Just who are the MPF creators?

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13

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  • edmoulaison
    edmoulaison Posts: 36 Member
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    bump
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    I guess I don't understand what the issue is. MFP uses a couple common algorithms to determine the calories a user needs to maintain/lose/gain weight - whatever the individual's goal happens to be. These algorithms are probably not proprietary to MFP - there are several common ones in use. I don't think anyone working for MFP made these formulas up. MFP also entered a lot of estimates for calories burned by different activities and exercises. Then they just add the numbers together to figure out a theoretical calorie goal for each user.

    The beauty of the system is that if you don't like what the algorithm and estimates come up for you, you have the freedom to change it. Don't want to eat 1500 calories a day? Fantastic! Go into the 'goals' tab and change your calorie goal manually to whatever number you like. You think you want to eat 50% protein? Good for you - go into the goals tab again and change it. Don't want to count exercise calories, then don't. When you enter the type and time for your exercise, just enter zero for calories and the fact that you exercised won't change your total calorie goal. You can change almost every single measurable piece of data in the system.

    MFP is flexible enough to modify for just about any person or type of diet. Why not use it however you see most fit?

    (Personally, MFPs numbers, formulas and estimates worked GREAT for me! I lost all the weight I wanted, and then some)
  • CanuckTracy
    CanuckTracy Posts: 245 Member
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    Thanks to Mike and his brother! They are doing an awesome job, and great for them if then can make a living out of it,
    and help us live a better life!

    smiley_with_thumbs_up.gif
    ^ this for sure...love this site--
  • kapeluza
    kapeluza Posts: 3,434 Member
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    Didn't you know? Jesus.
  • westernjoy
    westernjoy Posts: 175 Member
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    OK, Let me say that I love this site, and I believe it does what it is supposed to.....help us lose weight, and make the owners money.

    But several days ago, I received a snide answer from a user along the lines of "It's done that way and works that way because MFP made it that way" And a few people agreed with the poster.. I don't even remember what I asked... but here is my point: Is this just a website made by people who want to make money, or are there any medical professionals involved with the site? I don't see any "About Us" links.

    I tend to think it is just a website creation team whose goal is profit... nothing more, nothing less. And I am 100% A-OK with that.

    But I wouldn't go so far as to believe that if MFP says it is true, well, it must be true. Does anybody have a clue as to who owns this site, and where they draw the basis of this site from? I hope I am wrong,
    Are you sorry you asked?
  • speedyf
    speedyf Posts: 1,571 Member
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    Thanks to Mike and his brother! They are doing an awesome job, and great for them if then can make a living out of it,
    and help us live a better life!
    Holy *kitten* that's too much enthusiasm this early in the morning.

    Sorry, but I've been up 'til 6 am - busy shoveling snow... :explode:
    I've been out already 3 times to shovel my path, car shelters and the horse shelter's roof... too much caffeine to keep me warm maybe. :laugh: Sorry if I woke you up! :flowerforyou:

    And it's 1:45 pm here.
    Well, it's after noon here admittedly. It's just when it filled up my screen, I screamed and knocked my chair over.

    XjbXv.gif

    :flowerforyou:
  • papa3x
    papa3x Posts: 286
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    it's a free website....how exactly are they in the game of making money?

    The crap ton of advertising on every single page of this site maybe?

    Yes i understand that, it just seemed that the OP was implying they are making money off of the members and that perhaps MFP is just a load of bull, but mfp doesn't really make money off of us. I guess in a way they do if we click on the ads, but how many people actually do that?

    It's a free website that has helped thousands of people reach their weight loss goals yet people still question whether it works or not, i don't get it.

    I was not implying anything of the sort. And ANYBODY who thinks that I am suggesting anything negative about MFP has missed my point ENTIRELY.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    You raise a good point. I have found MFP to be pretty reliable, but we can't take what it suggests as law.
  • Tiffa0909
    Tiffa0909 Posts: 191 Member
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    Actually you don't need to click on the ads for the website to earn money. There are different type of advertising deals.

    Yes in Adsense , you click and the website makes money that's called Payperclick.

    Then we have pay per commission , if you buy something that they advertise they get a commission.

    And there is also selling advertisement space , with a flat rate.

    There is payperview when you simple get pay for the amount of views you get on your site..

    I use to have my own blog , and since it was so small I could only do the payperclick and commission .

    I don't know what myfitnesspal is doing but maintaining a website and server is not cheap , and they get good traffic .
  • AtticusFinch
    AtticusFinch Posts: 1,263 Member
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    Essentially it doesn't matter what the creators intended. You make it what you want.

    OP - Binary makes an excellent point here, (as usual).

    MFP have set up the structure and police it to a point with moderators, but the users provide almost all the content - what's in the food database, the forum items, and the advice being recirculated. It's not surprising then that given the 100's who pop in and out, contributing their 2 penneth, that some of the data is faulty and some of the advice is Mickey Mouse. It's still useful though if you apply common sense.

    On the point about cost, I don't really think they can be making much more than running costs, it takes cash to run a service like this after all

    :drinker:
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
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    6. THE WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL SERVICES OR ADVICE; NO DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP

    MyFitnessPal provides the Website and Services for informational purposes only. THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES DOES NOT CONTAIN OR CONSTITUTE, AND SHOULD NOT BE INTERPRETED AS, MEDICAL ADVICE OR OPINION. MyFitnessPal is not a medical professional, and MyFitnessPal does not provide medical services or render medical advice. The Website and Services are not a substitute for the advice of a medical professional, and the information made available on or through the Website and Services should not be relied upon when making medical decisions, or to diagnose or treat a medical or health condition. If you require medical advice or services, You should consult a medical professional. YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE DOES NOT CREATE A DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND MYFITNESSPAL.

    YOU HEREBY AGREE THAT, BEFORE USING THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES, YOU SHALL CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN, PARTICULARLY IF YOU ARE AT RISK FOR PROBLEMS RESULTING FROM EXERCISE OR CHANGES IN YOUR DIET.
  • papa3x
    papa3x Posts: 286
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    Thanks treetop.
  • papa3x
    papa3x Posts: 286
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    I tend to think it is just a website creation team whose goal is profit... nothing more, nothing less. And I am 100% A-OK with that.


    See what I said?
  • kennethmgreen
    kennethmgreen Posts: 1,759 Member
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    OK, Let me say that I love this site, and I believe it does what it is supposed to.....help us lose weight, and make the owners money.

    But several days ago, I received a snide answer from a user along the lines of "It's done that way and works that way because MFP made it that way" And a few people agreed with the poster.. I don't even remember what I asked... but here is my point: Is this just a website made by people who want to make money, or are there any medical professionals involved with the site? I don't see any "About Us" links.

    I tend to think it is just a website creation team whose goal is profit... nothing more, nothing less. And I am 100% A-OK with that.

    But I wouldn't go so far as to believe that if MFP says it is true, well, it must be true. Does anybody have a clue as to who owns this site, and where they draw the basis of this site from? I hope I am wrong, in a way.
    Are you talking about someone responding about eating back exercise calories? Your OP wasn't very clear, and your follow up posts haven't provided any more details about the "snide comment" you mentioned. I wasn't sure if you wanted an answer to the profitabiliy of myfitnesspal.com, the level of medical expertise the site claims to have, or the behavior of site members who were (possibly) explaing how the site works.

    I think the profitability question has been answered, and the medical expertise is covered in a footer of every page of the website. As for the way the site works - if you are talking about net calories, or the concept of eating back exercise calories, that is an issue that comes up a lot because it's different than what many other diet plans and websites do. Not better. Or right. Just different. But it is how MFP was designed. MFP really was made that way. It's not a belief system or philosophical dogma. It's simply the way the site is set up.

    Apologies if I've missed what you were asking about.
  • papa3x
    papa3x Posts: 286
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    I think I made it simple as could be in my OP. Just because MFP does it the way they do, doesn't make it gospel truth. People need to think for themselves, especially since there apparently are no medical professional associated with the site.

    I couldn't care less if they make money. I hope they make tons of cash if that is their objective.
  • Henryschuaman
    Henryschuaman Posts: 1 Member
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    I've been wondering the same thing as the OP. Since there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding on this thread, let me make this perfectly clear:
    I LIKE MFP
    MFP IS WORKING FOR ME
    I HOPE THEY MAKE MONEY ON IT
    THE ADS DON'T BOTHER ME
    I BOUGHT MY FITBIT VIA MFP IN HOPES THEY WOULD GET SOME MONEY FROM IT
    That being said, I think people are overlooking another probable revenue stream, namely an accurate consumer database. When we log our food, we are creating a database of the products we buy, and when we consume them, and how often. All this is linked to our age, sex and weight. The info collected by MFP can tell marketers exactly what type of products a 50 year old man who is 30 pounds overweight is interested in. I don't know that MFP is selling this info, but it's hard to imagine they wouldn't capitalize on the wealth of marketable data being generated. If they are selling this info, I don't care, because MFP didn't ask me any specific question about my identity. I fact, I commend MFP for putting out a great product that didn't require personal information to use.
  • pepperann840
    pepperann840 Posts: 1
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    Ads are probably just a mere drop in the bucket compared to how much money they are recieving for data mining the information and brands we are consuming on a daily basis. Did not see the post before but in response to identity it does ask for state zip code and DOB.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I guess in a way they do if we click on the ads, but how many people actually do that?

    LOTS. If they didn't, all of this would go away.

    And not all ads are pay per click. There's also CPM ads, that pay just by being shown, similar to how magazines and tv make money from ads.

    * * * * * *

    That all said, there's loads of sites for tracking calories if that's all someone wants to do. I like the way MFP is set up, how it gives you a base calorie goal and adds to it when you exercise, which is how the site was intended to be used. It's just a tool, like a screwdriver, and I think it's best to use a tool that's suited to your goals. I could use a butterknife as a flat head screwdriver, but that's not it's intended purpose.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    1. Why does it matter who the site owners are

    2. Of course they have to make money and the ads are the way they do it. There is nothing wrong with someone trying to make money.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,376 Member
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    Thanks to Mike and his brother! They are doing an awesome job, and great for them if then can make a living out of it,
    and help us live a better life!

    smiley_with_thumbs_up.gif
    ^ this for sure...love this site--


    This!! Love this site...& it's FREE, who can beat that?

    Also, there are other site where you can calculate your BMR, TDEE, etc. if someone has doubts & manually put your calories in...

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators.html

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    Use these or just one to get those numbers if needed....

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