Sticking with MFP
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1. I got tired of feeling awful and having no energy.
2. It's free and simple. And the community is helpful, informative and supportive.
3. I plan to stick with MFP. It works for me. Plus, you guys are awesome.0 -
1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?
The summer after I got married, I tried to put on my shorts. The prior summer, these shorts were big and hung on my hips comfortably. That summer, the shorts were snug and uncomfortable. It was a big wakeup call for me. I put on 20 pounds in a year! I decided that I would NOT buy bigger clothes – I would work hard to fit back into my old clothes.
2. What made you stick with MFP?
At first, I stuck with it because I knew I needed to track everything to be successful. But that does get old pretty quickly. What has really kept me coming back for nearly 2 years are my friends here. I have a great support team and I enjoy being supportive for them too. I feel closer to some of the people here than I do to my friends in real life.
3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?
Yes, I will absolutely stick with MFP indefinitely. It’s the only way that I’ll be able to maintain the weight loss. Plus, I’d miss my friends here if I left!0 -
Thanks for the great post :-)
I wanted to change my diet and exercise habits after continually finding ways to 'get out' of exercising at least twice-weekly, and realising my weight was slowly creeping back up to where it was about 6 years ago. I was also fed up with the fact my weight was creeping back despite feeling hungry ALL THE TIME because I got into a really weird pattern of skipping breakfast, eating very little for lunch, and stuffing myself with food all night.
I knew that all I needed was something to help me monitor my actual food and exercise patterns, and stumbled across MFP! Initially I wanted to ignore the calorie goal and just keep a running tally of what my eating habits were actually like, and that's when it became clear as day to me that they were HORRIBLE. So I started eating breakfast every day and eating lunches with protein. After about 2 months of doing this and attending a spin class once or twice a week, little by little I started losing weight. I didn't dramatically alter my eating habits (i.e., I still probably overeat during the night) and I could certainly make healthier food choices/exercise more to speed up my weight loss, but for now I'm ok taking the slow route.
I'm keen to continue using MFP, even if some day I do reach my goal weight (4kg to go, but that could take another year given the slow pace I'm taking!). Logging my food helps me stay focused and aware of what I'm actually putting in my mouth. It also helps me see when I'm starting to fall off the 'regular exercise bandwagon' so I can kick myself into gear again. It's just a habit now that really doesn't take much time or interfere with my day, and I'm pretty glad I found it.
Proud to say I've eaten breakfast every day since I started MFP just over 6 months ago!:drinker:0 -
Q. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?
A. I really don't know why after years of tolerating being overweight I suddenly became motivated.
Q. What made you stick with MFP?
A. I knew I had to keep track of food and this was the best app I could find for tracking.
Q. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?
A. I've been on maintenance for over a year and I still track my food intake. The reason is that years ago I lost weight but gained much of it back after I quit logging my food intake.0 -
1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?
2. What made you stick with MFP?
3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?
Excellent questions:
A1- Heart attack
A2- It works!
A3- Why not? Its easy.0 -
My question for you guys is
1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?
2. What made you stick with MFP?
3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?
1. I thought I would die before 55 if I didn't do something...and my nieces were too embarrassed to be seen with me
2. The Support of my friends..they are incredible people
3. I have hit my goal weight a long time ago, only just set a new one to be a little more streamline for running...I'm still here :-)0 -
Its easier with mates.
I log now and again recently but I'll be back once training
The cals database has absolutely every food known to man and woman
I was sick of yoyoing and like my mate BlueFox above thought I might die if I didnt do something
Now I do something I run 10K in 45 mins and marathons is 3:30
I couldnt run to the end of our street 4 years ago0 -
1) I felt I was eating well, but in studying for a personal trainer certification exam, I realized that I was focusing on the wrong factors in what I was eating. I started tracking my diet in MFP, and found there was way too much refined sugar in the “healthy” things that I ate/drank every day like Gatorade and protein bars. By just reducing a few of these sugary things from my diet, I have lost about 6lbs.
2) Logging your food keeps you honest – seeing your lapses on a computer screen is a reality check! It also helps me balance everything, ie, I change my dinner and snack choices in the evening according to the amount of carbs, protein, fat, sodium, sugar, etc., that I have consumed throughout the day.
3) Yes, I’ve been on for a month, and plan to continue. With bar code scanning and saved meals, you really have no excuse to quit!0 -
1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?
I complained about the small tube around my middle that would not go away. A personal trainer recommended MFP if I was really serious about fixing it.
2. What made you stick with MFP?
The food logging was easier than I expected. The feedback on progress was useful. And it synched with my Withings scale.
3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?
I currently have MFP set to maintain my weight. Watching the body recomposition occur as the body fat % continues to slowly decline.0 -
1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?
- My Mother had a stroke and many complication because she has led of life of laziness. I do not, will not, follow in her footsteps.
2. What made you stick with MFP?
- I find that when I log in I am accountable to what I eat, good or bad.
3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?
- yes for the simple fact that if I stop I know I will miss it.0 -
1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?
I came home from school and stepped on the scale and realised that eating Oreos and watching Netflix all day wasn't very healthy.
2. What made you stick with MFP?
I liked how I could calorie count everything and the forums were really helpful.
3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?
Yes. Once I can get my eating habits in shape, I probably won't need to count calories anymore.0 -
A. I really don't know why after years of tolerating being overweight I suddenly became motivated.
Me too! I don't really know where it came from exactly. I've been overweight since I started college (I stopped being a vegetarian and gained the Freshman 40 instead of the Freshman 15 and then struggled with that for years). But I gained extra weight from a bad breakup and Hurricane Sandy and it just got to be too ridiculous, I guess
Thank you for the great responses everyone! I love hearing people's stories about why they decided to change their nutrition/exercise habits! Keep 'em coming!
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1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits?
June 2012 I was looking down the barrel at turning 50 in 9 months and then was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. That was the kickstart, it flipped some kind of switch in me that I needed to take control of my health. I didn't want to be 55 years old and so overweight that I couldn't hike, or walk, or move easily.
2. What made you stick with MFP?
Its ease of use. I found MFP by googling "best weight loss app" or something similar and up MFP came on the Googlerator so I registered and it was simple to understand and use.
3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now?
Yes, I'm in maintenance now, reached my goal about a month ago. I can see using MFP for the long haul as it keeps me honest and it's become a daily habit.0 -
1. I always talk down about myself, and every now and then I'd always fall into a pit of depression here and there. I'm 6' 3", pretty big/broad guy...I have an amazing foundation to build from, and it got me depressed seeing that I wasn't doing anything about it. I wanted to lose weight, I wanted to look and feel better, and most of all I wanted to up my chances of living longer.
2. How easy and extremely helpful it is to use. Seriously, my biggest change was using MFP, seeing how many calories I would normally eat in a day, and be disgusted in myself.
3. Yes, it takes about 5-10 minutes out of my day to use MFP and to make sure I'm still on track. Once I reach my goal I still plan on using MFP...it's too good not to use.0 -
1. Other half was worried about my health.
2. very easy to use and motivating
3. yes0 -
I lost weight in my 20s by starting to exercise more, without watching what I ate. I gained it back in my 30s when I stopped exercising without changing my eating habits. I lost a little bit after I turned 40 and returned to regular exercise, but a middle-aged metabolism doesn't shed pounds as easily...so I decided I needed to count calories.
I had tried SparkPeople as an exercise tracker a couple years ago, but found the "gamification" to be offputting. Browsing through Consumer Reports at my sister's house over the holidays, I saw a review of weight loss programs that had good things to say about MFP. I thought I'd give it a try. When I discovered it had a companion iPhone app, I was pleased, since logging as soon as I eat something is the best way to ensure I don't forget any calories.
I stick with it because it's easy and because I'm getting results. It's not the only tool I use. I read John Walker's "The Hacker's Diet" (free online), which emphasizes calorie counts, and am using Beeminder to track my weight every day and to calculate an exponentially smoothed moving average. (My graph is at https://www.beeminder.com/brianogilvie/goals/weigh, if anyone wants to see what it looks like; the skinny purple line is the weighted average.)
I do plan to keep using MFP and tracking my weight against an exponentially smoothed weighted average after I reach my target. Experience has taught me that if I don't watch what I eat, I gain weight. The chapter in Walker's book on "Perfect Weight Forever" explains why it's a good idea to weigh oneself daily after reaching your goal: if your daily weights are mostly above the average, that means you're putting on weight and can address it before it becomes a big gain. I don't know if I'll count calories all the time, but I will start counting as soon as my average is 5 lbs. over my target, or for that matter if it drops much below the target.0 -
the best part of MFP is when you track your day's food, it gives you the message, "If you keep eating like this you will be _____ in 5 weeks (and its like 10 pounds lower than I am at now). it is totally the carrot before the horse encouragement. Funny how that is encouraging. 5 weeks does not seem very long at all and Im seeing an actual number before me to attain.
I like to see my progress and I can see my food choices as the days go by. It will be interesting to see what I'll be recording in the months to come, and compare. If i happen to blow a day, i just say well, here is where i can improve a bit and i use the numbers to help me sort it out.
I went to a few other weight loss websites, but I just feel like I'm part of a group here that cares about each other (even the brutally honest ones lol . I do keep my profile on private because I want to use it to record my personal feelings as the days go by and I'm too embarassed for you all to see it and then i couldn't really be honest if i know someone might read it. i still am embarassed about parts of me. 0 -
Great questions.
1. What made you realize that you wanted to change your diet and/or exercise habits? Hit my highest weight; felt terrible and was really unfit; miserable.
2. What made you stick with MFP? It's easy to use; tells me how much i'll weigh in 5 weeks; love the community & enjoy reading posts; I learn a lot on this site; and now, I'm an MFP addict.
3. Are you planning on sticking to MFP after you reach your goal weight?/Do you currently do that now? Yes.0 -
1. I weighed for the first time in 5 yrs and that along with being diagnosed prediabetic was a smack in the face , and a wake up to do something before it was too late. Plus at a work health assesment I had a fasting BS of 180 and I knew I was headed for serious problems. Thank goodness this all happened within a couple odfdays of each other to drive the message home!!
2. the first time in my dieting career I had results and they happened pretty quickly. It was a life style change I could live with. Plus this is the most weight i have ever lost at one time.
3. YES!!0 -
I lost 50. Comes a time where you feel so crummy everyday. ..I have been in the up and down cycle and have conquered it...honestly
Without MFP. But I like the extra support and the tracking. Also need to keep healthy for my six year old and wife.0
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