Best and worst thing about MFP?

lisht13
lisht13 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys, I'm hosting my uni radio station this morning from 8-10 (http://news.surgfm.org/listen) and I'm planning on having a big chat all about MFP! I was wondering what your best and worst experiences with MFP have been? What has it added to your life? Or like me have you struggled with becoming a little bit sad calorie counting!
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Replies

  • brennsie
    brennsie Posts: 41
    Well sometimes its frustrating entering in all the calories/nutrition facts for homemade recipes, because that can take a while to calculate. Also if you can't find what you ate in their list of foods, that can be a real hassle too.
    But overall I like it. Last summer it helped my lose 7 lbs and get me eating healthier. Now I'm starting it back up again :)
  • lisht13
    lisht13 Posts: 9 Member
    Well sometimes its frustrating entering in all the calories/nutrition facts for homemade recipes, because that can take a while to calculate. Also if you can't find what you ate in their list of foods, that can be a real hassle too.
    But overall I like it. Last summer it helped my lose 7 lbs and get me eating healthier. Now I'm starting it back up again :)

    Haha I think it's great you actually have the commitment to properly calculate it! I'm so bad, I'll make minestrone and just find some listing for homemade minestrone and be like ...ah close enough! I think the thing I like most about MFP is that it just made me really aware of how much I snack and how quick those calories add up!
  • deb6627
    deb6627 Posts: 6 Member
    Best thing about MFP? It's free.
    Worst thing about MFP? I can see all of the wine I have consumed since I started tracking. Wow.

    Honestly though, it's a great site -- I like it much better than WW.
  • TinGirl314
    TinGirl314 Posts: 430 Member
    The best thing about the site is the support and the tools.
    I could not even begin to wrap my head around portion control and calorie content until I started logging.
    It doesn't hurt that it's free. ;)

    The worst thing would probably be the attitudes of some of the people on the board.
    That and the people that ask questions that should clearly be discussed with a doctor, instead of a forum.

    Totally worth it though!
  • zeebruhgirl
    zeebruhgirl Posts: 493 Member
    Best thing? The People.
    Worst thing? The other people.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    The worst thing (esp for women) is the 1200 calorie cutoff and the mathematical mess that results, along with the lack of explanation about the way it is supposed to work in terms of logging exercise and eating the corresponding calories extra.

    You see at least 10 posts a day from people confused to the point of despair, and on the boards they are then met with five conflicting approaches to try - one of which if they're lucky might be how MFP is actually set up.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Best thing about it: I have learned a tremendous amount of what I eat and have educated myself about calories. I've also lost the pound a week I signed up for.

    Worst thing? Wasting time on message boards.
  • mikey1976
    mikey1976 Posts: 1,005 Member
    being deleated without reason. the best the real friends that keep me going even if i'm down
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    Best thing about MFP: It puts me in control.

    Worst thing about MFP: It puts ME in control.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
    Best thing about MFP - the wealth of information and support from the members!
    Worst thing about MFP - spending too much time on here and not being more active!
  • wells0707
    wells0707 Posts: 251 Member
    best thing - I now feel like I have the knowledge to properly eat and lose weight without "being on a diet" I found a way of life that I can stick with

    worst thing - Creating your own recipies takes quite a while, but atleast once you put it in it's there to stay
  • DenyseMarieL
    DenyseMarieL Posts: 673 Member
    The best: the support I get from my MFP friends!
    The worst: the eye-opening realization that I wasn't as healthy of an eater as I had originally thought
  • jfan175
    jfan175 Posts: 812 Member
    Best: The easiest place to log calories. The database is unreal. Only once in 7 months have I not been able to find a food I've eaten. Also, the friends I've made here.

    Worst: People giving advice that have no business doing so.....and the thin skin of some who don't like hard reality replies.
  • cristaine
    cristaine Posts: 87
    It's way too late for an answer, but I will answer anyway :D

    Best thing: huge database of items - there are are tons of places I love certain features of better than MFP but this place makes it so easy to eat just about anything, and SOMEONE has usually already entered it. That makes it super convenient and saves a lot of time for me. Plus it's free, really what more can you ask for.
    Worst: Don't get the full picture feeling, where I can see, via all nutrients, how my diet is stacking up. There are lots of times I feel crappy and wonder, is my diet doing this? Am I missing something as a matter of habit? To be able to see all my nutrients would be fabulous. I feel limited some days with having to select a certain number at a time to get a reading of where I am at.

    Community of course is both a strength and a weakness. Having a ton of support and info at your fingertips is amazing. Getting sometimes biased (though usually well-meant) info can be a problem if you aren't careful though.

    I love MFP. I stray often, but I always come back :D
  • Kaiukas
    Kaiukas Posts: 111 Member
    I cannot think of anything bad to say about MFP. For me it is just an excellent awareness raising tool. It helps me pay attention to how much I eat and how much I exercise and finding the healthy balance. Like any tool, it is how you use it that matters.

    It is also very inspirational and moving to witness others' success. So nice to see so many people improving their lives!!!

    Mmmm, at first I was a bit baffled by some people coming across a bit agitated here, but I think it is the function of being anonymous on the Internet and not specific to the site :laugh:

    All in all, great tool and I am very pleased to have found it.

    Best of luck with your radio chat, lisht13 :flowerforyou:
  • LuckyTerrier
    LuckyTerrier Posts: 73 Member
    The best thing about MFP: My friends list! Honestly, being able to directly connect with people and see their successes and struggles is really inspiring and motivating. I can't tell you how many days I've been motivated to workout after seeing all of the great exercises posted by my friends!

    The worst thing about MFP: calculating calories of restaurant and homemade meals. This isn't entirely MFP's fault. I know that everyone's recipe differs, so you really have to take the time to enter in every little thing. I also know that many restaurants don't post their nutrition info. My specific problem with MFP is that the database is so disorganized that there are often multiple entires for the same menu item with different modifications or recipes and they have very different calories counts. It makes it very frustrating and time-consuming to look up calorie info in the database because I have to try to figure out which of the entries is closest to what I actually had.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Best: My friends. They are closer than the people I know IRL. They are much more supportive too.
    Worst: The fact that I started at 1200 calories a day when I first started and I was so weak and tired all the time.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Best thing? Ease of use and enormous database. Once you use it for a little while it literally takes maybe 1 minute a day to log everything. Especially if you tend to eat mostly the same things every day.

    Worst thing? Terrible Search feature, no stickies, no FAQ. This results in 100 people asking the same questions every single day, over and over and over and over. The helpful, knowledgeable people usually get tired of responding to the same topics constantly. Plus the amount of myths and misinformation out there is incredible AND pervasive. If I hear "oh you must be building muscle" in response to why someone gained 10lbs in a week, one more time, I am just gonna lose it.

    Long story short, the app and the calorie/exercise tracking features are excellent. The forums are 1995-era horrible.
  • fat2fitKara
    fat2fitKara Posts: 136
    The worst thing would probably be the attitudes of some of the people on the board.

    This.. If you don't have anything nice to say please do not say anything at all.. There is a huge difference between being constructive and being a flat out beeotch
  • Mamata2
    Mamata2 Posts: 18
    I'd like to see a list of all my foods in one place. The way it is now i have to keep re-adding.Example, if i had an apple for breakfast it will only show up in breakfast foods.So if i ate an apple for a snack and i click on add food from my snack menu ...theres is no listing of an apple so i have to re enter....Unless i'm doing something wrong and that is very possible...lol only been on MFP for 2 weeks
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    Best thing? The People.
    Worst thing? The other people.

    Ahh, beat me to it.

    I'll say the forums.
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,262 Member
    Best - The people and its free
    Worst - Its too addictive. :D
  • Silver_Star
    Silver_Star Posts: 1,351 Member
    Best thing - Structure and Discipline so i dont go overboard, and when i do, i always know how to get back . Being able to search and ask for advice. I was totally clueless about calories and how many i needed for my metabolism etc etc...lots of great recipe topics from users, lots of fun, all in one site. Its a place where i dont feel ashamed of my performance...because i know there are so many others struggling just like me to lose the extra weight.

    Worst thing - There can be the odd discouraging comment or off color piece of advice. Also, being ignored in a forum topic, or seeing someone's question being twisted up with offending answers...its a bit of high school in here as well =P
    also..there is no recipe database to hunt for recipes from....but i hear they are working on that.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Best thing? The People.
    Worst thing? The other people.

    Ahh, beat me to it.

    I'll say the forums.

    Yep.

    The community is what makes this far superior to other calorie counting sites I've used. Granted, the other site had a forum, but I didn't use it. And as such, I didn't know what I was doing wrong.

    And the worst part... is also the community. That it's often a case of the inmates running the asylum because the site administrator doesn't participate or explain the hows and whys, and the moderators are just here to make everyone play nice.
  • Jester522
    Jester522 Posts: 392
    Best: macronutrient calculations. Helps me stay on point with nutritional needs.
    Worst: the amount of misinformation floating around the forums.
  • lsapphire
    lsapphire Posts: 297 Member
    I wish it would seperate natural from refined sugar.:ohwell:
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    The best thing about MFP? The nutritional database is huge--largely because it's user-generated.

    The worst thing about MFP? The nutritional database is riddled with errors--largely because it's user-generated.
  • sirabe
    sirabe Posts: 294 Member
    The best thing: easy logging and the app

    the worst thing: not being able to calculate caloric needs based on bodty fat content or by a calutator to determin body fat content based on on measurements, height, weight and so and forth.. some of us have different caloric needs because of the body fat content.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    Best things: The database & the diary. These things allow me to prelog the night b4, so I can be on point on my cals & macros each day. The people, least the ones on my friends list. I have THE best support system in my friends here & I am very thankful to have met such ppl.
    Worst things: The amount of horrible information out there. The way sum ppl just look for attention. How the forums aren't always so helpful (tho sumtimes they are)
  • AliciaStaton
    AliciaStaton Posts: 328 Member
    Best: The support from friends, its a great way to log all your food intake which helps alot. It is a good tool to aid losing weight, even though it is up to you at the end of the day what you put into your body.

    Worst: If you miss a day or week, it doesnt take that into account.

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