Curious about everyone's journey with myfitnesspal

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  • dawnmcneil10
    dawnmcneil10 Posts: 638 Member
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    I always wondered if I was eating enough protein and I do like to check out my sugar levels from time to time since adult onset diabetes is in my family history. This site makes it easy to watch everything all at once or just pick one thing to focus on. It's a tool and like any tool it's only going to work if you use it properly.

    I've met some really wonderful people who have become true friends so that has been a real bonus.
  • KeepTheFaith9
    KeepTheFaith9 Posts: 80 Member
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    I find it useful in so many ways. Invaluable tool to log food, monitor calories and macros, and get complete picture of exercise/diet combination!

    Also great way to learn from others and get the benefit of the MFP community.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    I love using this tool. I like being able to finally be able to track nutrients...I know know if I am getting enough iron, protein, calcium, and potassium...I know that I have to eat more fat (yeah, that's a kicker, lol) and I don't take in much cholesterol. My sodium levels are well below the RDA so I'm not sure if that's good or bad, lol. I just don't care for a lot of salt very often, (I esp. avoid many canned foods)

    I was on MFP previously as a different name but lost my login info and joined up again in 2013 I think. I did it faithfully for a while but then stopped for various stupid reasons. Gained weight back. Came back again.

    The forums have helped me a LOT. I have been really anxious over things for years such as eating "clean," eating organic, juicing every day because it's superior, green smoothies every day because they are superior, etc...avoiding this and avoiding that and it just put me in almost a "shut down" situation. I couldn't take it anymore.

    The forums have helped me take a much more balanced approach to eating healthy amounts of nutritious (and some not so nutritious) food.

    I find it superior to Weight Watchers - not only because it is free but because it gives me the whole picture for nutritional needs - not just worrying about points based on fat, fiber, and calories.
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
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    Another vote for MFP being the key to my success. I started logging over two years ago and have never looked back. It taught me that nutrition and exercise are great for overall good health, but for weight loss, it's all about the calorie count. When I realized that I could still eat all of my favorite foods in moderation, and as long as I could make them fit into my daily goal, it changed my life. I lost 123 pounds and so far my husband has lost 135, using MFP.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    It's helped me realise (countless times) that I suck at estimating my intake. It really is an invaluable tool for keeping track of (cals too obvs) macros - pen and paper just wouldn't cut it.
  • CanadianCountryGirl1973
    CanadianCountryGirl1973 Posts: 108 Member
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    It's FREE! I'm not a big fan of "diets", so something like Weight Watchers is the absolute wrong philosophy for me (and actually, their processed food is not really better than natural eating). I love the recipe aps (it can't be any easier than to cut and paste the URL and then adjust the recipe!). I LOVE that my husband and I can just "share" meals (one week he logs and I share, the next week the reverse). Make it fun when friends come to visit... they just share the recipes we're making! I love finding healthy alternatives to favorites, and I love serving sizes. I think it's awesome that there are millions of foods already logged including restaurants, etc. I also love that there are Canadian options (the calories, fat and sodium really are different). I also love the reports so I can see what I might be missing in my diet. I enter the exercise, but I don't eat it back (because I'm not fully convinced their equation is accurate). Support is fun! And if you fall of the wagon, you can just jump back on.... you don't lose any money!
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
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    I lost all 30 pounds that I needed to on Weight Watches 3 years ago and kept it off through better food choices and exercising. I started using MFP about a year ago when I saw what a great suport system there is here for maintainers like myself and for those looking to lose or gain weight. Unfortunately the support that I got from WW stopped when I dropped 5 to 8 pounds below my goal weight and it stayed that way. The leaders who weighed me in never had anything nice to say and one or two even asked me why I still went there. The last time I heard that was in December and I haven't been back there since. I love that MFP has an exercise and nutrition forum as I have learned a lot of things that I didn't know before that have helped me more than WW ever did during the first 2 years of maintaining my weight.
  • brookemartell
    brookemartell Posts: 17 Member
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    thumbs up to everyone who is taking a step towards a healthier life. I know I struggle sometimes with sugar intake, which is something I'm really trying to work on as I go through my weight loss journey. Since I started my regiment back in January I am already seeing results and feel a lot better, both physically and mentally.
    Thank you all for sharing your stories with me!
  • paradi3s
    paradi3s Posts: 343 Member
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    Love it because I can easily log in my food, meet new people and get great advice in the forums.
  • macelmer
    macelmer Posts: 55 Member
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    I use this site primarily as a food diary...because I have a chronic illness that makes it difficult to GAIN weight. It is helpful to see how many calories and fiber I eat daily.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    Its free and I have great friends on here who are so supportive :smile:
    MFP has been a great tool in making me aware of how much I consume, I tell everybody about it, at least I do until their eyes glaze over in boredom lol :smiley:
  • goatsoapgirl
    goatsoapgirl Posts: 17 Member
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    I love this tool.... i have lost 11 lbs since Jan 24/2015 and have another 30 lbs left to lose... Fitness Pal keeps me on track daily!!
  • Sandcastles61
    Sandcastles61 Posts: 506 Member
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    NisgaaNative wrote: »
    I am a new first time user and once I was setup I like using it to track. I don't enter as I go but instead have a form I use. At the end of the day I enter it into program. The only thing I would change about it is how the water is entered. It does me no good entered as one item at the bottom. I like to see that I kept myself evenly hydrated throughout the day. I wish it could do this and keep the tally. I'm sure I have much more to learn about using this program though.

    There's an app called Water Tracker some people use to help them with their water intake and I think you can set it for reminders.... But I'm not very familiar with it overall :D
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    brookemartell wrote: »
    thumbs up to everyone who is taking a step towards a healthier life. I know I struggle sometimes with sugar intake, which is something I'm really trying to work on as I go through my weight loss journey. Since I started my regiment back in January I am already seeing results and feel a lot better, both physically and mentally.
    Thank you all for sharing your stories with me!

    You're doing great!
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
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    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    For the first time in my life I lost the weight eating what I wanted in moderation and have kept it off. No silly starving myself either!
    MFP and logging my foods has made me very aware of calorie content and thats a good thing, my motto is that knowledge is power :smile:
    I also learned that if I exercise that means I can eat more - win win :smiley:

    This. No starving myself, eating in moderation, more exercise = more cookies.

    In addition to finally feeling in control of my food and my weight and my comfort eating, I am lighter than I have been for 8 years, and am fitter than I have ever been, even fitter than when I was competing nationally at fencing.

    I spent a few years "trying" to lose weight and failing. Then I made an (admitedly nerdy) resolution in the summer of 2013: "Do or do not, there is no try". I stopped trying, and did. This little change in the way I thought about it has made such a huge difference. Now every day I get on the scale and I've lost weight, it's a little victory, a little thing that says I can do this, I have willpower, I am a do-er not a try-er.

    I can look back over 2 years of data and see where I ate too much, where I lost loads, where I did loads of exercise. It's so motivating for me to have graphs proving my success.
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    Although I don't track my food here (I've been using a pencil and notebooks for 3 years), this website has been amazing for me. I discovered it when I was losing and doing research on fat loss and keeping it off. I did not sign up here until I hit maintenance, but I was always lurking gathering information and trying and learning about new things.

    I learned to have a better relationship with food such as the importance of eating enough, I don't have to starve or cut food out (just work it in, bank calories or burn some of it off), also I can delay breakfast and it won't harm me.

    I'm close to hitting my 600th day log in streak. Logging in everyday helps me to stay on track and I enjoy trying to help or cheering people on my feeds.

    I have met some truly wonderful people here. People in my real life are not interested in health and fitness so here I chat with my MFP buddies about all kinds of things from struggles and bad days to NSV's and good days and vice versa.

    People who knew me when I was overweight and obese always ask me "how did you do it?" "What did you use?" I mention MFP and I always get the glazed eye, disappointed looks. If you want it bad enough, you have to work for it and get it!

    It took me about 16 months to lose 80 lbs and I've kept it off with ease for 2 years. Honestly, without MyFitnessPal I don't know where I would be now. I was all over the place in the past when I tried losing because I did not have the proper knowledge. But I still work hard everyday to keep it off and I'm always reading and researching.
  • LITtlerMeCO
    LITtlerMeCO Posts: 130 Member
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    Sandcastles61 wrote: »
    NisgaaNative wrote: »
    I am a new first time user and once I was setup I like using it to track. I don't enter as I go but instead have a form I use. At the end of the day I enter it into program. The only thing I would change about it is how the water is entered. It does me no good entered as one item at the bottom. I like to see that I kept myself evenly hydrated throughout the day. I wish it could do this and keep the tally. I'm sure I have much more to learn about using this program though.

    There's an app called Water Tracker some people use to help them with their water intake and I think you can set it for reminders.... But I'm not very familiar with it overall :D

    You can also just add it as you drink it. You will have to figure out which meal to put it with. You can also rearrange your meals--my order is Breakfast, Morning Snack, Lunch, Afternoon Snack, Dinner, Evening Snack--not perfect but it would get you close to what you want.
  • LITtlerMeCO
    LITtlerMeCO Posts: 130 Member
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    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    The diary and the database helped me tremendously. There are a lot of helpful people on here. There are also a lot of nasty, crazy people on here. So, it's a little like life. Only in another dimension.

    ^True, I use the block feature when I find someone really nasty/crazy--most claim it's "the Internet" but I think most are just hungry (people should just reply with a picture of a Snicker's bar because I highly doubt they would ever say the things they do here to someone in person).
  • sunflowa77
    sunflowa77 Posts: 2 Member
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    Love this tool. Have been using it for 125 days and just wanted to know what I was eating and start to eat better. Have lost 5kg (don't really want to loose more). But am loving the maintence stage. Am eating much more variety now that I track it. Love that there are recipes and that I can import them from my favourite websites. It's been great to see how much sugar I was eating and maintain a healthier eating plan.

    What I also love is when I have a bad day, I can balance out the sugar/fat intake and watch this over the weekly data plan.

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