Do you judge people by their tickers?

13

Replies

  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    I do judge, especially if they post like they know it all and/or send unsolicited messages telling me they can help me. WTF is up with people who have only lost 10-15 pounds talking about they can help ME. Really? Um, how about I help you out. Creepers be creeping! LOL

    oh and then there was the woman who told me I would throw my body into starvation mode unless I ate each and every single one of my exercise calories back. This woman...had been on MFP for over a year and only lost 19 pounds out of trying to lose 120. I told her no thank you but you keep on doing that, right. Last I checked, she had lost 1 more pound, a full two months after contacting me.
  • dr2k12
    dr2k12 Posts: 291 Member
    Never, I don't judge people by anything other then the way they interact with the community and the demeanor they use when doing so.
  • MouseTmom
    MouseTmom Posts: 201 Member
    Since I need to lose 100+ pounds I tend to pay more attention to those who have lost a lot or need to lose a lot. While I support those who only need to lose a small amount there is a big difference how obese people lose weight compared to those who are only a little overweight and/or maintaining and toning where they are at. So I guess the answer is yes - the tickers do make a difference to me.
  • AngryCurseWords
    AngryCurseWords Posts: 31
    WTF is up with people who have only lost 10-15 pounds talking about they can help ME. Really? Um, how about I help you out. Creepers be creeping! LOL

    Haha, thanks for the warning. I will try to brace myself for this eventually happening once I lose a bit more.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    WTF is up with people who have only lost 10-15 pounds talking about they can help ME. Really? Um, how about I help you out. Creepers be creeping! LOL

    Haha, thanks for the warning. I will try to brace myself for this eventually happening once I lose a bit more.

    What about people that only have 10-15 lbs to lose, and have been successful and then transitioned to maintenance and are successful at maintaining? I think y'all may be discounting a wealth of knowledge with this attitude.
  • ECA67
    ECA67 Posts: 802 Member
    No , not all people are here to lose.
  • Crystaleyed
    Crystaleyed Posts: 229 Member
    Other people's tickers have never influenced my opinion of someone's advice. After all we all lose weight in our own ways and at our own pace.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    I should add that I also look at join date and number of posts.

    And even that doesn't make a lot of sense....I (like a ton of others) joined less than a year ago, and my ticker shows 5kg to lose...I did lose 60lbs and have been keeping it off for almost four years....
    Join date and ticker definitely do not represent my personal experience or knowledge on a particular subject.....
  • jmc0806
    jmc0806 Posts: 1,444 Member
    Nope...I've lost 120 and I learn things everyday from people that have lost less. If it makes sense, I don't care who said it lol
  • AngryCurseWords
    AngryCurseWords Posts: 31
    WTF is up with people who have only lost 10-15 pounds talking about they can help ME. Really? Um, how about I help you out. Creepers be creeping! LOL

    Haha, thanks for the warning. I will try to brace myself for this eventually happening once I lose a bit more.

    What about people that only have 10-15 lbs to lose, and have been successful and then transitioned to maintenance and are successful at maintaining? I think y'all may be discounting a wealth of knowledge with this attitude.

    What I took away from what she said was that some people were offering expertise they didn't have, or better stated, those offering misinformation. I was commenting mostly on the "creepers" part. There are many factors that go into taking advise with a grain of salt. And alterior motives for PMs or getting critiques from those who are misinformed are some of those factors.

    Of course someone in the situation you described would probably have very valuable knowledge. It was obviously an oversimplification and oversight on my part for not specifying/clarifying what I meant. Thanks for pointing it out! :)
  • cappri
    cappri Posts: 1,089 Member
    I should add that I also look at join date and number of posts.

    And even that doesn't make a lot of sense....I (like a ton of others) joined less than a year ago, and my ticker shows 5kg to lose...I did lose 60lbs and have been keeping it off for almost four years....
    Join date and ticker definitely do not represent my personal experience or knowledge on a particular subject.....

    I never claimed it made sense. I'm just being honest.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    WTF is up with people who have only lost 10-15 pounds talking about they can help ME. Really? Um, how about I help you out. Creepers be creeping! LOL

    Haha, thanks for the warning. I will try to brace myself for this eventually happening once I lose a bit more.

    What about people that only have 10-15 lbs to lose, and have been successful and then transitioned to maintenance and are successful at maintaining? I think y'all may be discounting a wealth of knowledge with this attitude.

    Silly attitude to have really, I've lost 7lbs on here and only have a little more to lose. What that doesn't tell you is that I have been exercising my whole life (sports, gyms, weights, classes...) and know heaps of different strategies for keeping motivated. I also have an extensive knowledge of a wide-variety of types of exercise. While I have no formal nutrition of PT-type qualifications, I do have a degree in biochemistry (and law) including units on nutrition and read widely on the subject of fitness and nutrition. I also run boot camp style workout informally for my football team mates.

    Just pointing out that a ticker really doesn't tell the full story, the quality of the advice provided shoudl speak for itself.
  • cappri
    cappri Posts: 1,089 Member
    Nope...I've lost 120 and I learn things everyday from people that have lost less? If it makes sense, I don't care who said it lol

    Here is the thing, if it makes sense and I agree with it of course it doesn't matter. It's only when I disagree with someone that I start looking for reasons why they could be wrong or I should discount what they say. It's a character flaw I know.
  • kandilynn03
    kandilynn03 Posts: 110 Member
    I have a massive amount of weight to lose. I am just at the beginning of my journey, but I've been down this road many times before, most of the time losing just to gain it all back. I don't know what does work very well, but I know what DOESN'T work from experience. So if someone says, 'I lost 20 pounds consuming nothing but plain popcorn and water!' And I say 'That's not going to work out long term.' I know what I'm talking about.

    But sometimes I check the ticker to see how they are doing, or how much they have left. Some people are only maintaining, they aren't looking to lose so I don't make judgements on what they are saying, unless they are saying something stupid that I know will not work.
  • MsNewBooty83
    MsNewBooty83 Posts: 985 Member
    no, because some people reset theire tickers and goals too!
  • AngryCurseWords
    AngryCurseWords Posts: 31
    I should add that I also look at join date and number of posts.

    And even that doesn't make a lot of sense....I (like a ton of others) joined less than a year ago, and my ticker shows 5kg to lose...I did lose 60lbs and have been keeping it off for almost four years....
    Join date and ticker definitely do not represent my personal experience or knowledge on a particular subject.....

    I never claimed it made sense. I'm just being honest.

    I think a lot of the judgments we make are very over-simplified. And tickers seem to bring this out in some people. It's a very human thing to do. Thanks for being honest about it. :) I know it imparts some bias on me, but largely by positively boosting my opinions of others (like I said earlier). I guess I naturally pay more attention to cool pictures than anything, knowing the numbers can mean so many different things depending on circumstance.
  • cappri
    cappri Posts: 1,089 Member
    the quality of the advice provided shoudl speak for itself.

    It generally does.
  • Zangpakto
    Zangpakto Posts: 336 Member
    My opinion never declines by what I see on tickers, but it can get heightened by what I see. For instance, joeysox instantly made me impressed by having L from Death Note added to their ticker. That's just my personal bias towards things I like. I also get excited when someone is in a similar situation to me, or has accomplished what I am trying to.

    Noooo not L >.>

    Maybe Ryuzaki.... :P Oh man that series was awesome :D thanks for bringing back good memories haha ^_^

    Uh-oh, Kira fan? Haha, you're welcome.

    For the record, I love Light and L/Ryuzaki/etc. equally as characters. I am forever intrigue by both. Just can relate to L more, in wanting to think like Light to catch him, but not become him.

    Update: Tickers bring people together! Yay!

    Yep :D big fan of the series haha, the game they play between each other is just awesome, I love it ^_^

    To me tickers are great, they do bring ppl together, but also when you see yours... you want to show you are making progress yourself as well :D so you work harder to show you are not being lazy, it can be motivating too haha ^_^

    Oh, and the mind games played between Kira and L was just epic haha ^_^
  • writemusic4him
    writemusic4him Posts: 312 Member
    A little off topic, but I've been wondering why some people tickers show in the forum and some don't? I don't think mine does...
  • almc170
    almc170 Posts: 1,093 Member
    You have to change the setting: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/settings
  • kandilynn03
    kandilynn03 Posts: 110 Member
    I should add that I also look at join date and number of posts.

    That doesn't make sense. I downloaded the app about year ago and didn't use it. Then, a month ago when I got serious about my health, I remembered the app and pulled it up again and started using it. And I didn't go online and find the forums until a week after that.

    I'm not going around telling people what to do anyway, but the join date and the amount of posts really aren't an indicator of someone's quality of advice.
  • Zangpakto
    Zangpakto Posts: 336 Member
    I have a massive amount of weight to lose. I am just at the beginning of my journey, but I've been down this road many times before, most of the time losing just to gain it all back. I don't know what does work very well, but I know what DOESN'T work from experience. So if someone says, 'I lost 20 pounds consuming nothing but plain popcorn and water!' And I say 'That's not going to work out long term.' I know what I'm talking about.

    But sometimes I check the ticker to see how they are doing, or how much they have left. Some people are only maintaining, they aren't looking to lose so I don't make judgements on what they are saying, unless they are saying something stupid that I know will not work.

    Technically speaking... crash diets do work... it is how you reintegrate normal eating that changes the whole story... I mean fasting works awesome... Eating then liquids, then small amount solids, then increasing by 10% per week for intake works at maintaining... but people don't, they eat junk, they eat loads after etc... and then blame the diet or whatever for it when in fact it is their lack of self control and inability to change their eating patterns...

    When I am inactive I lose weight fast because I do not "need" to eat... so I do not... and I keep the weight off... when I need to train, I need to eat more, and then it is harder to lose, as I have to sacrifice performance for the weight and when talking racing etc, that is a hard thing :( the off season is ideal for me because of that... Unfortunately I signed up for 2 more races than usual next year, so until dec i can lose without worry to performance... in Jan my training will never allow me to eat less than supposed to... but I run 14-18km every sunday and need the energy then so yea.. it's complicated for athletes really, I mean easy to lose weight sure, but if building to a race, then cannot risk the drop in performance :( sucks to be me I guess :(
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    I don't really notice tickers. But I do hope people judge me by the image in my ticker cuz it means I'm with the champs!
  • misslindseylou
    misslindseylou Posts: 141 Member
    The only time I judge people's tickers are when I'm looking for advice. Since I have such a big amount of weight to lose, I prefer to hear from people that once started in a similar position to where I was to see what worked for other morbidly obese people in the past. However, that being said, if someone says something that's a good idea or makes sense, I'm not going to disregard it just because of what their ticket says. For all I know they were once 400 pounds too or they could be a trainer or a nutritionist, for that matter, or just really smart!
  • cappri
    cappri Posts: 1,089 Member
    I don't really notice tickers. But I do hope people judge me by the image in my ticker cuz it means I'm with the champs!

    :smile:
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    The only time I judge people's tickers are when I'm looking for advice. Since I have such a big amount of weight to lose, I prefer to hear from people that once started in a similar position to where I was to see what worked for other morbidly obese people in the past. However, that being said, if someone says something that's a good idea or makes sense, I'm not going to disregard it just because of what their ticket says. For all I know they were once 400 pounds too or they could be a trainer or a nutritionist, for that matter, or just really smart!

    You do have a good point about people with a lot of weight to lose. In some ways, the necessary steps for someone with 100+lbs to lose and someone who's working on vanity lbs are quite different. Losing 10lbs is a really different game if it's the first 10lbs of 150 or the last 10lbs to goal. I'm generally more receptive to advice on the final lbs from someone who's been there vs. someone who still has a long road ahead of them. And conversely, someone like myself who has never dealt with weight that can be restrictive and inhibit some exercises may not be the best person to listen to regarding which exercises are appropriate when you have 200lbs to lose. I get that.
  • sirabe
    sirabe Posts: 294 Member
    nope, don't discount anybody's advice based on their tickers. I know of several people on MFP who have changed their starting weight for a new journey after they met their goals. They just have new goals so they look like they have lost only 2 pounds when they haave actually lost 40 pounds
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Not really. It may have a slight subconscious effect on me, but not when I really think about it. I've seen some people who have lost a lot of weight give some questionable advice. Just because someone has managed to drop weight, it doesn't mean that they necessarily understand the healthiest or most effective way to go about it.

    At the same time, there are people who know a lot about weight loss and give great advice that don't have much to lose in the first place. Or they have lost a lot and reset their ticker. Or they lost a lot before joining MFP. And then there are people who are very intelligent/knowledgeable/sensible but still have a lot to lose anyway. Some people know a lot about the mechanics/science of weight loss but haven't been able to put it into practise for themselves for other (eg. emotional) reasons. They could still give really good advice though.
  • misslindseylou
    misslindseylou Posts: 141 Member
    The only time I judge people's tickers are when I'm looking for advice. Since I have such a big amount of weight to lose, I prefer to hear from people that once started in a similar position to where I was to see what worked for other morbidly obese people in the past. However, that being said, if someone says something that's a good idea or makes sense, I'm not going to disregard it just because of what their ticket says. For all I know they were once 400 pounds too or they could be a trainer or a nutritionist, for that matter, or just really smart!

    You do have a good point about people with a lot of weight to lose. In some ways, the necessary steps for someone with 100+lbs to lose and someone who's working on vanity lbs are quite different. Losing 10lbs is a really different game if it's the first 10lbs of 150 or the last 10lbs to goal. I'm generally more receptive to advice on the final lbs from someone who's been there vs. someone who still has a long road ahead of them. And conversely, someone like myself who has never dealt with weight that can be restrictive and inhibit some exercises may not be the best person to listen to regarding which exercises are appropriate when you have 200lbs to lose. I get that.

    Exactly! Sometimes it's like comparing watermelons to grapefruit. Both are fruits, both are pink inside and delicious, but what works for them is totally different. The good thing is, is just because people have different kinds of journeys doesn't mean that they absolutely can't be of service to the other kind and give them advice and inspiration.

    Edited to fix a typo, dangit!
  • AngryCurseWords
    AngryCurseWords Posts: 31
    Sometimes it's like comparing watermelons to grapefruit. Both are fruits, both are pink inside and delicious, but what works for them is totally different. The good thing is, is just because people have different kinds of journeys doesn't mean that they absolutely can't be of service to the other kind and give them advice and inspiration.

    What a great analogy! Thanks for this!

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