"Friends" on MFP

brittk70
brittk70 Posts: 17 Member
edited September 23 in Motivation and Support
Random question....I but first some background...I don't actually know any of my friends on MFP.
All my girlfriends at work are doing WW (I'm over counting points:) WW felt more like a diet and I am looking to not only lose weight but get really clear about what is going in (calories, carbs, protein and fat etc) and what I am buring. Understanding this might be the key to my keeping it off once and for all. For that reason I chose MFP.
Anyway, I signed up and was tracking for about 3 weeks before I realized that doing this by myself was not getting me anywhere. I figured I would be more successful and have more fun if I had (at least) some virtual support.
So, I actuallly requested all of my MFP friends based on something they posted about that I related too or based on the fact that they have had a lot of weight loss success or that they regularly log into the site or all of the above.

So FINALLY, here is the question,...Am I in the minority here in terms of not knowing my MFP friends. Sometimes I post word of encourgagement or thoughts about their status updates and wonder, "Do they think I am a weirdo?" "Do they "know" all their other friends, except for me?" "Is it okay that I am commenting?"

Just curious about other's experiences with this....
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Replies

  • schnarfo
    schnarfo Posts: 764 Member
    i only know one of mine. its great to give and receive regardless of whether u kno them or not
  • mangos4music
    mangos4music Posts: 126 Member
    no ur not the minority at all! i dunno any of my mfp friends. and i dont think many other ppl neccessarily do either. its almost easier that way cuz then they dont already have preconceived notions about you or your weight and eating habits than ur friends that know you for real might
  • CricketKate
    CricketKate Posts: 3,657 Member
    I don't know any of my MFP friends. I think that most people are "friends" so that we can offer support. I've noticed that it is a lot easier to accept help and support from my friends here because there is no judgement or personal ties. I love the words of encouragement that I get from everyone on here. It is so fantastic to talk to others who share similar difficulties and triumphs.:smile:
  • JillyCornwall
    JillyCornwall Posts: 376 Member
    I don't think many people on here actually 'know' their MFP friends, infact they seem to be often on another Continent, but thats what makes both the site & the support great, we all have the same thing in 'common'!! Go for it....
  • mjf0461
    mjf0461 Posts: 470 Member
    Girl you are far from being a miniority. I too have not had the pleasure of meeting my MFP friends.. I do hope one day that that could happen so we could really see the results of all our work in getting our lives back into a healthy style of living. But that's what this site is all about..Reaching out and helping those around you and in the end it also helps you out.. Welcome... add me and I will be more than happy to shout out so motivation.....
  • MelissaL582
    MelissaL582 Posts: 1,422 Member
    I don't personally know any of my support friends. That's what I love about the cyber world, we live in different places but have the same goals.
  • baycityroller
    baycityroller Posts: 35
    definitely not, I only know one of my friends on here! most of my friends seem to be in other countries! but it doesn't matter with something like this, as long as we all stay supportive it works :)
  • togden
    togden Posts: 324 Member
    Not at all .... I know 3 of my MFP friends personally ... 1 is my sister, 1 is my mother, and 1 is a good friend .... Otherwise everyone is a new virtual friend just here to support me as I am here to support them!!!!
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
    I don't know any of mine. I personally don't send out requests because... I don't know, I don't send requests on Facebook either. :huh: I like the social aspect, especially in a community of support like this one, so I always accept requests, but I just don't send them out. Weird. :laugh:

    Anyway, no, you're not in the minority. I think that's kind of the beauty of being in an online community like this. You don't have to know someone personally to get support. You can find people who share your struggles, even if you don't live in the same town. I like it. :)
  • girlsaint
    girlsaint Posts: 209 Member
    I don't personally know many of my MFP friends, but I have chosen them based on forum posts, statistics or pictures they have posted that show me similarities with my own struggles, (similar weight/height/work conditions/medical struggles/lifestyle/sense of humor) but a few of my friends are on the site. We can learn from each others successes and support each other through the struggles. I love MFP and my buddies here :)
  • rjlam
    rjlam Posts: 149
    I'm the same, the only one I know on the site is my daughter-in-law but she does not track or visit the site for whatever reason she has. I do not know any of my MFP firends but absolutely love the support that I get. I've done WW and I too found it too much like a diet and the groups that are in my area are very judgemental. The leader is great. So I decided to try MFP and love it and have stuck to tracking for the past 2 1/2 mths.
  • kac7700
    kac7700 Posts: 125 Member
    I only know one person too. Everyone else, I couldn't even tell you their real name. I think it's neat that someone you don't know cares about your success.
  • emmascott
    emmascott Posts: 249
    Same... I just know two. I've been on here three weeks and did feel a bit of a tit accepting or requesting friends. Probably because it's not really what you would do on facebook? This site is amazing! I love it! Support and nagging is what I desperately need! Lol x
  • Kminor67
    Kminor67 Posts: 900 Member
    I know 3 of my MFP friends in real life... but I've found that the ones who I don't know are much more support than the ones that I do! I've grown to love my friends on here... even though we've never met face to face. I don't even know some of their names, but my life would feel incomplete without them!
  • annie_p
    annie_p Posts: 319 Member
    I know a few of my MFP friends from another website...lol. But nope, I've never met any of them face to face.
  • dreamc08
    dreamc08 Posts: 74 Member
    I only know one of my friends, but I haven't even seen him in person for several years now. I'm like you....I've been using MFP for a while, but am a newbie to the message boards and accepting "friends" on here. I avoided it for a really long time because I wanted to keep everything private. It's hard to do that and succeed though. Like others, I kinda like not "knowing" the people on here, because they dont have preconceived notions about me and are hopefully only looking out for my best interests, and I only have to interact when I want, versus the girls at work who ask me nearly everyday how the workouts are going, or commenting on what I'm having for lunch.
  • mjmartin
    mjmartin Posts: 15
    Same for me. I don't actually know MFP friends either. I'm looking for friends too for encouragement & comments. This site is great but I agree, it's hard to keep motivated when you're on your own. I have 3 friends but only 1 is still active. I'd welcome some new friends too!
  • Sunfreeflower
    Sunfreeflower Posts: 10 Member
    There are few friends on my list that I know, which I recommended this site too. I also have friends who I do not know either. I love getting support and motivation from everyone! Weight loss is one of the most difficult things for me in life due to the big healthy lifestyle changes that I need to commit doing everyday. I love receiving encouragement from people as well as giving support to others. I like knowing that I am not alone during my weight loss journey and people are always here to cheer me on when I succeed or help me when I feel discouraged.
  • brittk70
    brittk70 Posts: 17 Member
    WOW! Thanks for all the replies..good to know I am not alone or a weirdo :)
    And, you are right, part of the reason the support here is so great is because it comes without judgement or preconcieved notions.
    Thanks again,
    Britt
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
    I think the vast majority of people here don't know their friends on MFP. I don't know anyone on MFP. In some ways it is easier, you know that the people here have similar goals and they're not judging you by your old self. Instead, they only know the new you.
  • mjmartin
    mjmartin Posts: 15
    One thing I've done to help myself is buy a small food scale. I'm getting discouraged that I feel like I'm making huge food intake changes but am seeing very little results. I'm wondering if when I think or guess ie. I've eaten say 1oz of cheese, that maybe it's quite a bit more. Today will be the first day experimenting with the scale...... Manda
  • newmeat30
    newmeat30 Posts: 766 Member
    I don't know ANY of my MFP friends. I comment on their status every day and they comment on mine. If they decide they don't like me, they can delete me as a friend any time. I love how supportive everyone is. I actually like the fact that they are all strangers. I feel like I can say anything and they won't judge me (and if they do...oh, well...I'm not actually going to run into them). I love MFP because I can be totally honest about myself and don't have to worry about how people I see every day will think of me.
  • diet45
    diet45 Posts: 392 Member
    I have met such nice people on this site. I really only have 2 friends that I know personally...everyone is someone I just met on here. I love all my MFP friends.
  • tummymummy
    tummymummy Posts: 97
    I dont know any either and reassured to know I'm not a wierdo lol! This site is definitely easier with virtual friends to help on the journey!
  • ocdad68
    ocdad68 Posts: 12 Member
    I don't know any of my MFP friends. I think that most people are "friends" so that we can offer support. I've noticed that it is a lot easier to accept help and support from my friends here because there is no judgement or personal ties. I love the words of encouragement that I get from everyone on here. It is so fantastic to talk to others who share similar difficulties and triumphs.:smile:

    Hey, that's a cool exercise/miles ticker.. is it here? I didn't see it.
  • schninie82
    schninie82 Posts: 502 Member
    I only know 3 of my mfp friends... we're all here for the same common reason...FAT... haha... either the loss or the gain of it... I have just started adding mfp users who are similar in some way to me or who give good advice on other peoples posts basically... I have MFP on my iphone so its really easy to access it... the iphone app recently upgraded so you can see the users so thats pretty cool too...
  • iamstaceywood
    iamstaceywood Posts: 383 Member
    Nope. I mean, there are some but, I know less than 10% of my friends list in real life. Honestly. And i'd rather be here than Facebook. LOL
  • heyitsmekatie
    heyitsmekatie Posts: 544 Member
    i only "know" one of my friends here -- and she's the one who told me about this site. i definitely think this is the norm. :)
  • bizybeemom
    bizybeemom Posts: 84 Member
    The only firends of mine that I know are my hubby and my daughter. The rest are strangers who I seem to have something in common with. Many of the people I know wouldn't understand the diet and exercise thing as much as my MFP "friends" seem to.
  • WildcatMom82
    WildcatMom82 Posts: 564 Member
    I only know 2 of my friends on here and oddly enough they're the ones I don't usually comment on their stuff lol. I also have added a lot of people from what they've posted on the boards and I never turn down a friend request!
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