day. She went through the intake roof, and she wasn't exercising at all. She plugged along here and there on MFP, but the days she ate the heaviest, she would never log it. I asked her about her weight loss goals, and she said "it makes me sad to see how unhealthy I'm being." I suggested she look at things a different light. "Oh, if I do this, this and this, I'll be good. That's fine, I don't need those things." Upon that suggestion, she gave me the "oh but it takes too much time to make such a health plan," and I stated I never spending more than 10 minutes logging food and never made a plan; I just learned as I went. Then she said "Oh, but I don't know how many calories are in my homemade meals, or restaurants, or, or or."

By then I got it; it's far easier to make excuses than hold yourself accountable. People try to hold themselves accountable to easy tasks, but shy away from accountability in harder ones. When a task seems impossible, many people don't view it as "chunks." They view it as a huge mountain they can't climb. Here's a hint, some mountains have a staircase. So, instead of changing your attitude toward accountability, they make excuses. They think, by making excuses, they'll feel better. In reality, they probably won't. They'll feel good for the moment. Then 5 weeks pass, and they feel disheartened that they're still in same rut. When someone comes by saying, "I just lost 5 pounds! I'm stoked!" they think they cannot enjoy that success. So this negative attitude becomes reenforced. Meanwhile, while it may be an ego buster to hold initially yourself accountable and actually make positive choices, by the time you start making real progress, or any progress for that matter, you think. "Wow, I did that, and it wasn't too difficult? Tomorrow I'll try for more!" But too many people don't think like that; they view that mountain as too steep and too tall.

In short, a defeatist attitude is the worst enemy to weight loss. Think of the bigger people at the gym. If you are the bigger person at the gym, think of that 1st time you went to the gym. The bigger people often think, "Why am I here w/ all these fit people? I should just give up. I don't belong, nor will I ever." Or at least I did. And some skinny chick walks by the bigger person and snickers.

That didn't happen to me, but I watched it happen to a bigger woman who started tearing up on her elliptical. The skinny chick was embarrassed when I called her out saying, "At least she's (the bigger lady) trying. You came in for 20 minutes and gave up. Wimp." The bigger woman wanted to give up, and I said, "Screw that b*tch. She'll be fat in 5 yrs, while you'll be fit." The bigger woman stayed for a 90 min workout, and I saw her every so often (well, less of her haha) over the next few months. Each time, her posture was more and more confident. Why? She changed her attitude.

People want a cheap fix, and when they can't have it, they go away like that skinny girl. The people who actually have determination are like the bigger woman, because they actually try. Changing your attitude isn't exactly cheap, but it's not expensive either. People just have to work on it a bit at a time.