Discouraged by MFP

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  • csteuter
    csteuter Posts: 87 Member
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    Hey, tough love isn't warranted. If someone is reaching out because they're frustrated and new to MFP, how about a little compassion?
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    If this kind of thing is super annoying to you, you could try sparkpeople.com instead. MFP isn't the only free tracking site in existence. Personally I don't give a rip about their automatic nag statements, but all the same, you're not compelled to tolerate them. OR to tolerate people who bash on you, for that matter, just sayin.
  • happycauseIride
    happycauseIride Posts: 536 Member
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    When you complete your diary at the end of the day the only thing it does is post it to your news feed so your friends can see it. I log all all my food, good and bad, but I stopped completing my diary at the end of the day because of the stupid message that said "If every day were like today you would weight XXX in 5 weeks". That was irritating me so I quit completing it. My friends can still see my diary if they want to look at it.

    Keep logging, keep being active, keep making good choices, stay strong, accept there will be setbacks and failures, and you will succeed. You can do this.
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
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    csteuter wrote: »
    Hey, tough love isn't warranted. If someone is reaching out because they're frustrated and new to MFP, how about a little compassion?

    There's been plenty of compassion and great responses. If all someone can do is take a few of the more blunt responses as being negative then that is their own issue to deal with.

    OP, like everyone has said, you're new to this, you've already made some great changes, and you may come to find that in order to keep up with your physical activities, you'll need to eat a little bit more. It's a process, you'll find what works best for you and is sustainable. It just takes a little bit of time.

  • PearlAng
    PearlAng Posts: 681 Member
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    I'm sorry, but this is just a website.

    If you're going to let a message from a website -an automated, generic message that we all get when eating too few calories- discourage you, then I'm not sure this is the website for you.

    The message is to ensure the safety of MFP users. It doesn't mean they're on your tail. Eat however you damn well please. You could get the message everyday if you eat under a certain amount of calories. It's not like a PERSON is actually chastising you. It's your body, it's your life and you should eat how you want, despite what a machine tells you*

    *With that being said, I do not recommend going below the baseline MFP provides because then you're in store for other health problems, but a few days won't kill you. If you feel good about what you did and how you ate, you shouldn't let a website tell you that you did poorly. Maybe keep up the good work, but add an additional snack to help you reach your caloric goal?
  • pinkiezoom
    pinkiezoom Posts: 409 Member
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    on the days it does that to me, and i am really not hungry i just pretend i had some cheese! Not that it happens that often, i love my food and believe the winners are the ones that can eat as much as poss, still lose weight and not feel deprived :)
    Try a protein shake or something if you are falling short in future, but it doesnt make you a failure hun. Just stay focused on what really matters. And thats your health. x
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
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    It's just a computer program. It's just a different color font. It's not the calorie police coming to get you. Eating too low in calories over an extended time is not healthy. One day is not a big deal. The site is set up to discourage unhealthy long-term habits and promote achieving the goals you have set. If you don't like seeing the red, just roll your eyes at those letters and click away from that screen.

    Also if you don't like seeing the messages, don't click "Complete this Entry" at the end of the day. It's just a computer program that automatically generates messages based on the calorie count. it's not the food police. Don't get so emotionally attached to it and you'll be much more successful.

    Also, don't make a habit of eating too few calories. It will make you feel like crap and will increase your chances of binging at a later time. Eat enough to adequately fuel your body. Once in a while below your minimum will obviously not be a problem, but a pattern of it will.
  • Italianma7
    Italianma7 Posts: 83 Member
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    First of all congratulations on starting your journey on "becoming a better you"
    Don't let red lettering change your attitude towards your day or your fitness goals. What is important is how you feel after you exercise or skip that extra snack that you once would have indulged in (you get my point). You will come across a lot of disappointment throughout your journey. Just remember why you started in the first place. Good luck to you.
  • Mikolinz
    Mikolinz Posts: 23 Member
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    Listen, MFP does not want you to become unhealthy/anorexic in the name of dieting. you might think eating below your recommended calories is good, but it's not. MFP is about lifestyle change, not crash diets. hence the warnings in red letters. its not going to applaud you for undereating, because thats not a healthy lifestyle choice. you said you dont do it everyday, good. move on to to the next day with a better idea on how much you need to eat to lose weight, but still be healthy and nourished. it takes time, but you'll get the hang of it
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    i feel like a failure pretty often. I still lost 60 despite the fact that I am human and mess up, alot. And my red letters always involve too much food, not too little.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I yell back a the warnings, too. Yelling is a better response than giving up. Your life, own it.

    I have small snacks available in the evening if I am not going to hit my minimum. Protein snacks are good, like a piece of hard cheese. Cheese is a good evening choice as well as it provides some protection for our teeth. For real.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    edited March 2015
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I would advise you to get a strong grip and stop making excuses

    It is just a website. A tool to aid you. It does not have an emotional power over you, only you have that power.

    It is designed to give you a calorie goal - some people choose to do 5:2 and will hit only 500 calories on 2 days - they may choose to monitor their calories over the week.



    This.... Its a computer program, it does not know you, love or hate you....If you allow something like this to throw you off track, better use a pen and paper in future......
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    Seriously?? :|
  • kathydraperfitness
    kathydraperfitness Posts: 25 Member
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    Wow I guess I didn't know it yelled at you - I would rather say I ate a few calories under my budget rather going over my budget. It also depends was it a few calories under a lot of calories under???
  • PrizePopple
    PrizePopple Posts: 3,133 Member
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    Yes, MFP give you a big red warning for going under not unlike the big red bar and letters when you go over. If that is going to bug you, then the others are right, you're not ready for this. Of course the under calorie warning is because MFP has an obligation to ensure that they are not encouraging those who use food tracking for disordered eating patterns (anorexic being the obvious one). If it were to give a pat on the back and a "you'd weight x in 5 weeks" for eating under the recommended minimums this place would be way different, and not in a good way.
  • JenniferIsLosingIt
    JenniferIsLosingIt Posts: 595 Member
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    gothchiq wrote: »
    If this kind of thing is super annoying to you, you could try sparkpeople.com instead. MFP isn't the only free tracking site in existence. Personally I don't give a rip about their automatic nag statements, but all the same, you're not compelled to tolerate them. OR to tolerate people who bash on you, for that matter, just sayin.

    Thank goodness someone else said this. I have never seen a grumpier group of people in my life. This girl was just sharing her feelings, and people are just jumping all over her! Damn it man, some of these types of comments make me want to go binge! (not really, but kinda) I mean wow.
  • mscheftg
    mscheftg Posts: 485 Member
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    I'm sorry that you're feeling discouraged. However, you cannot allow this website/app to control your feelings about yourself. It is an algorithm that is set up to warn people when they haven't met the minimum calorie goal. This is to help people be healthy. I haven't attempted to look at your diary, yet, so I can't make a determination if maybe you need to eat more or just log better or not sweat it.

    Either way, don't allow one day of red letters to upset and distract you.
  • MelRC117
    MelRC117 Posts: 911 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I would advise you to get a strong grip and stop making excuses

    It is just a website. A tool to aid you. It does not have an emotional power over you, only you have that power.

    It is designed to give you a calorie goal - some people choose to do 5:2 and will hit only 500 calories on 2 days - they may choose to monitor their calories over the week.



    This x10000000

  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Obviously thicker skin is required for both the tracking and community parts of MFP. Congrats on making healthier choices. You are 3 days in so it is impossible to be a failure already. The only way to be a failure is to quit now. Keep making good choices and just be sure to fuel your activities with enough calories to lose the weight in a healthy manner. One day won't hurt anything. Chalk it up to a learning experience and move forward.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
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    Wow I guess I didn't know it yelled at you - I would rather say I ate a few calories under my budget rather going over my budget. It also depends was it a few calories under a lot of calories under???

    OP ate less than 1200 calories for the day and didn't know it would give her a warning about eating too little. It happens.