What Makes MFP Work For You?

I've been on MFP for about 2 months now and have had better/healthier results than anything I've done in the past. Sure, I lost 50 pounds yrs ago, but I did it by basically going on a carrot and rice cake diet. Obviously, that didn't last... but MFP is different. I really started thinking about this when seeing family members do Weight Watchers (I'm not against WW at all... I just see differences). What's really interesting is that MFP isn't a "diet plan" or "exercise plan" that we buy at a store. ITS A CONGLOMERATION OF PEOPLE WHO WANT A TOTAL HEALTHY LIFESTYLE WITH UNLIMITED WAYS TO GET/STAY THERE. I'll try to explain...

I'm not sure if the creators of MFP purposely created it for some of these reasons (I'd love to get their thoughts on this), but there are 'factors' that are simply fascinating to me. Here's a few things:

1. I get to see what other people eat: Not only is it inspiring to see others eat tasty and healthy, but it shows that a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to be a boring or abnormal lifestyle. It shows that you can eat like that for your entire life... not just to lose weight.

2. I get to see what others do to workout: You name it! C25K, 30 day shred, treadmill, swimming, elliptical, insanity, walking the dog, water aerobics, biking... I could go on and on. Again, it shows that its not about WHAT you do, but HOW you do it... and that YOU ARE doing it. I got tired of only swimming for excercise (former swimmer), so I did the unthinkable... and ran (could NEVER run)... and ya know what? I can run! So now I'm thinking about triathalons!

3. Free friends: Ha, I say free because you usually have to pay to join a "weight loss program" where you find people in your shoes. My friends list isn't very big and I'd like to keep it small enough to really know the people on my list. I have MFP friends that are swimmers, vegetarians, vegans, very overweight, only a few pounds to lose, traithaletes, etc. I get to know their goals. I hope for them and thankfully, they cheer me on as well!

4. Goals reached daily: Every day on MFP I see people get halfway to their goal. I see them lose 0.5 lbs or 2 lbs. I see them reach their final goal. I see them do their first triathalon. I see men and women who have lost over 100 lbs... how cool is that? I SEE THAT IT CAN BE DONE.

5. Instant & Ongoing gratification: I'd say 'ongoing support' because we clearly have that here, but the gratification aspect is often overlooked. I can't tell you how many times I've posted my killer workout on my wall and I'll go back to see what others have said. It doesn't take much. It's just a "great burn!" or "good job!" that makes me a feel just a little better than I already do.

6. Anonymity: Kinda weird to say this, huh? The fact is that we all have friends on MFP, but there's a good chance we'll never meet them... or at least a majority of them. I'm sure some people disagree w/ this statement (and thats OK), but what other program would a 29 year old guy w/ 20 lbs to lose be friends with a 45 year old woman with 100 lbs to lose (ha, and no I'm not talking about any of my friends specifically). Again, we're all here to be healthier... whether being healthier is simply a better diet, losing tons of weight, training for a tri, etc. I've seen people talk about bowel movements, men wearing band-aids over their nipples while running, chafing thighs. Ha, and its all good!! Where else can you do that? I doubt you're going to talk to your neighbor about it!

7. There is no secret: We've all seen the repeated posts about "what works for you?" and "to eat or not eat exercise cals" and "is eating fruit worth the sugar?". When I first got on this site, I would read people say, "Listen to your body" or "do whats best for you". I hated that advice. I felt like saying, "No, just tell me what works, and I'll do it." But in all seriousness, there is no secret and a vast majority of MFP folks know this. While there's always going to be the weird uncle, we all basically have come to the conclusion that were all a bit different, different diet/exercise work for us, and that we all know that moving more while eating less, in all of its simplicity.... works!

8. It never ends: I was thinking the other day, "Self, you're basically at your goal weight. You really only need to lose a little fat in certain areas and build muscle... do I need to stay on MFP after I get there?" Well, I still haven't figured that question out. But I will say this... I have MFP friends that have alot of weight to lose. And they are losing the weight! I would LOVE to be on MFP a year from now when they reach their goals. How friggin cool would that be?!

Bottom line is this: MFP, at its core, is a calorie counting website. But its evolved into a community of people with one goal in mind: BE HEALTHY. That community, with the awesome updates to the site over the years (you just have to read through the creators blog to see whats been added over the years), has become the be-all mecca of weightloss and a healthier lifestyle.

Still, while it makes perfect sense in my own mind, its kinda hard to explain in a post. So what is it about MFP that made a difference for you? What made it 'click' whether intentially or unintentially??