Some posts on MFP are starting to concern me

mjeffries1973

Ultimately the site is a resource. To be used as each of us sees fit. To ask the questions we want and to interpret the answers the way we want to. I just like the food diary on the iPhone! means I can keep an eye on things, without getting bogged down in the intricacy of a diet - I really don't care how much sodium i'm consuming and whether my carbs to protein ratio is ok or not. I want to know that I'm eating a reasonable amount of calories and if I overdo lunch I can do something about it "off the cuff" at dinner.

If people want to lose weight quickly - their choice. Not ours

littlesuzieq

Things like "Biggest Loser" competitions at work are appalling to me. OK I get that they are trying, but still, really, there's gotta be SOMEONE in the office that has basic nutritional knowledge that will speak up. I know that in my office if they ever tried to start that, I'd smack it down with a vengeance! In fact, I offered (and will be starting after my vacation) a 1/2 hour lunch and learn in my office once every other week covering a different topic every session. The first one will be Basic Nutrition, the second Exercises to keep you healthy in a office environment, it'll get more specific from there. If anyone wants to offer up something like this, I can give you my notes after each one, it's a great thing to do, and you don't need to be an expert to do it, as long as people know you aren't an expert, it's fine to do this stuff, more like communal learning with a team leader than teaching.

Kudos to you for offering to teach but why bash on the "Biggest Loser" things in a workplace? We've done one at my work and it has caused 40 people to be more conscious of what they're putting in their mouth. Some of us needed that motivation to get started and have come to the realization through the 12 weeks that this is truly where we want to be and enabled us to create a healthier lifestyle AND lose weight.

It's no different than people becoming motivated by the show. Some of us find our motivation in different ways - no better or no worse than you. I, for one, appreciate the chance I was given to spur on healthier living and begin my weight loss. I WILL keep it up and I WILL continue to lose and get fit. It doesn't really matter what opened my eyes - they're open now and I LIKE it.

megamom

Great post and I agree, having tried quick fixes in the past I know eating right and exercising is the only thing that works in the long run. And the reason I want to lose weight is to get healthier. I am working with a group of people right now who are all doing that fad 500 calorie diet and buying some expensive supplement. Since we are all medical professional I questioned them on their terrible approach to weight loss as they should know better. They lose fast but all have gained more back then they lost that went off it. And it isn't a sustainable program. It teaches you nothing. This site is great. I recommended this site to my son and DIL. I hope they join.

arewethereyet

A few people in my life have recently lost large amounts of weight quickly. It hurt a bit when they got all the attention for their weight loss and few noticed mine, when i know i'm doing it the proper way, but what do you do (i did not let it get me down and it hasn't changed anything i have done). I hope in a year I'll be the one being asked what i am doing... while that person has either figured out the right way to keep it off or has gained it back. I find short term fast loss SCARY.

I dont want to sound snarky.......but you will have lost and kept off your weight, and they will have regained it. Period.

How many pounds have I lost in my life? 10 in 2 weeks........bam, that dress fit! Yeah! oh wait......20 pound back in 2 months?:noway:

That is exactly how I went from 105 to 175.........10 pounds lost, 20 gained....over and over and over again until I was not moving from the couch, had to roll out of bed and the pharmacuetial companies were getting RICH off of me.

I will take slow and easy (:blushing: in many different ways):laugh:

The fact that I have not only lost the 30 I wanted to, but continue to get healthier, is proof positive that it works!!

SHBoss1673

This is a good point, but I do think that the situation you refer to is pretty unique. Most of the underagers I see open discuss the fact that they are underage, and go about losing weight in a very healthy way (a way I'm CERTAIN you would never encourage your daughter to do this). The youngest I have seen on this site was 11. I think that certainly by 17 you're getting into a whole different category of opinions. An 11 year old should simply NOT be dieting, a 17 year old learning about healthy lifestyle is a different issue.

My biggest problem with underage users isn't that they will be exposed to "R" rated material, lets face it, they get way worse stuff on TV today anyway.

My problem is two fold: 1) children (and teens) have very different metabolisms than adults, and require very different energy needs. Even when a child is overweight, you should almost NEVER put them on a calorie restrictive diet unless instructed to do so by a doctor, and ALWAYS in these cases couple that with seeing a psychiatrist, because I feel that the mental state of a child is so fragile that putting them on a "diet" is a good way to destroy their confidence (I've seen this multiple times first hand).
Children and teens can almost alway remedy their weight issues with correct nutrition and exercise (again, barring medical conditions), the faster the US comes to this realization, the better.

2) Children like to mimic adults, even teens (although they tend to do it subconsciously), and when you put them in adult situations (like MFP) you tend to give them some really bad habits. Children don't have the same types of weight issues that adults have. For instance, the psychosocial issues for teens are far more open and hurtful than adults. I.E. we adults tend to read weight discrimination into peoples words, and are mentally shaped by that. Where as children tend to be out and out ridiculed for it, which can have far different (and far more damaging) consequences. Therefore teaching children some (not all)of the concepts on here that are good for us, might not be the best way to go.

So I feel that, if you are to put a child or teen on here, that's fine as long as they are parentally supervised, and maybe even prohibited from the boards and/or blog site unless you are with them. I have no problem with them using the calorie counter, but not as a weight loss tool, more for a guide and helper for their nutrition.

sonjavon

A few people in my life have recently lost large amounts of weight quickly. It hurt a bit when they got all the attention for their weight loss and few noticed mine, when i know i'm doing it the proper way, but what do you do (i did not let it get me down and it hasn't changed anything i have done). I hope in a year I'll be the one being asked what i am doing... while that person has either figured out the right way to keep it off or has gained it back. I find short term fast loss SCARY.

I dont want to sound snarky.......but you will have lost and kept off your weight, and they will have regained it. Period.

How many pounds have I lost in my life? 10 in 2 weeks........bam, that dress fit! Yeah! oh wait......20 pound back in 2 months?:noway:

That is exactly how I went from 105 to 175.........10 pounds lost, 20 gained....over and over and over again until I was not moving from the couch, had to roll out of bed and the pharmacuetial companies were getting RICH off of me.

I will take slow and easy (:blushing: in many different ways):laugh:

The fact that I have not only lost the 30 I wanted to, but continue to get healthier, is proof positive that it works!!

Exactly! I tell people all the time that I didn't get to be 286 lbs by not caring! I dieted my way there!

halfpint71

My problem is more with people like that drawing others into their game. Things like "Biggest Loser" competitions at work are appalling to me. OK I get that they are trying, but still, really, there's gotta be SOMEONE in the office that has basic nutritional knowledge that will speak up. I know that in my office if they ever tried to start that, I'd smack it down with a vengeance! In fact, I offered (and will be starting after my vacation) a 1/2 hour lunch and learn in my office once every other week covering a different topic every session. The first one will be Basic Nutrition, the second Exercises to keep you healthy in a office environment, it'll get more specific from there. If anyone wants to offer up something like this, I can give you my notes after each one, it's a great thing to do, and you don't need to be an expert to do it, as long as people know you aren't an expert, it's fine to do this stuff, more like communal learning with a team leader than teaching.

It's hard not to get drawn in to the quick fixes. I watch the biggest loser and wonder why it is so bad to only eat 1200 calories and burn 6000 and lose in the double digits each week. This sounded like the miracle cure for me. As you can guess it didn't work . Don't give up on all of us newbies it may take some time but I have learned alot on this site and thanks to people like you I have realized this has to be a life style and is no longer a diet.. P.S. Wish I worked with you I'd give up my lunch break for a little learning...:happy:

arewethereyet

I think some of the teens come here for acceptence. We do not judge them like their peers.

Thank goodness I have met a few young girls on here who GET it! I wish I had gotten 'it' 30 years ago!

arewethereyet

A few people in my life have recently lost large amounts of weight quickly. It hurt a bit when they got all the attention for their weight loss and few noticed mine, when i know i'm doing it the proper way, but what do you do (i did not let it get me down and it hasn't changed anything i have done). I hope in a year I'll be the one being asked what i am doing... while that person has either figured out the right way to keep it off or has gained it back. I find short term fast loss SCARY.

I dont want to sound snarky.......but you will have lost and kept off your weight, and they will have regained it. Period.

How many pounds have I lost in my life? 10 in 2 weeks........bam, that dress fit! Yeah! oh wait......20 pound back in 2 months?:noway:

That is exactly how I went from 105 to 175.........10 pounds lost, 20 gained....over and over and over again until I was not moving from the couch, had to roll out of bed and the pharmacuetial companies were getting RICH off of me.

I will take slow and easy (:blushing: in many different ways):laugh:

The fact that I have not only lost the 30 I wanted to, but continue to get healthier, is proof positive that it works!!

Exactly! I tell people all the time that I didn't get to be 286 lbs by not caring! I dieted my way there!

Good one! And Good job in 20 pounds! Your on your way!

SHBoss1673

Kudos to you for offering to teach but why bash on the "Biggest Loser" things in a workplace? We've done one at my work and it has caused 40 people to be more conscious of what they're putting in their mouth. Some of us needed that motivation to get started and have come to the realization through the 12 weeks that this is truly where we want to be and enabled us to create a healthier lifestyle AND lose weight.

It's no different than people becoming motivated by the show. Some of us find our motivation in different ways - no better or no worse than you. I, for one, appreciate the chance I was given to spur on healthier living and begin my weight loss. I WILL keep it up and I WILL continue to lose and get fit. It doesn't really matter what opened my eyes - they're open now and I LIKE it.

Well, I'll be honest, I watch the show for the "train wreck" value. I don't agree with a lot of the concepts they promote.
So as to why I bash it. Well, I it's similar to why I don't like people posting about quick fix weight loss, it's not the right way to think about it IMHO. I'm all for promoting better health in the office (thus the L&L's that I'm sponsoring). I'm not saying that everyone who does a "biggest loser" program will gain all the weight back (although many many clinical studies prove that quick fix type diets fail in the long run), as you are obviously proof of that fact. But the thing is, there are better ways to do it. I applaud the attempt, and I'm glad to see people thinking about nutrition and health, but wouldn't a nutrition support group be better? Like I said, I find it appalling because someone obviously cared enough to think up the program, but either didn't have enough motivation to follow through and start a real, solid instructional program, or they themselves don't have the nutritional knowledge to realize that quick weight loss programs in general (90% failure rate) don't work.

That's all I'm saying. I don't just come out and bash things for no reason. I put a lot of research and study into weight loss, and for someone to organize a weight loss program that will affect others who may or may not have the knowledge themselves, I feel it's only responsible to offer the correct information to do it in a healthy way.

Caveat: if your BL program comes with (even optional) nutritional sessions, exercise sessions, and/or a support group with someone who is relatively knowledgeable, then that's a whole different ball of wax, and I exempt you from my bad thoughts.

Please don't take this the wrong way, a BL program is still better than nothing, but I just feel that if you're going to do something, go all out, give them the tools they need to succeed, not just to play the game.

LittleSpy

Well, here is the deal in my case. I have had lap band surgery. Contrary to what people believe it is no "magic bullet" but a tool. I have had it for 8 yrs.I at one time weighed over 300 pounds. I have kept most of what I lost off. However I am finding that now that I attempting to eat healthier, I can not handle the bulk of healthy food. Chips, cokes and cookies go right down! This is why, thus far, I have lost weight somewhat quickly because I am not able to eat all my food. I have chosen to take weekends off to keep my weight loss from being too fast ( not going crazy) and to keep my metabolism up.

Sorry this is so off the original topic, but peanut butter (and any other nut butter) and milk are healthy calories that don't take up much tummy space. Also, keep in mind you need healthy fats like those in nuts and some oils (olive oil, for example) and those are loaded with calories as well.

In the beginning I was eating 1200 calories (I had A LOT of weight to lose) and I found I was easily satisfied with those 1200. I hit a wall & I have increased my cardio intensity so I have had to force myself to start eating more - now I try for a base of 1350 with 25-50% of my exercise calories (I'm still "obese"). I'm now up to around 1450-1600 calories a day on days I exercise a lot. That's a lot of food, especially for someone who learned how to never be hungry between meals on 1200 calories! :laugh: So, yeah, natural peanut butter is my best friend these days (and yummmm).

MissKim

I think of MFP the same way I think of Church. I do not bring guests with me to Church to make them change their ideals to mine.
Rather I hope they will hear something that changes them. Maybe to help others, or to be a better parent.....or just know they are loved.

So MFP is like that for me. If there are people here who think they can lose 10 pounds in a week, the reality will hit them soon enough. Our posts showing people like Kerriskinnyasslucko lost 50 pounds and looks HOT over a long period of time and is KEEPING it off.......that is the best lecture of all.

I love to jump into a thread on here and tally up the weight loss........and maintaining of same........of all the MFP peeps!!

So let them come........we are here to show them how it should be done and help them in their journey to make life altering changes.

:flowerforyou: Jeannie

I agree with you!! I invited my sister to join MFP. and she is doing it all wrong! because she doesn't know how to do it right. She skips breakfast alot and it doesn't do me a whole lot of good to try and tell her otherwise. It's a learning process. No one started out knowing everything. But hopefully they can learn as they go. Also, my sister is stubborn so she won't listen to me but she'll read things on here and she'll listen to them. She's lost thirty something pounds, but she has alot to lose. So hopefully by the end of this she will know enough about this to keep it off in a healthy way. We shouldn't be here to judge anybodys situation. and things aren't always as they seem. I believe we should only be concerned about ourselves on here because that's all we can control. Giving helpful advice is nice but in the long run people are going to do what they want to do. But pushing them in the right direction will do wonders. Some people also could have health problems that require a special diet. People may have religious reasons to be fasting certain things or food altogether. We're all different. You shouldn't judge anybody. Besides, whats more unhealthy?? out there eating everything you can find not concerned with your weight?? or trying to lose without all the knowledge or not in the healthiest way??? Your not out there getting on to the people that aren't even on this site eating mcdonalds everyday! They are more at risk to health problems than the people on here, i am almost sure of. I remember the first time I lost weight I lost 50 lbs and I did it all wrong. Ofcourse I gained it back. So I could of been one of those people your talking about. But I had to go through that to learn that it was the wrong way. So now I know how to do it healthy to keep it off.

amymeenieminymo

Interesting topic. I know for me, I posted once when frustrated that after eating perfect (right on calorie goal) for over a week, I had not really seen a loss that week. I received fabulous advice about how our bodies work and that was just a normal part of the weight loss cycle. I know in the past when putting forth that much effort I had seen much faster results on the scale BUT i had never stuck with it as long as MFP. So while my post may have looked like i was dying for super fast unhealthy weight loss, its not the case. It was just me being suprised with the descrapancy between my effort and the scale number. The support on this site is what kept me on this awesome healthy program. I have not lost as fast as i initially had hoped, but am super pleased with progress none the less and have overcome many hurdles (some emotional eating, checking NI online before eating out, figuring out good restaurant choices, sodium, removing carbs before bed, finding some kickass recipes) and know these changes are for LIFE now. So while some may do it the 'wrong' way, you can only hope they will come back and read as much as I did, and realize what the 'right' way is, cause it does work!.

A few people in my life have recently lost large amounts of weight quickly. It hurt a bit when they got all the attention for their weight loss and few noticed mine, when i know i'm doing it the proper way, but what do you do (i did not let it get me down and it hasn't changed anything i have done). I hope in a year I'll be the one being asked what i am doing... while that person has either figured out the right way to keep it off or has gained it back. I find short term fast loss SCARY.

I totally know that feeling. A few girls in my office were doing those B12 shots and lost weight very quickly and were getting so much attention for it, meanwhile hardly anyone even noticed my weightloss. But now a year later, I am keeping it off and still losing weight, while one of them is pretty much at a standstill as far as I can tell, and the other has actually gained some back I think. So while the inattention hurts at first, it's nice to know that long term, we're doing the right thing.

suziblues2000

Well, it's hard to say who has learned from this site and becomes healthier and who doesn't learn and just keeps going with their unhealthy ways. Just because a person is posting about some strange diet they're on doesn't mean they aren't reading and learning other ways at the same time; and hopefully they will stop and begin to understand.

I, for one, had NO idea about calories and how you are not suppose to starve yourself to loose weight! I always thought: the less you eat, the more you loose, so it must be a good thing to eat only 500 calories and I was a total wimp because I could never keep up with it. (You'd think at my age I'd know better, but I never concerned myself with my weight before until the past few years when I gained over 50 lbs from living different).

How wrong I was!

And I learned this from MFP.
Plus OMG! I've learned (and keep learning) so much here! About food labels, sugar, fitness etc.

So, I say, even though the person is posting about eating only 500 calories a day, hopefully they'll stay around long enough and figure it out, like I did. Believe me, it didn't take long to figure out either!
THANK YOU for the support and information MFP.

dmags

I realize that this is frustrating, however, we have all been there. Maybe I should not say all, many of us have put stock into the get thin quick thing. How many of us bought the pills, ate the cabbage, or drank the drinks? We now know that the best way to do it is with lowering calories and exercise. We know that logging our food and be honest is the only way to be truly accountable. But not everyone has reached this stage. So how can you punish someone who has simply not gotten to that stage of the game yet. If you are frustrated, don't respond to the posts. I just think that we have to be patient with those that are still learning.

As for the kids on here, I agree, but it is up to MFP to regulate that.

Now see, I disagree with this. MFP is a community. Like any community I consider it my job to offer to help those that I feel are in need of help. In the most positive and constructive way I can, I feel that it's important that we try to explain to people to the best of our ability why they have the wrong idea (in my opinion of course). I realize that almost everyone on here has done it wrong in the past (myself included), but I also know that if someone I trusted and thought was knowledgeable came to me and said, "this is why I think you should change how you're doing it..." I would have listened, and probably taken the advice. It should be noted that, I'm not forcing my views on anyone, but when you post in a public forum, you should (as I am) be prepared to take criticism. If you don't want constructive criticism, then you should post a blog about it where you can delete replies that you don't like.

NOW

whether they take that advice is another matter, as the saying goes, "you can lead a horse to water..." and that's fine, but again, my issue is that many (newbies) don't yet get the concept of communal support with weight loss, and some may see those posts about fast weight loss as acceptable just because they have been posted on this site. And that is bad to me.

I think that we actually agree with each other. What I was trying to say is if it frustrates you don't reply, it ends up becoming negative and in my experiece people will not listen. But, offering positive and constructive advice and information is the only way that we can educate the others who are still learning.

paddlemom

Great topic! Lots of good conversation brought to mind three points in this thread with Suggestions for Mike:bigsmile: :


1) People are always going to post about quick and easy weight loss - I think the problem stems from the ones who reply to those posts by encouraging that behaviour. It would be hard to moderate those opinions but ... Suggestion for Mike: maybe it would be helpful to have a short paragraph up front - on the homepage and/or maybe on the community landing page that talks about how the goal of MFP is to help promote healthy lifestyle and nutrtion goals and to support one another by encouraging those behaviours that will sustain those goals for the long term. Just to set the tone

The other side of that is that when people first come on to MFP - they don't know who "the experts" are. I see a lot of people on MFP who state information as if it is fact when in reality - I know it's not.

2) Suggestion for Mike: Maybe rather than Moderators, he could set up a category of MFP Mentors where that title could show on their avatar. These would be folks who have been around for at least 1 year and have a history of solid advice or background - apply and be granted Mentor status by Mike.

**I've especially noticed a disturbing trend with my friends. When someone logs in and it says they were "under their calorie goal," they receive lauds and accolades. I thought the idea was to remain within a few calories of your goal, and that eating healthily was the main objective. It seems that we're promoting calorie deficits.

3) I like the Newsfeed status updates, but ....Suggestion for Mike: perhaps the wording needs a little tweeking "paddlemom completed her food and exercise diary for 03/24/2010 and was with her target calorie range" or "paddlemom completed her food and exercise diary for 03/24/2010 and may need some encouragement to stay with her target calorie range"

BTW Huge thanks to all those who have stuck around this site for the long term to provide their support and wisdom. I know it has made a huge difference for me - kind of like belonging to a family :flowerforyou:

spicy618

Great topic! Lots of good conversation brought to mind three points in this thread with Suggestions for Mike:bigsmile: :


1) People are always going to post about quick and easy weight loss - I think the problem stems from the ones who reply to those posts by encouraging that behaviour. It would be hard to moderate those opinions but ... Suggestion for Mike: maybe it would be helpful to have a short paragraph up front - on the homepage and/or maybe on the community landing page that talks about how the goal of MFP is to help promote healthy lifestyle and nutrtion goals and to support one another by encouraging those behaviours that will sustain those goals for the long term. Just to set the tone

The other side of that is that when people first come on to MFP - they don't know who "the experts" are. I see a lot of people on MFP who state information as if it is fact when in reality - I know it's not.

2) Suggestion for Mike: Maybe rather than Moderators, he could set up a category of MFP Mentors where that title could show on their avatar. These would be folks who have been around for at least 1 year and have a history of solid advice or background - apply and be granted Mentor status by Mike.

**I've especially noticed a disturbing trend with my friends. When someone logs in and it says they were "under their calorie goal," they receive lauds and accolades. I thought the idea was to remain within a few calories of your goal, and that eating healthily was the main objective. It seems that we're promoting calorie deficits.

3) I like the Newsfeed status updates, but ....Suggestion for Mike: perhaps the wording needs a little tweeking "paddlemom completed her food and exercise diary for 03/24/2010 and was with her target calorie range" or "paddlemom completed her food and exercise diary for 03/24/2010 and may need some encouragement to stay with her target calorie range"

BTW Huge thanks to all those who have stuck around this site for the long term to provide their support and wisdom. I know it has made a huge difference for me - kind of like belonging to a family :flowerforyou:

Great Suggestions :flowerforyou:

Maybe those of us that know better should quickly post the links to "The Threads at the top of the Message boards". I know for me reading those and many others, helped me become familiar with the more "experienced MFPers". They taught me so much more about calories, metabolism and eating exercise calories. :flowerforyou:

immacookie

I just wanted to jump in here and say a big THANK YOU to all of the wise members we have that take the time to write up actual EDUCATIONAL pieces to help everyone else.... this is how all the wonderful information is helping ME.......

I joined back in Dec (maybe Nov?) because I was fed up with the calorie tracker I was currently using at that time (down time, slow, etc.), so I tried this out for a month... using the 1200 goal that MFP gave me, inputting my own low fat and low carb goals (because less is more ya know!), often eating under my goal by 100-300 cal and ignoring those exercise extra calories (because why would I want to eat MORE?!?)... so in reality I was probably eating 900 or less calories after exercise. I'm barely over 5ft tall, so pretty much all calorie/diet calculators give me 1200 calories - then if I work out I have that deficit... that's what I thought I was always supposed to be doing, made sense to me!

I was a chubby kid and teen but I could always just cut out all the junk food and be ultra strict with diet and exercise and watch the scale drop 20+lbs in 2 months, easy peasy.... suddenly in my mid-30's that stopped working, and I gained instead.
The last 3 years my weight has slowly crept up and I have been unable to lose ANYTHING, just watching the scale go up... even though I was following weight watchers in combo with other various diets (south beach, sugar busters, 6 week body makeover, etc. etc.) and exercising 3-4 days a week for at least 30-45 min.

Then I started reading the forums here to see if anyone had any posts about a new diet I hadn't tried or whatever.... I read for about a month or more before I finally posted. I read such things as I'm supposed to eat my exercise calories... and maybe 1200 cals is too low to begin with now that I'm a little older... I found out how to calculate my BMR.... and that maybe I need more healthy fat in my diet... (among other things).

For the first time in my adult life I'm eating MORE food, more calories... I'm eating real butter and avocados and nuts and drinking milk (in moderation of course) - things I wouldn't have come within 10ft of before because they're BAD. Sure I've only lost 5lbs in the last month, but it's PROGRESS. I have so much more energy and my clothes fit much better than what the scale says, too bad I didn't have a starting measurement to base things off of. I've discovered that I really enjoy the C25K program and that TaeBo still kicks my azz. :laugh: If this is really all I have to do to keep losing 5lbs a month then I'm SOLD. :bigsmile:

Long story short... a big THANK YOU from one of the formerly uneducated newer members who you all have HELPED to get healthier! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

1desperatehousewife

I am so glad I read this! I am new and I am committed to making myself healthy AND losing weight! While I've been using the tools and trying to get involved with friends and the message boards I didn't know to read through the recommended reading posts on the boards. Wow! What a change to my perspective! When I started I told myself I wouldn't get on the scale everyday and I wasn't going to be super hard on myself over calories, but as I've continued I've already let myself become focused on the number on the scale (while I've been losing water weight!), which causes me to want to reduce my calories even more, creating a vicious cycle. I've even been guilty of cheering others on for being under their calorie goal. I've lost track of the original goal which was to become healthy! So, I'm only going to step on the scale once a week and I'm going to devote more energy to making sure I'm eating "good" foods rather than making sure I eat fewer calories. I have been abusing my body with food for years, I'm going to have to accept that correcting the problem is going to take a long time and be an ongoing process. Thanks for opening my eyes!

sniffles

"I can only speak for myself but as to that, I am worried that we will start drawing the wrong kind of person to this forum"

Who decided what the wrong kind of person is? Furthermore who decided myfitnesspal is primarily for healthy weight loss/lifestyle?

When I joined up my primary concern was weight loss... and in a hurry. I didn't carry about healthy lifestyle at that point. So I guess I'm the wrong kind of person.

A year later and I've definitely changed my tune. But if my 'sort', you know, the WRONG KIND, weren't allowed to join then I wouldn't be here at all and I wouldn't have learned all that I learned while browsing this forum.