Curious of your success using this app -asking for a friend 🤔

jtomm2005 · July 2018

Was introduced to this app by a very awesome person as I’m trying to get out of the struggle tar pit of the past 9 months and am curious of your success using this app. Be honest tell me the likes and dislikes and what works best for you

Oh and I wasn’t exactly soliciting for friends when I said asking for a friend ... I was .. well you get it ...

Look forward to hearing from you

lynn_glenmont · July 2018

I have had greater success using MFP than with any other approach I have tried in nearly 50 years of efforts to control my weight (success defined as steadier weight loss for a longer period, well past my initial goal of losing 10% of my starting weight, and maintaining it for several years). Full disclosure: I've recently gained a few pounds back after a gradual lifestyle change that has been cutting into my NEAT, but I have already begun losing it again.

That said, I do think your form of inquiry about this app is going to be subject to response bias. People who didn't find MFP to work well for them are less likely to be hanging around the forums answering questions like this, I would think.

Things about MFP that I feel contributed to my success, or that made it a good fit for me:

I like the flexibility -- I can eat what I like so long as it fits within my calories (I don't really worry about macros beyond getting enough protein and fiber -- and I guess the closest thing I have to mentally defining something as a "cheat day" is to say "I don't care that I didn't get enough fiber today").

It is much easier to calorie count using a huge, easily accessible online database than it was in the days when you had to rely on looking things up in books sold to dieters (my memory could be wrong, but I don't think all food packages listed calories when I first started trying to control my weight -- 50 years of doing this, remember?), and write them down on paper. And even when the calorie information was more readily available on packaging, working out calories in meals you cooked from scratch to serve multiple people was still an onerous task compared to using the MFP recipe builder.

I like being able to look back at data (conveniently stored and accessible) and to figure out my actual TDEE based on my own data, rather than the one calculated by formulas designed to estimate that value for the middle of a population distribution.

jtomm2005 · July 2018

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

I have had greater success using MFP than with any other approach I have tried in nearly 50 years of efforts to control my weight (success defined as steadier weight loss for a longer period, well past my initial goal of losing 10% of my starting weight, and maintaining it for several years). Full disclosure: I've recently gained a few pounds back after a gradual lifestyle change that has been cutting into my NEAT, but I have already begun losing it again.

That said, I do think your form of inquiry about this app is going to be subject to response bias. People who didn't find MFP to work well for them are less likely to be hanging around the forums answering questions like this, I would think.

Things about MFP that I feel contributed to my success, or that made it a good fit for me:

I like the flexibility -- I can eat what I like so long as it fits within my calories (I don't really worry about macros beyond getting enough protein and fiber -- and I guess the closest thing I have to mentally defining something as a "cheat day" is to say "I don't care that I didn't get enough fiber today").

It is much easier to calorie count using a huge, easily accessible online database than it was in the days when you had to rely on looking things up in books sold to dieters (my memory could be wrong, but I don't think all food packages listed calories when I first started trying to control my weight -- 50 years of doing this, remember?), and write them down on paper. And even when the calorie information was more readily available on packaging, working out calories in meals you cooked from scratch to serve multiple people was still an onerous task compared to using the MFP recipe builder.

I like being able to look back at data (conveniently stored and accessible) and to figure out my actual TDEE based on my own data, rather than the one calculated by formulas designed to estimate that value for the middle of a population distribution.

Thanks for the reply Lynn - understand fully that those who did not find this app success are most likely gone BUT am hoping for those who are having success to relay their likes or dislikes as they are still using it - some things might be working, others not so much. Any feedback is great feedback IMO

Congrats on your success

DoubleUbea · July 2018

A friend uses and told me about MFP, his nutritionist recommended it to him. So far I have been successful using MFP.. Overall I am happy with it. My biggest compaint is the crowd sourced data in the database. The information was entered with the best intentions but the data could be incorrect. Many food items need to be verified, cleaned up, or deleted.

AnnPT77 · July 2018

I like that this process - the basic calorie counting process using MFP - is so straightforward and individualizable. It's like a big, fun science fair project for grown-ups, with better health as the prize.

I don't need weird prescriptive diets (I hate what I call "other people's religions", i.e., anything with arbitrary rules you're not supposed to deviate from). I can just eat foods I enjoy, and use the information MFP provides to make sure I hit reasonable calorie levels and reasonable nutrition.

Now down by almost a third of my body weight (50+ pounds) at age 62, in year 3 of maintaining a healthy weight, my formerly often painful problem joints (arthritis, torn meniscus) rarely bother me much anymore, my major health worries are gone (high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high triglycerides: all now solidly normal to low normal).

I also like the no-BS science-oriented approach that now dominates (sometimes forcefully

) in the forums. When zombie threads come back from several years ago, I can see that it wasn't always that way - that it used to be a lot more common to see the stupid dieting superstitions go unchallenged, and myths be propagated further).

I don't speak for others, but MFP has been a game changer (life changer!) for me. To a certain extent, though, you get out of it what you put into it: It's necessary to take responsibility for the things you can control or influence, including your own attitudes and emotions, and make the changes.

You do see some "other blaming" around here - people who say their family/boss/circumstances are sabotaging their progress, that they hate exercise so can't exercise, that the evil food companies and their addictive foods prevent weight loss, etc. Those attitudes, IMO, hinder success. Even if we can't control/influence much, focusing on and complaining about those barriers is a waste of time and energy . . . energy that could be better spent on figuring out what can change, finding the controllable things amongst the uncontrollable factors. Fortunately, for most of us, how much food we put into our mouths is something we control almost completely.

Best wishes!

kami3006 · July 2018

Finding mfp made losing weight so much easier for me. Learning that I could eat whatever foods I want and still lose was a game changer. Getting a food scale and learning to accurately log my foods was liberating. There was no more wondering if I just ruined my day because I ate this or that. No longer restricting things that I enjoy because the media/fitness industry said it was the devil made my life so much better.

I've used it to lose 25 pounds (5 years ago), and run a couple bulk/cut cycles, and to successfully maintain.

I only use the free site as I have had no real reason to upgrade. The only negative I've really had with the site is the erroneous entries in the database. Some due to input error and some simply because of differences in region/country. Nonetheless, I didn't take long to learn how to vet entries and to make my own if necessary.

I also have learned a ton from forum members about macros and exercise. I was already working out but the forums introduced me to new programs and really helped me expand my knowledge of weightlifting, bulking and recomp.

Overall, this place has only served to improve my health and my life and my family has followed my example which is a wonderful bonus.

grind4fitness79 · July 2018

My biggest obstacle is using the app. Community is great. Everyone has been down to earth and supportive. Did meet one sad person posing as a girl but had fun messing with them for a bit.

elizawho48 · July 2018

Well hey there! Connect-ing much lately? 😉

My own experience?

I lost 30 while on WW but plateaued when Freestyle rolled out. I hung in there for 6 weeks but the scale wouldn’t budge. I started dual tracking on MFP and found I was netting 750 calories daily on 23 points, with eating all my weeklies AND my Fitpoints (full disclosure I manually entered exercise only so maybe 4 per day). MFP was like turning on the light to show me what my diet truly looked like. Also, I’m a type 2 diabetic on insulin so the hard data MFP gives me is extremely helpful with insulin dosing. The database and program itself can’t be beat.

MFP is much easier to use for tracking, IMO. Just more intuitive, more streamlined.

You can pretty much customize a program for yourself with MFP. I have 20 lbs left to lose and I’m trying to find that balance of feeling good, slower weight loss and lifetime sustainability.

MFP boards are filled with solidly good advice. I learn so much here.

MFP has major value for me in that it doesn’t feed into my somewhat disordered thinking about food. I have a calorie goal and a per meal carb goal. I achieve those and move on.

I weigh regularly but sporadically - no schedule and no pressure.

Hope this helps -

Newchapter129 at WW 😉

Iffiormana · July 2018

I love this app and it keeps me motivated.I’m more of a running/walking person but now due to this app I’m seriously considering joining the gym.

amyn73 · July 2018

Likes- tracking food (it's easy on MFP)
Dislikes- having to track everything.
I know, sounds crazy to like and dislike the same thing....I just want to be a person, not a track everything/consider every bite that goes in my mouth/stress about carbs and calories type of person. But unfortunately, I can't control my eating any other way.

estherdragonbat · July 2018

I've dropped 106 lbs so far and it's working for me. My negatives are more annoying than anything else. I'd like to be able to alphabetize my saved recipes. I wish that it was easier to, for example make Recipe A (marinara sauce) and incorporate it into recipe B (Pasta Puttanesca) in the tracker. And lately, there've been some technical issues where the site goes down right when I want to log something.

But this is the easiest I've ever lost the weight.

bufger · July 2018

Make yourself accountable and use this app. The only way you'll lose this battle is by giving up. You'll have highs and lows but you will seriously accomplish your goals here if you make yourself accountable and stick around

I've lost 85lbs so far.

cwolfman13 · July 2018

I lost 40 Lbs using MFP. The biggest thing was just being consistent over a long period of time.

As far as likes and dislikes. I liked the process of learning more (a lot more) about nutrition, proper serving sizes, how to fuel my fitness, etc.

Dislikes...I got a little overly obsessive about the numbers.

I haven't logged in over 5 years of maintenance (give or take 5-10 Lbs in the winter) and I'm able to maintain for the must part and cut weight when I need to without logging.

CSARdiver · July 2018

I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer resulting in a total thyroidectomy. This was devastating as this forced me out of a high active military career and the brotherhood which was my entire life - to something else. I didn't take this well and listened to much of the woo regarding hypothyroidism. I ended up puting on ~70 lbs over the next 14 years, stopped working out, and just existing. In 2014 I was reading an article on pro athletes with hypothyroidism under the care of Jeffrey Brown, MD and I started to question. My wife had excellent success with MFP and I tried it out.

When I started I had a number of positives going for me. First - I suspected that my behavior was the cause and needed to change. Second - I was a trained scientist and experienced in tracking and trending data (also love doing this). Thirdly - I realized that I needed to change.

I discovered the forums early on and read the stickied threads, then challenging beliefs, but listening to those who had been successful and then would do my own research to discern what was woo and what was factual. I focused on what mattered for my goals - calories first, protein second, carbs third....and that's pretty much it.

I lost 60 lbs my first year. The second year I started going for more specific goals - to get back into my fighting shape and start competing in triathlons again. Honestly I spend less than 5 mins/day tracking calories at this point. I spend a good deal of time trying to help others on the forums and guiding them away from the woo.

killie2018 · July 2018

I am too miserable to go o a club ,pay £5. and be told I "Maintained ",I have no need for ready made slimming meals ,that taste awful, I like to do my own thing and this lets me ,love the scanner....Nothings barred ,,you have to want to do this ,if your not sure all sorts of excuses will come up .I'm never going to be what I was at my teens but, I have a lung disorder ,I feel the difference already ,started 1/5/18.....lost to date 19lbs ,I' ve hit a Stop … I'll wait till it comes back ,oh! and I cant do Gym /Exercises/power walks, but I can do long slow walks and some gardening ,every time you get off your bum is a calorie loss to me anyway ,good luck ,

Curious of your success using this app -asking for a friend 🤔

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