Why I no longer use MFP

OP I get exactly what you are trying to say and didn't find it confusing or offensive at all. That is what I endeavor for. I find myself upset when I go over by like 50 calories or trying to figure out the extra 3 calories for the cinnamon in my oatmeal. It's degrading, to me anyway. I want to be able to do it on my own. Actually my problem isn't so much with diet as it is staying consistent with exercising. I really want to be fit and muscular - kind of hard if you never move! But thank you for your post. One day I hope to have the motivation and consistency to forget all about MFP and just actually live like a human being instead of a robot.

I see MFP as a tool that helps me reach my goals. The technology is there so why not use it?

I could read labels and work out macros and calories with a pen and paper OR I can pull out my phone and press the screen a few times. On top of that convenience it also gives me access to some pretty decent people in the community who will help me out if I need any advice.

So I guess what I am saying is that it is something that can be very useful but don't make your life depend on it. If I go over my calories one day, I don't let it worry me, because sometimes **** happens and I put it to the back of my mind and start fresh the next day.

Good for you if you can keep at it. I can't. I need MFP to hold me accountable but also to let me have treats without feeling that I'm cheating and without going overboard.

I'd gain back the weight without MFP, 100% certain... which is what happened to you.

I haven't left MFP, but I have stopped logging my food, but for the oppostie reason. I found I was gaining weight using it. I lost almost 30 lbs before I'd even heard of MFP, then gained 10 of it back. Slowly, over 2 years, but still a gain.

I obsess too much over making all those numbers come out right. Oh my, I'm short on protein, I'd better eat something else (even though I'm not hungry). Oh no, I'm stuffed buy I'm 300 calories short, I'd better eat something else. Oh no, my fat is way to high, I'd better not eat those almonds.

And the TIME it takes to log food. Some people say it takes only 5-10 min a day for them. It took longer than that for me to log one meal. I don't eat the same things every day and I cook most of my meals from scratch. One meal may have more than 20 ingredients. And I don't measure when I cook. I'm a "little bit of this, little bit of that" type cook. So, my calorie counts were probably not even close anyway.

I still log my exercise and play on the forums and check in with my MFP friends, but I've gone back to intuitive eating. It works better for me.

I think if you have a problem going like 50 calories into the red number, it's a problem of you and not of MFP.

Even if you'd do it all on paper, you'd have the very same problem. If you really don't eat a raisin just because of a few calories it's your mindset.

But maybe for some people that's great because otherwise they wouldn't stick to it at all. I think it's important to use common sense in everything we do.

^^ THIS!!!!

I am a planner by nature. I plan out what I'm going to eat for the day and if I add in a little extra here or there I make up for it by adding in or increasing my exercise. If I can't do it that day, I pick it up the following day and make up for it. I don't log sticks of gum or hard candies if it's 1 piece, but I think this is an accountability tool for me and helps me see what I'm eating and keeps me in check.

It seems to me that most people are seeking control over their over eating (as opposed to eating) rather than over eating having control over them. Calorie counting is simply one way of establishing that.

Anxiety, guilt, shame, obsession and perfectionism all erode control and making a true choice. Use the tools which reduce those, discard the ones which do not.

I get what you are saying OP.

OP deactivated.

QFT. /thread

OP deactivated.

I don't get the post in the first place, what was the point :noway:

I like MFP, and I'm going to use it to hit my goal weight, then for at least 5 solid years of maintenance. I was OBESE. I need to be in obesity recovery for a long, long time. :drinker:

Wonder how long it will be before she's back, trying to lose the weight again

I don't log my workouts so I do not feel the need to exercise to 'earn those calories'. My exercise (which is lifting) is fun, regardless of whether I track or not. They are not related for me.

I continue to have body composition goals, even though I hit my goal weight quite a while ago, and tracking macros...yes, sometimes down to the last raisin...is sometimes part of that.

So, it is not in my interests at the moment to stop using this site, especially as it's so much more than a calorie counting tool.

This. It's very hard to do a proper cut/bulk without counting calories. I'm in for recomp. I may do a break here and there from calorie counting (probably before my summer cut), but maybe not.