The Spark is a Great Book! Not so sure about Spark People...

Sammybunny711
Sammybunny711 Posts: 92 Member
edited September 2024 in Motivation and Support
SO...I read the book "The Spark" over my vacation--it was written by the SparkPeople team--another website very much like MFP but with some different aspects.

I LOVED that book. It the best book I have ever read on fitness and nutrition and other than the proprietary SparkPoints/Streaks, etc., nearly everything that they talked about relating to the website you could replace with the words "MyFitnessPal" and it would read just like a manual for us as well.

Because I was so impressed with the book, I thought I might create an account over at SparkPeople (NOT to replace my prior loyalty to MFP but to enhance my health journey). However...I was struck by how MUCH there is on the website and how BUSY it is. I felt very intimidated by the actual logging in process, could not find my SparkPage and had a really hard time navigating around. I feel even more sure now that I adore MFP and will be using this as my only nutrition/fitness tracker whereas I might keep my SparkPeople membership around just for articles/recipes and such.

Has anyone else read the book and/or been around the Sparkpeople website? I'd be interested in other peoples' thoughts on how Sparkpeople can *ENHANCE* our experience here at MFP (NOT replace it :-)

*P.S.--hope I posted this in the right place. :-)

Replies

  • 1smemae94
    1smemae94 Posts: 365 Member
    For awhile i had a sparkpeople account but like you said its intiminatng. it took me about 2 weeks before i could even figur out what i was doing. I quit using it because it wasnt helping i'd spend more time on the blasted website that i could have been using excersicing. MFP is such a better website because you get support from everyone and its easy to navigate. Im signed up for their email and i get diet tips, recipies and the occasional workout move.
  • ANeWcRe8N
    ANeWcRe8N Posts: 1,180 Member
    Before coming to MFP I was using Sparkpeople and I liked it but there is too much going on over there and the food logging takes longer than here on MFP. I found the MFP app for my phone and then started using it online and I love it.. never went back to Spark lol. Its so much more convenient here.
  • tam120
    tam120 Posts: 444 Member
    I've had a SparkPeople account for years. It's good, but like you said there's just too much. I like the simplicity of this site. SparkPeople seems to be all about the bells and whistles I don't need. The thing that peeved me the most is that it seemed harder to log food, I just didn't want to do it. Prior to that I used CalorieKing, which I really liked, but it got too expensive.
  • justsummie
    justsummie Posts: 320 Member
    I couldnt figure it out, quit after 2 days and came here.
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
    For me I dont really see a diffrence,i used spark for awhile and switched to mfp because it ran better on my phone. Then I mafe some awesome freinds and stuck around. One thing I can say about spark is I never had to deal with random people sending me PMs to pick apart my food diary or lecture me about eating exercise calories lol
  • Rheagansmom
    Rheagansmom Posts: 53 Member
    I have a sparkepeople account. I will be honest. I had great results there. Met a ton of awesome people and actually ran some half marathons with them, and continue to do so. My only issue was my computer kept freezing because there was so much to load on each page. I think that as long as you are dedicated to getting your results you will get them no matter the site.

    I do hope that I can meet people that I connect with the way I did on Spark.
  • velvetkat
    velvetkat Posts: 454 Member
    I have a sparkpeople account and log in both places as I like both. MFP is easier to use on my phone but i like the spark-recipes on that site. people there are great but so are the people here.

    The person that started that site did so with his own money and maintains it with his own money as he wanted a place for people to go to be able to get help from others to get healthy!

    It does take a bit of time to navigate but no one has to learn everything all in one day. Its all about personal preference. I enjoy both here and sparkpeople!

    url=http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker]4925355.png[/url]
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods
  • ProudMomoftwo
    ProudMomoftwo Posts: 525
    I tried it for a week.
    Too hard for me, too hectic or something. I don't know exactly.
    It just wasn't a good fit.

    I LOVE MFP!!
    I took right off on MFP and haven't gone back to Spark.
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