Old timers, why do you still take the time to help people?

It does get annoying and frustrating, especially when you give a well thought out and comprehensive answer, but the OP ignores that and listens to some wacked out **** some person with a blue headed avatar, 2 posts, and nothing filled out in their profile because it's more in line with what they want to hear.

That said, I do occasionally get PMs from people who actually listen to me and appreciated my advice. If I can help someone understand what it is they're doing, how to use this tool, and how to avoid all kinds of silliness that I already went through, then it's worth the 99% of the rest of the bull****.

I don't understand it when someone who's consulted a doctor listens to a bunch of strangers on the web who have no training. I, too, get PMs in response to my posts and I always try to be encouraging.

People don't even know what they don't know.
How do you combat ignorance with knowledge when the ignoramus can't even recognize intelligence?

It is very disturbing. In America, people are taught that they have a right to voice a view, but they seem to have lost sight of the fact that they shouldn't merely assert opinions with no basis. The 60s-era distrust of authority thinking gets extended ridiculously to the point where laypeople think that they know more than the average doctor. They don't appreciate the nuance in the discussions. Usually, no one is saying doctors are all-knowing gods, only that at the outset, it is obviously better to follow the advice of a professional who has made an examination.

But a lot of people don't want to do what their doctors tell them. That's the crux of it. They're looking for an excuse.

But if you said, Stop making excuses, you'd be savaged. But there are whole lines of "excuse" threads, including:

What's your favorite food you're not eating? [Stop focusing on food that's inconsistent with your plan.]

Is dusting exercise? [Go do some undeniable exercise like running, or strength training or calisthenics, and stop asking silly questions. Stop making excuses.]

Should I track ___? [YES. What is the point of your being on this board? Stop making excuses.]

gimme a minute........there. I just saved this conversation to my hard drive so it will be easy to find on a day when I need something ironic to amuse me.

Mustang Susie, are you aware that the person you're chatting with is the author of this comment?

You look very good. But 33 26 38 is pear-shaped, not an hour-glass.

here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1032054-from-pear-to-hourglass-with-heavy-lifting-for-women?page=2

So unless helping people is trying to suck the joy out of a Success Stories thread and turn it into an attention seeking troll fest, TootToot might not be the best person to have a conversation about helping people with. Her posting history is full of garbage like this.

Ah...
I got lazy with my quote references and was referring more to wolfman's post.
Thanks, Dave :flowerforyou:

I really think this is one of the better topics I have seen here in a long time.

There is a lot of positive feedback on this here by all sorts of folks if you use a "glass half full approach".

This is the "Internet" of course, so you will get a little bit of "everything" (I always try to take my "take myself too seriously hat off before I wade into some of these threads - ha ha ha).

Bottom Line: there are some really good things to take away here! (This one is in my bookmarks!)

It does get annoying and frustrating, especially when you give a well thought out and comprehensive answer, but the OP ignores that and listens to some wacked out **** some person with a blue headed avatar, 2 posts, and nothing filled out in their profile because it's more in line with what they want to hear.

That said, I do occasionally get PMs from people who actually listen to me and appreciated my advice. If I can help someone understand what it is they're doing, how to use this tool, and how to avoid all kinds of silliness that I already went through, then it's worth the 99% of the rest of the bull****.

I don't understand it when someone who's consulted a doctor listens to a bunch of strangers on the web who have no training. I, too, get PMs in response to my posts and I always try to be encouraging.

People don't even know what they don't know.
How do you combat ignorance with knowledge when the ignoramus can't even recognize intelligence?

It is very disturbing. In America, people are taught that they have a right to voice a view, but they seem to have lost sight of the fact that they shouldn't merely assert opinions with no basis. The 60s-era distrust of authority thinking gets extended ridiculously to the point where laypeople think that they know more than the average doctor. They don't appreciate the nuance in the discussions. Usually, no one is saying doctors are all-knowing gods, only that at the outset, it is obviously better to follow the advice of a professional who has made an examination.

But a lot of people don't want to do what their doctors tell them. That's the crux of it. They're looking for an excuse.

But if you said, Stop making excuses, you'd be savaged. But there are whole lines of "excuse" threads, including:

What's your favorite food you're not eating? [Stop focusing on food that's inconsistent with your plan.]

Is dusting exercise? [Go do some undeniable exercise like running, or strength training or calisthenics, and stop asking silly questions. Stop making excuses.]

Should I track ___? [YES. What is the point of your being on this board? Stop making excuses.]

gimme a minute........there. I just saved this conversation to my hard drive so it will be easy to find on a day when I need something ironic to amuse me.

Mustang Susie, are you aware that the person you're chatting with is the author of this comment?

You look very good. But 33 26 38 is pear-shaped, not an hour-glass.

here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1032054-from-pear-to-hourglass-with-heavy-lifting-for-women?page=2

So unless helping people is trying to suck the joy out of a Success Stories thread and turn it into an attention seeking troll fest, TootToot might not be the best person to have a conversation about helping people with. Her posting history is full of garbage like this.

Ah...
I got lazy with my quote references and was referring more to wolfman's post.
Thanks, Dave :flowerforyou:

Sorry if pointing out that someone does not meet the definition she posted is a problem for you. She looks "very good," as I said, but those are not the measurements of an hourglass. I am very helpful and encouraging, as anyone truly familiar with my post history will know, but the premise of that other thread was incorrect. One of the problems on MFP is some people literally cannot take reality. For example, if you tell them that not everyone will end up looking like a fitness model no matter how hard they try, they start attacking you.

I post frequently in response to women with questions about how strength training will affect their body type. Many of the other members post incorrect information, such as saying that weight lifting will never make you bigger, or as here, that they transformed their pear shape into an hourglass when what they did was transform it into a more fit pear. That's not helpful to someone who really wants to know what to expect.

Earlier this week, there was a woman who said she was very pear-shaped and concerned about how weights would transform her lower half. No matter how many times she said that the examples posted were not relevant to her case, or that she repeated her goals, many people wouldn't listen, preferring to lecture her about their experiences and aesthetic standards. That lack of respect is very common here.

And if the best someone can do is to make fun of my user name, that's pathetic. And juvenile.

Mustang Susie, are you aware that the person you're chatting with is the author of this comment?

You look very good. But 33 26 38 is pear-shaped, not an hour-glass.

here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1032054-from-pear-to-hourglass-with-heavy-lifting-for-women?page=2

So unless helping people is trying to suck the joy out of a Success Stories thread and turn it into an attention seeking troll fest, TootToot might not be the best person to have a conversation about helping people with. Her posting history is full of garbage like this.
[/quote]

I did not read her comment like that at all.

When i reach goal, I hope i will pay it forward too. Until then, thanks to all the old-timers that share their knowledge. The wealth of information has enriched my journey and allowed me to make the best decisions for my health, fitness and aesthetic goals:flowerforyou:

Are you really going to derail this thread with that debate again?

Yes. This thread, like all threads, are about her.