Real Live friends as MFP friends...

jenniferg83

I have my mom, best friends, cousin, aunt , husband, coworker and people i met on this site as friends. I love having the support of people in all aspects in my life on here. they are going through similar things or might need advice or might give me good advice. It's all on your comfort level. it's been working out great for me

Annette_rose

I have some family and coworkers who are on MFP and it works for me, but everyone is different. I think if you are uncomfortable with it, you have every right to tell them you would rather not add them.

TerresaJ

I have 3 that are "real live" friends. I'm okay with having them because anything I would share on MFP I would share with them, and probably already have.
If it's someone you don't want to know your business, then I would "ignore."

cnsmith2

My hubby is on here with me, as well as someone who I met through a video game that I talk to on a daily basis. I also have my best friend (coworker) as well as a cousin on my friends list. It has actually enabled me to become closer to all these people. We are all serious though about losing weight and discuss things outside this website.

I think it honestly depends on your relationship to this person. You need to decide if you are comfortable with them seeing what you write. It's been positive for me though.

I wish you luck in coming to the right decision for you.

ilikeher

Two of my best friends are on MFP with me, but they are both positive, supportive ppl. If this person is a good friend and someone who you trust that will support you, go for it. If not, don't do it. Your friends are here to help you, if you are going to be uncomfortable or feel like this person might be judging you whats the point

savlyon

I know what you mean. Often I post blunt statements and I don't necessarily worry about who I am offending. I'm not mean, but I like the anonymity of it, as you said. I have friended a few RL friends on here. They are also my friends on facebook. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes it causes me to check myself before I blurt something out on here.

beckipercy

I would never tell my real life friends what I weigh

This was my biggest problem, but now I'm losing weight I've found I'm telling the world what I do/did weigh. I never plan to weigh this again so I figure I may as well.

kelfromhell

Hmm, I've never thought about it. I'm not a very private person and if they quit signing in, so be it. I like having people know my goals as when I'm out with them, they are aware that I am not going to order extra fries and whatnot....No big deal at all to me!

Qarol

All my MFP friends are imaginary...

p0stdramatic

I instruct at a group fitness center, and I use MFP like a diary, too. I spend more time here than on Facebook. When I first had someone ask me for my MFP username recently (I push MFP all the time because hey, it works and it's FREE!) I was apprehensive about it, but then I decided that it's actually a good thing. I want everyone to succeed and to not become discouraged. They can see that I've lost my weight even though I make mistakes, have bad days, and good days. I don't become discouraged because I know all setbacks are temporary unless I give up. And I really want to see all of them make their goals!

I have 4 girls I know in from the studio on here now, and I'm sure there will be more. And it helps keep me accountable!

ilikeher

I pretty much use MFP to bag on people I hate and to generally talk smack, so that really wouldn't work for me.

I actually could give a damn about losing weight... I needed somewhere to rant and I'm too lazy to start a Facebook page.




Just kidding. I care about losing weight.




OK, not really. But I was kidding about not having a Facebook page. But I only use that to stalk chicks from high school.

I'm confused

_SusieQ_

I prefer my friends live. Dead ones just stink up the place.

Pkiddy

i've not only got real life friends on here i have a lot of my family too! We are the biggest cheerleaders to each other! I do keep my diary closed, but it is nice to see how they are doing and have them see how you are doing. they are great cheerleaders as they know me so well! Your decision will depend on how well you know this person and what type of friendship. i do not post my weight, but having my ticker showing my progress helps them support me.

garnet1483

For me, it depends on the friends. I've taken the choices I've made recently very seriously, and since finding MFP, I spend a lot of time on here. There are certain friends I have who are very proactive, and very supportive, and quite frankly, they have self discipline. I'd add those people in a heartbeat. At the same time, I have other friends who are at once incredibly selfish and completely lacking in willpower. They can and do take other people's weight loss success personally (in a bad way) and I wouldn't want to share this part of my life with them, because it would inevitably damage the friendship. That or they'd just quit using the site, which is fine too. I think the important thing is to be honest. If you don't want to add somebody, explain that using the site with more anonymity helps you to explore this part of your life, and be more successful, and while you consider them a very good friend in real life, you'd rather keep the two things separate, to preserve that anonymity. A good friend will understand, and half the time, an acquaintance won't particularly care.

umachanxo

I have friends on here IRL. I have some people who I introduced to MFP!
My roommate and I do it together. I like having IRL MFP friends, actually.

MzzAisha

Yeah I have real life friends on here - I dont have a problem with it as long as they are as serious as I am.

tamerkins2

My mom, my sister and a few real life friends are my MFP friends!! I don't find it weird at all. It is nice because if my family is at dinner together, we can help each other make smart decisions. Plus I know I have to be accountable for what I ate knowing they would know too!! I suppose I would feel weird about co-workers or not close friends knowing so much about me though.

Artemis_Acorn

I love having my RL friends as MFP friends. The bit about being held accountable is more REAL with them.

AllanMisner

I have a really good friend on MFP. I'm here for accountability, so you guys get me on here and if I fall out, I'm sure I'll hear it from her.

My sister has an account as well, but she never logs in.

Qarol

I prefer my friends live. Dead ones just stink up the place.

I wear deodorant.

sheila0321

I have real live friends on here too. I have nothing to hide. I am here to get healthy. I can be held accountable to them as well as you all. I see no harm. Just sayin.....

flausa

I acquired a RealLife friend thanks to MFP. I've got several friends from another website (not fitness or weight loss related) that are also on MFP ... they probably know more about me know than most of my RealLife friends! I quite enjoy having a mix of Real and Unreal friends.

Niccan81

I have 4 of my cousins on my page and that's it! One of them is on a running plan with me as well, and the other 3 are joining me in another journey that is incorporating weight loss as well. We friended each other to stay accountable for our actions. I meet with 3 of them once a week and the other one I see on a daily basis. It has helped a lot, but honestly I wouldn't just invite random people I know to join me on here. Honestly, not even my sisters who also are trying to lose weight. I am only asking my cousins to hold me accountable and we post encouragement to one another.

But honestly, if you are not comfortable sharing this part of you life, just don't accept the request. Just let her know that it's not something you like to have out there! If she is serious about it, she will understand. She may only be asking to friend you because she needs encouragement. If you find that is the reason, maybe you can consider setting up a time to talk about what her struggles are and maybe offer some advice/encouragement in real life, or over email if it's easier for her.

taliesyn_

I dont have a problem with it as long as they are as serious as I am.

This.

I have worked hard to lose 100+ (all before MFP) lbs and I don't want to be derailed on the journey by people who don't have the focus or who contribute negatively to my efforts.

jackpotclown

I've had a couple of friends on here, one of which I still see at work every day. I had my wife and one of her coworkers as a friend too, but ultimately removed them after a month of inactivity LOL.....yes, I said it, I removed my wife from my list, because if you're going to be in my support group, you're going to be on here supporting me as I'm supporting you :laugh:

maab_connor

All my MFP friends are imaginary...

um, no, YOU are imaginary. i'm real. sorry i had to break it to you.

Qarol

I dont have a problem with it as long as they are as serious as I am.

This.

I have worked hard to lose 100+ (all before MFP) lbs and I don't want to be derailed on the journey by people who don't have the focus or who contribute negatively to my efforts.

You sound like a fun friend. :flowerforyou:

JoyWoodruff

The reason I am here is because my IRL friend told me about it. I thank her every day for introducing me to such a helpful application. I have since told many of my friends and family about this app as well. My mother joined up with me too. I have nothing to hide from anyone and enjoy the peace I have from living in truth . I keep my food diary open to my MFP friends (who are also some of my IRL friends and family) and I am glad that some of my friends keep theirs open as well because it gives me ideas of different foods to eat.

I'm pretty much an open book, there is nothing I would say on here (a public forum) that I wouldn't say IRL to a friend anyway. If you wouldn't be someones friend on MFP, why would you be their friend IRL?

RBXChas

No, I don't. There's just a level of privacy and anonymity I appreciate having here. I know real-life friends who use MFP, but I don't need them scrutinizing what I eat every day, etc. The MFP friends I have are like-minded, and I want them to see my diary.

It's similar to how I don't like people out in the real world asking me personal questions about weight loss: "How did you do it?" (as if there is some magic ) "How much have you lost?" "How much more are you losing?" "How much have your worked out this week?" "Are you sure you're not going to burn out?"

I'm happy to share that eating well and exercise are the key to getting healthy, even tipping them off to MFP, but I don't like the scrutiny from people I actually know.

Also, with the exception of one person I'm very close to, I sense a bit of jealousy from some others I know who are trying to lose weight. They want my success but don't have that motivation right now, and until they do, they won't have my success. I don't need passive aggressive comments on MFP as well as in real life.

But that's just me. I can absolutely see how for others it would be a good thing to have real life friends as friends on MFP.

It's totally ok, I think, to not have them be MFP friends.

Contrarian

I am friends with Don Cornelius.