Hello I am new to this, how successful is this?

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kyrbry
kyrbry Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
:smile: Helllo this is my first time on and was just wondering at how affective this is? I know its your own personal goals and everyone is different with their outcomes, but with haviing 4 kids and working out I dont really have much time for myself so thats why I was asking basically is this time consuming and do alot of people see results by using this?:smile:

Replies

  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
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    you will get out of it what you put into it.

    as for tracking food it takes me just minutes a day. I spend more time here talking or browsing for information.
  • eriny
    eriny Posts: 1,509 Member
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    here are my results from mfp check profile
  • monkeyfood
    monkeyfood Posts: 106
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    Hey :)
    It's my first day too.
    Welcome.
  • studentRN
    studentRN Posts: 440 Member
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    YES! It DOES work... but only if you allow it to! Like a previous poster said, you get out of it what you put into it. Counting calories is a simple and reliable way to lose weight. It doesn't take me much time to log my food into my diary here.

    Welcome! :flowerforyou:
  • Corrie62
    Corrie62 Posts: 191
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    Working for me. But I agree that it will give back what you put into it.
  • maydianna
    maydianna Posts: 26 Member
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    I've been using MFP since March but have been on my weight loss quest forever! I have found it to be an incredibly useful tool for really knowing what exactly I put into my body everyday. I agree with an earlier post - you'll get out what you put in - it does take the commitment of a few minutes a day to log your food.

    Personally, I put all of my food in first thing in the morning because it forces me to plan out my meals and snacks and I know I'll be on track. Then I make any changes in the evening or even the next morning if things didn't quite go as planned.

    The boards and community is great support too! Always lots of people to offer helpful advice and keep you motivated!

    Welcome and Good luck :)
  • roxib166to126
    roxib166to126 Posts: 1 Member
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    I joined up today too!! This must be "our" day. I have no idea how successful this will be, however, I did think that just surfing around the site and checking out the foods that are available to input into your daily report and how it calculates it out is pretty darn cool. Sure beats figuring it out manually. :flowerforyou:
  • linzismith
    linzismith Posts: 139 Member
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    i will say that logging everything you eat takes some time. if you eat an apple as a snack, that's really no problem. but if you cook a recipe that has lots of ingredients and then you only eat 1/4 of that whole recipe, well, that takes a bit more time to calculate. this site did just add a recipe calculator which has made that a lot easier (less math-intensive), but it still takes time.

    However, i've tried other sites that made entering food a little faster (by using pop-up windows to add food rather than having you reload every page) but i didn't lose any weight with them. the key for me is how this site counts down your calories left (very straightforward) and I find the little green button to be very motivational (the one that says "if every day were like today, you would weigh X pounds in 5 weeks." That message can either be very rewarding or give you a swift kick in the pants reminding you not to screw up like that again.

    I used a site like this a few years ago when I worked a corporate desk job and things were going well. but then i went back to school and was never in front of a computer anymore. because of that lifestyle change, i stopped calculating every day.

    So basically, my advice to you is to find a way to make calculating a real priority. entering in food after you've eaten it really is not effective, because the whole point is that halfway through the day, you let the amount of calories you have remaining inform your decisions about what to eat for the rest of the day. So either calculate everything as you eat it, or put everything in the first thing in the morning. but try not to calculate after-the-fact. i can almost gaurantee you it won't be as effective.
  • katielouhoo
    katielouhoo Posts: 676 Member
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    i made the decision to begin dieting last August. Actually started August 27. i was planning to count calories and when i was trying to look up calories in food i was planning to cook, i ran across this website. i liked it, signed up and have been faithful since.

    and my ticker tells it all. yes, this is successful. i needed to track calories, i like that i can track exercise. one of my big hurdles was getting in enough water (without counting coffee, tea or pop, too) and i've learned to make that part of my life too.

    i do try to plan some, but i also stop throughout the day and make entries. i have a strong idea of about how many calories i am allowed at meals and snacks (having done this for months) so i do not usually make all my entries in advance. some of that is getting used to how many calories in the normal foods you eat. but then i try to eat lighter through the day, so that i have some wiggle room at the end of the day (cause i like to have an evening snack and in case dinner was more than i'd intended, i won't be over).

    good luck. it still takes grit and determination. but it is all about choices and you can do this, one choice at a time.
    (don't let yourself get discouraged, its a long road and once in a while, we all make bad choices- just know if you make a bad choice you can make the next choice a good one)
  • BBrown620
    BBrown620 Posts: 6
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    It is successful if you are willing to hold yourself accountable for the food you eat and the exercises you do.
  • nomofat
    nomofat Posts: 17
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    Its been a few days and I have lost one full pound.

    It works.
  • txbrownie456
    txbrownie456 Posts: 1
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    Hello! I am new to this too. So far I am enjoying holding myself accountable for this!! :flowerforyou:
  • karen1612
    karen1612 Posts: 21 Member
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    Hi, I joined 2 days ago and am finding that by having to put my food intake into a diary that I'm much more aware of what I will and won't eat. It also lets me know as the day goes on how much I can eat for dinner or whether I should have that snack or not. I'm also finding that I'll go for a 10 minute walk just so I can get the calories up too. I really like the incentive that it gives me to try and do the right thing...after all, it's me that wants to lose the weight.
    Good luck!
  • BrahminsDad
    BrahminsDad Posts: 22
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    One thing I have been doing that helps me a lot is in planning my daily food. I input my breakfast, lunch, and snacks the night before. Then I have my limits set for the day. It is still flexible if I decide to make changes. But I have to decide not to eat some calories if I am going to eat some unexpected treat. Also I keep in mind dinner. If my wife and I know we are likely to eat out (typically Fridays), then I limit myself more in the daytime since restaurant food has such high calories.

    Additionally, this forces me to make decisions about exercise also. Since I am accountable to myself for what I truly eat and the exercise I do, there is no reason to hide or amend anything.
  • Sara1978
    Sara1978 Posts: 213 Member
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    I think it is a wonderful site.

    Started in May here, and I'm down 11lbs and feeling healthier than I have since high school. I've always been one of those people who tried to eat right and exercise, but never changed much in weight. With the help of this website, I've been able to make more sense of my eating habits and work through the mistakes that were keeping me from losing weight in a healthy way.
  • Kladyga
    Kladyga Posts: 4
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    I am new as well!!! My problem is that I need to be held accountable and need to see actual "numbers" for what I am putting in my body. One of my largest hurdles appears to be all the summer fun, ie drinking, bad food and due to my insane social schedule I have little time for excercise. But I love the tracking on this thus far and am hoping it will be what i need to make my goal a success!!! I am really excited about it!
  • bekylouisex3
    bekylouisex3 Posts: 242 Member
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    I'm kinda new too to MFP, I joined 2 days ago :] I already love this site!! I agree with alot of the posters above...it's a shock to actually see what you normally consume in a day, and with MFP you see numbers and figures for foods you normally think would not affect your calorie intake much, but actually they do! If you keep logging your food and exercise on a daily basis and controlling your calorie intake, you will see results!

    The best motivation is when you first see your results showing, as it shows that your effort are paying off :happy:
    Good luck for your future MFP journey!
    :flowerforyou:
  • VolatileChocolate
    VolatileChocolate Posts: 116
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    I joined on Monday as found this site by accident, its great, i like reading the posts as its a real motivation (and thats where the time is wasted). Doing you food and exercise is easy and if like you you tend to have the same certain foods esp for breakfast once you've put it in once you don't have to keep searching for it as it brings up what you've had before so you can just tick it.

    Its amazing how many new people have joined in just these few days.

    xUna
  • alexma02
    alexma02 Posts: 2
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    I'm also new to this site. I've tried everything to keep weight off. Now I just want to be more aware of what and why I eat. I also want to be motivated to help my family make better choices. Good luck!
  • kyrbry
    kyrbry Posts: 2
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    thanks everyone for your stories and encouragement, I hope that I can keep up with coming on here everyday and remind myself to be truthful with what i am eating and if its bad try to stop it!

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