Honest truths, maybe a bit harsh (this is a tad long)

Excellent, excellent post! Thanks again for stating something so well. I totally agree with you!

I really don't have an opinion on your post either way, I just thought it was funny you said MFP is about health & fitness, and is NOT a weight loss site. Below is the message on the first page whenever someone comes here.................

Losing weight isn't easy - we know. But with a membership to MyFitnessPal.com, you'll get the tools you need to successfully take weight off - and keep it off. And best of all, everything on our site is 100% FREE. So put away your credit card - you'll never have to pay a cent.

Study after study has confirmed the benefits of keeping track of the food you eat and the activity you do. It's simple - the more consistently you track your food intake, the more likely you are to lose weight. That's why every successful weight management program suggests that you keep a food diary and/or an activity log. But recording everything you eat without the right tools can be tedious at best, or simply impossible at worst.

At MyFitnessPal.com, we focus on making sure you can log your meals as quickly and easily as possible. Because the easier we make it for you, the more likely you are to stay on track, and the more likely you are to succeed in your weight loss goal

I your posts. Just sayin'. :blushing:

I think a lot of these things are issues that new MFP members face. When you've been here a while, they become common sense. Unfortunately, I don't think a ton (hehe, no pun intended) of people read the sticky threads that scream "Read Me!!!!!!!"

Maybe we should have MFP bootcamp. Required before being able to ask a question!

this.
Thanks again Banks, you always know what to say and how to say it.

bump for later.

Okay!

First, it is no secret that I am the hugest Banks fan. So, I've watched for several years as you have patiently tried to talk sense and give great info. I cannot tell you how much you mean to me and many other MFP members.

Again, thank you for all you have done.

Anyone new here: please click on SHBoss's little blue number under his picture, and start reading all his past posts. You will learn a lot and be glad you took the time. SHBoss is a successful weight loss maintainer, a life-long athlete, and has studied to become a trainer. Please take your advice from someone like SHBoss who has been through it all and come out as a long-term success. Be careful about listening to the advice from people who are not educated on fitness.

That said, if you read through the title, it says "Honest truths maybe a bit harsh this is a tad long". If you are so sensitive that posts on a forum upset you - don't read one with a title like this!!! If you read it, you are fore-warned. Geez. Some people will argue if the sky is blue or light blue.

I added this to the sticky thread "Links you want to read again and again" in the General Diet and Weight Loss Help tab, so go there (after you read all SHBoss's posts) and start reading through all the many many posts/threads in that sticky.

Thanks again, SHBoss. :flowerforyou:

~ Cheryl


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bump

Bump

not really sure about the point of the above statement. I thought I was pretty obvious about this being my opinion and impression of the site. What does this have to do with that? Are you trying to say that I can't have an opinion that is different from the original intent of the site?

No, it was meant in a joking mannor. I see those words that I quoted every day on the MFP page when I log in, so I thought it was funny. I actually agree with alot of what you said in the post. Like I said it was meant to come accross as a good natured kind of teasing. But I will say if that got you upset, I hate to see what happens when the people on those fad diets you talked about chime in here. :laugh: :laugh:

Good posting Banks!

One of your points (regarding people worrying about what they look like in the gym) reminded me of an athlete many years ago who was a blinding 400m sprinter.

Part of her training was something like 8 x 300m sprints with 90 seconds recovery between each one. Apparently, she would sprint these 300m reps and literally be puffing and panting and gasping as though she was going to keel over any minute! At the end of her training session she would be dead on her feet.

People would look as she would run past (probably wondering what the bloody hell the noise was, a train, a tornado....??)

However, she had the last laugh, because first meeting of the season, she improved her 400m time from 60 seconds flat to 55.0 seconds, eventually going on to become an international in her event.

The moral of my tale is that she didn't give two hoots what she looked like, it was the end result she was interested in and she focussed on that completely.

Regarding the onlookers, they didn't give two hoots what she sounded or looked like in her training either, in fact, they would watch her and want to do the same. So all you people that worry what you "may" or "may not" look like in that gym, don't! Go for it, because anybody that judges you in the wrong way, honestly hasn't got a bloody clue and will not have half the courage that you possess!

1) MFP is about fitness and health, this is NOT a weight loss site. One of the main benefits about becoming healthy and learning how to eat right is moving towards a healthy weight. Weight loss on MFP is incidental, and should NOT be the main focus on here. I know it usually is, but that's not what I envision MFP as.

I'm going to go ahead and disagree with you there.

First: When you first signup on the site it issues you 1 single goal. That goal being how much weight do you want to lose.

Second: It doesn't matter how the site defines the focus and it matters even less how you define it. This is a community based site and the community is what drives the focus of the site. It is very apparent that the community here is mostly about weight loss. We wouldn't be having this discussion otherwise.

This is a weight loss website; fitness and health are incidental.

Feh, everybody's entitled to their opinion.

But of course! However, " MFP is about fitness and health, this is NOT a weight loss site. " is not an opinion. He is making a statement in which he believes is fact.

I agree...Yes it is a weight loss site,because in order to get healthy most of us on here have to lose weight!

Good posting Banks!

One of your points (regarding people worrying about what they look like in the gym) reminded me of an athlete many years ago who was a blinding 400m sprinter.

Part of her training was something like 8 x 300m sprints with 90 seconds recovery between each one. Apparently, she would sprint these 300m reps and literally be puffing and panting and gasping as though she was going to keel over any minute! At the end of her training session she would be dead on her feet.

People would look as she would run past (probably wondering what the bloody hell the noise was, a train, a tornado....??)

However, she had the last laugh, because first meeting of the season, she improved her 400m time from 60 seconds flat to 55.0 seconds, eventually going on to become an international in her event.

The moral of my tale is that she didn't give two hoots what she looked like, it was the end result she was interested in and she focussed on that completely.

Regarding the onlookers, they didn't give two hoots what she sounded or looked like in her training either, in fact, they would watch her and want to do the same. So all you people that worry what you "may" or "may not" look like in that gym, don't! Go for it, because anybody that judges you in the wrong way, honestly hasn't got a bloody clue and will not have half the courage that you possess!

Well, in defense of people who DO feel embarrassed at the gym (I personally don't care), I can say I empathize and understand. If you are obese or morbidly obese, some people are NOT even polite about it. I watched this several times just recently on the subway to work. Yesterday I watched a very morbidly obese man sit down on the train, with one seat between himself and a very thin young lady. He DID take up more than 1 seat, but there was no one between the two of them. Apparently she didn't like that he was touching her, and she huffed, gave him a dirty look and got up and walked off, shaking her head and muttering.

Tonight on the subway I was on my way home. There were 4-5 young guys standing near me and I had my ipod on, but not loud enough to drown them out. I noticed they were looking at me and laughing. I turned off my music and caught the rest of their conversation about my "hippo *kitten*" taking up standing space on the train, etc.

People who are bigger deal with all of the time, some times quite blatantly. Good for you that you don't feel insecure. Maybe you could have a bit more empathy, or if you don't like it, just don't read those posts.

It is not me that I was describing back in my original posting actually, I was merely an onlooker, therefore I was somebody on the outside watching.

Hey!!! I DID have empathy for crying out loud, I was giving a good example to be honest.

You are SO defensive you are not even seeing if somebody is merely trying to help.

What do you think I am on this site for? fun??? well actually I do thoroughly enjoy this site :laugh:

I was big myself once, so I know EXACTLY what it was like thank you very much and I don't need you to go on about how hard doneby they are and how somebody should not read certain posts.

Perhaps if you are going to get so upset, it is YOU who should refrain from reading them until you buck up and stop being so damned bitter!

We are all here for a certain purpose, support is called for and I see absolutely nothing in my original posting that indicated I was being cruel or unsympathetic!

If you read the end bit of my original posting you will see exactly where I am coming from - it is so easy for outsiders and ****holes to take the piss out of larger people, but it is those same people who do nothing with their own lives in so many cases. Therefore, we should feel sorry for them, it all depends on how you look at it.