fitpal versus sparkpeople your opinion pls

sandieecakes
sandieecakes Posts: 20
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm new to fit pal although I do have a membership with sparkpeople.com. For those of you who are familiar with sparkpeople tell me why you chose fit pal? I personally love that fitpal has a way better food data base and I love the extra calories you get for working out.

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,976 Member
    MFP has me.:laugh:

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • mommabenefield
    mommabenefield Posts: 1,329 Member
    I too had sparkpeople before mfp came around... SP was great because it has alot of informative articles to read and you earned points on top of food logging ect...

    But i prefer mfp because the food database is easier to follow, exercise is easier to log, the forums are easier to follow, and you have a mobile app!

    Its mostly user preference which is easier to work with for the person aside from none of the information articles i think mfp wins...:flowerforyou:
  • mcdebbie
    mcdebbie Posts: 940 Member
    I have both but I really only use SP to get my points :laugh: and read the articles. I really really don't like the way their forums are set up, and I never got into any groups or challenges over there. And I find tracking much easier on MFP. Try them both for awhile and see which suits you or use both for the parts you like.
  • hdtracy
    hdtracy Posts: 49 Member
    From purely just a point of personal preference I like MFP better. I find the SP site cluttered and clunky.
  • sandieecakes
    sandieecakes Posts: 20
    From purely just a point of personal preference I like MFP better. I find the SP site cluttered and clunky.

    That is exactly how I feel!
  • rassha01
    rassha01 Posts: 534 Member
    I too had sparkpeople before mfp came around... SP was great because it has alot of informative articles to read and you earned points on top of food logging ect...

    But i prefer mfp because the food database is easier to follow, exercise is easier to log, the forums are easier to follow, and you have a mobile app!

    Its mostly user preference which is easier to work with for the person aside from none of the information articles i think mfp wins...:flowerforyou:

    ^^This
  • Colliex3
    Colliex3 Posts: 328 Member
    Once you go MFP ... well you just dont think of other places... its just sinful..

    But really everything is very user friendly, you can talk to people and interact alot easier.
  • RaineMarie
    RaineMarie Posts: 158 Member
    I use both. I like the community at sparkpeople better, but I do all of my logging here at MFP. I think the food database is much better to navigate on MFP. But I like the community support is much better at sparkpeople, and I enjoy their website overall much more. I just cant seem to leave MFP because of the food logging.
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
    I think Sparkpeople is a lot nicer-looking. They have a lot of articles, recipes and videos you can use.

    What I prefer about MFP is the food database and the community. Sparkpeople seemed like it had a lot of older people and, I don't know... some people on there were just this side of functional in terms of intelligence. Not that you don't see the latter here, but I feel MFP has more users who are "with it", so to speak.
  • LilyGessert
    LilyGessert Posts: 3
    I am noticing my results in my first week here are POOR compared to using Sparkpeople my first week . I just calculated the same exercise and SP had 400 more calories lost on the calculation. For a person like me who struggles with having an appetite and eat enough I do not understand why there would be such a difference between one activity. I might be switching back. I like the app on the phone for MFP however so far I am not impressed.
  • jody664
    jody664 Posts: 397 Member
    I use both. I like the community at sparkpeople better, but I do all of my logging here at MFP. I think the food database is much better to navigate on MFP. But I like the community support is much better at sparkpeople, and I enjoy their website overall much more. I just cant seem to leave MFP because of the food logging.

    ^^This has been my experience too. I like the ease of use of MFP, particularly the app. But the SP community is a lot more supportive and a lot less snarky than the MFP forum.
  • Onlineasllou
    Onlineasllou Posts: 11
    I've been on SparkPeople for a couple of years and have just recently begun exploring MFP because I was looking for a site to recommend to my sister. Here's my opinion so far:

    1. The "look and feel fo the site" is better on MFP. SP is cluttered and clunky, giving it a steeper learning curve.
    2. The food database is bigger on MFP. That's good.
    3. But I prefer the Spark approach of establishing ranges rather than a specific target. I also like the Spark approach to starting with "baby steps" -- setting small behavioral goals to establish healthy, long-term habits for a better life.
    4. I prefer the community features on SP. I have found some of the challenge threads there to be particularly helpful.
    5. I like the Spark philosophy of helping others. I like being able to use my SP points to give a virtual gift/pat on the back to a fellow member who needs or deserves that
    6. I like that SP has the professional coaches so readily available -- a Registered Dietician, a Chef, a Fitness Specialist. I haven't seen that here on MFP. Also, there are a lot of professionals on SP as members who chime in and contribute their expertise as well.
    7. I like the articles and fitness videos on SP.
    8. I like that SP is not just about weight loss ... but includes lots of people overcoming health problems and disabilities ... trying to gain weight ... trying to stop drinking ... trying to manage their money better ... etc. It's about establishing long term healthy habits for life, while a lot of the focus on MFP seems to be about "going on a diet to lose weight."

    I guess in sum ... I think MFP is easier for a beginner to use. SP is clunky and harder to use, but has more to offer for people willing to make that extra investment. That's what I will tell my sister.

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