Does myfitnesspal work?

Hotanuri

Yup it works. Its not a diet. Its a lifestyle change.

this, right there.
It works as long as you commit. Take the time to log your food--be honest! It'll help you realize what you can live without and what you need or don't need. Days you felt really good, look what you eat. Days you felt like crap, look at what you ate.
This site helps organize and set you right on living a healthier life.

irisheyez718

It works for me! I started a year ago at 299, and I'm at 227 now. I don't kill myself, I have taken time off for holidays and trips out of town. I eat plenty of yummy food, and I'm down 72 pounds.

CassieReannan

Yes of course! With a little commitment and patience, the weight will fall off.

msmetcalf

That is awesome!!! I am a recent grad and will def be adding someone liek you who is in a similar boat! Great joB!

davidlbass

As stated on here in various forms, the magical secret to weight loss is "move more, eat less". Yep, that's it "Move more, eat less". Very simple and easy to follow. I've tried fad diets, they all fail eventually so I created my own, The David Bass Diet. I eat what I like because I have to do this for the rest of my life and the fad diets are not sustainable. I've also become somewhat of a running fanatic. Wasn't when I started this journey though. Most of the weight came off from walking or running very slowly.

joied

How do you comitt?

For me, commitment starts small. Just promise to log once day at a time; and before you know it, you've logged for a week, etc. When you starting logging your food and tracking your calorie intake it's hard to miss the picture it's painting about what you (no one else) are doing to yourself. It can be a bit daunting and a shock - and you can either face up to it or bury your head in the sand.

Making friends here in MFP definitely halps to stick to your commitments. It's nice to get a chance to help others whose motivation might be wavering; they in turn have helped me - a lot!

Good luck...

raystark

As stated on here in various forms, the magical secret to weight loss is "move more, eat less". Yep, that's it "Move more, eat less". Very simple and easy to follow. I've tried fad diets, they all fail eventually so I created my own, The David Bass Diet. I eat what I like because I have to do this for the rest of my life and the fad diets are not sustainable. I've also become somewhat of a running fanatic. Wasn't when I started this journey though. Most of the weight came off from walking or running very slowly.

Ditto, hermano.

raystark

I lost 80 lbs in 6 months..started on mfp at 260 lbs. think of MFP as a bike..it is a mode of transport, but goes nowhere if you dont pedal.

An apt analogy.

raystark

It works for me! I started a year ago at 299, and I'm at 227 now. I don't kill myself, I have taken time off for holidays and trips out of town. I eat plenty of yummy food, and I'm down 72 pounds.

Kudos to you!!!

deb1962

Great feedback.Nearly 2 weeks tracking for me now..Feeling good.1 KG DOWN

dachic4

I would start with looking at your liquids. they seemed to carry the most calories for me. I was a juice fanatic! now its water. then try adding work outs to get calories.

jaeral

I was feeling completely lethargic pretty much all the time. I hid the weight really well, so when they started a "biggest loser" competition at work and I joined, I was scoffed at. For the first 2.5 months I was the biggest loser.

I started at 189 lbs. I am not at 165 lbs. I can't decide on my end goal, so it's still at 160 but I am starting to lift now so it will stick between there and 165. I lost 24 lbs. Everyone was asking me what I was doing. I reminded them that our manager recommended this site to use as a guide and stay disciplined. Many joined and then just stopped logging on. I didn't.

It's not about a special miracle diet. It's not about working out every day and running miles on end. It's about you wanting this. ACTUALLY WANTING this. Once you get there, once all the gimmicks, all the friends and family who have their own input, and all that "other stuff" is no longer important to you and all that matters is that this IS what you want, you'll stick to it. Yes, support is helpful. Knowing others support you and have your back is awesome. But, in the end, this is about you.

Believe me, once you commit, once you see that success start to build, you will be addicted to that feeling. It won't be a struggle to count; to not pick up the chips while watching TV; to pick yourself up and do that workout you know you should. It will be a desire. Our bodies and minds work very simply, but they are stubborn. You have to prime them with force at first, but then, they will be your biggest supporters.

So, does MFP work? Yes. Because MFP is YOU. No one logs on for you. No one chooses your goal. No one tracks what you eat. No one except you. You CAN do this. We all can. We each just have to want it and not worry about what everyone says or what works for others. Make this work for you, because it can.

Drink a lot of water. A lot. I found I drank about half as much as I should. 8 glasses a day. I do more a few days of the week because I run or work out. But, room temp water is helpful for digestion. I'd recommend not putting ice in water or waiting for the water to be super cold if you can drink tap water. (first off, it's a bit wasteful, but also too cold) Cut the hard to quit stuff. Soda and chips are big sabotage foods. Cut them. Don't fool yourself with the "it's diet" stuff. Just cut it. Actually check serving sizes and then PORTION it. I found that I nearly doubled my calories in just over proportioning my meals. It seems like a lot and at first it may be, but once you get the hang of it, it's actually interesting and even fun for some.

Best of luck to you all. You all deserve it!

joann1948

It definitely works. I joined last April and to date I have lost almost 75lbs. I have been on every diet known to man and this is what worked the best. Stay committed............You can do it.............

jestersvk

I started january 12th and since then I managed to lose 60 pounds.... I've never been on a specific diet except for portion adjustment (I tried reducing sugar but NOT avoiding it). Tracking food with MFP helped me adjust my eating habits so that I didn't gain anything (actually I lost a pound) after two weeks of 0.... I repeat ZERO exercise (AND ZERO TRACKING).... Before I started I also ate like a horse and drank soft-drinks like my life depended on it, but with a little willpower some exercise and a lot of patience I manage to get pretty close to my goal (I'm hoping I can get in the shape I desire by the end of this year)...

Wonderob

MFP is just a tool to me so it doesn't 'work' but it's extremely useful in tracking calories and exercise and really helps to keep a focus.
Oh and I disagree with all those saying that it is a lifestyle change and not a diet. It can be if you want it to, I 'dieted' down to my target weigh by losing 18 lbs on a strict calorie controlled diet - 1800 calories a day, weights and cardio. I certainly won't be doing this forever and now I'm at my ideal weight I will be assessing my lifestyle choice which will include weights, cardio and healthier food choices

Femtec74

MFP is just a tool to me so it doesn't 'work' but it's extremely useful in tracking calories and exercise and really helps to keep a focus.
Oh and I disagree with all those saying that it is a lifestyle change and not a diet. It can be if you want it to, I 'dieted' down to my target weigh by losing 18 lbs on a strict calorie controlled diet - 1800 calories a day, weights and cardio. I certainly won't be doing this forever and now I'm at my ideal weight I will be assessing my lifestyle choice which will include weights, cardio and healthier food choices

I'm sorry, but if you are changing your lifestyle choices after you finish "dieting" - isn't this a "lifestyle change"? Most people can't go back to what they were doing before and keep the weight off.

Wonderob

MFP is just a tool to me so it doesn't 'work' but it's extremely useful in tracking calories and exercise and really helps to keep a focus.
Oh and I disagree with all those saying that it is a lifestyle change and not a diet. It can be if you want it to, I 'dieted' down to my target weigh by losing 18 lbs on a strict calorie controlled diet - 1800 calories a day, weights and cardio. I certainly won't be doing this forever and now I'm at my ideal weight I will be assessing my lifestyle choice which will include weights, cardio and healthier food choices

I'm sorry, but if you are changing your lifestyle choices after you finish "dieting" - isn't this a "lifestyle change"? Most people can't go back to what they were doing before and keep the weight off.

Yes but there are two seperate things going on here. I was on a diet to lose weight - chose any diet that works, cabbage diet, donut diet, green tea diet - mine was a strict calorie controlled diet. We are told that diets don't work, well to get to my target weight I did a diet that works - it's unsustainable, was not a way of life, was not a lifestyle change, just a painful, hideous hard work diet that I had to stick to for just a few months. It did work and has done before.

NOW to make sure I don't go back up again I need a lifestyle change. It doesn't have to have anything to do with my 'diet' and it will more closely resemble my previous eating habits - those that are sustainable. I do need to make some changes to that though, essentially more exercise, but also some healthier meal choices

I gradually over a year put on 15lbs due to lack of sport and a few bad habits

crzyone

No, MFP doesn't work.

YOU do.

It is only here to help.

It is no miracle cure.

It is no quick weight loss.

It is not easy.

You/Me/We are the ones who have to make it work.

Good luck!!!!

ALW65

I'm so glad you asked! I think the reason MFP works is because the focus of most of the people on here is to move towards healthy changes in food and activity. Most diets "work" in the sense that if you follow them, you lose weight. But if they truly worked, many more of us would have been at our goal weight a long time ago.

What works for me is having supportive friends on this site, continuing to login and 'talk' with those friends even if I'm in a slump and not really doing well, not strictly counting calories but trying to chose healthier food options, and get in some sort of activity. Once you start doing those things, and I need the combination of factors, you begin to get inspired and feel like more often that not you're making progress rather than doing worse. You feel less discouraged most of the time, and keep on trying even when things feel impossible.

Take advantage of all the tools on here. Look up the intersting things people post about like various workouts, fabulous easy-to-make foods they've tried, read what thoughts clicked for them that made them look at weight loss differently. Don't be afraid to post questions as there are some very smart people on here.

So many people on here are huge success stories, and I believe you and I can join their ranks. I've struggled for years and I'm at my lowest weight in 20 years. When I've reached goal, I will be healthier and have a better looking body than I did when I was 21 because I'll be fit and tone instead of a size 10 with no muscle on me.

Stick with it, make the right choices for YOU, and you will be one of those success stories!!!! I'm rooting for you!

Carrmaduke

Yes...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/668190-my-wife-and-i-we-ve-lost-a-whole-person