So I'm not sure how many of our little group have just joined MFP, but I thought I'd start a thread with tips on how to get the best out of the website. If any others have been here for a while, they're welcome to add to this.

The most important bit of advice, to me, would be: Beware of excercise calorie calculations. Many of the exercises in MFP (along with the food) were entered by users. This is great, because it means you can add your own stuff either for yourself or for everyone to use, but it also means that there is a lot of room for error. For some reason, people seem to be more accountable when it comes to food calories, but the exercise ones can be all out of whack. (I've seen someone log "half an hour of cooking/food preparation" as burning 600 calories or more). My advice is either get a heart rate monitor to keep track of how many calories you're actually burning, or try comparing calories to something where you KNOW how many calories are burned(like the elliptical at the gym). If the number seems way too high (like MFP telling me that I burn 800 calories in two hours of bellydance classes) it probably is, and you'll need to adjust it.

The second bit is simpler: Beware of message boards. There is some very useful information to be found there, but there are also a lot of people spouting off catch phrases like 'starvation mode' that they don't fully understand. I definitely suggest doing your own research.

Anyway, hope this helps

- Megan