New to MyFitnessPal

Hi John,

I am in the same boat. MFP can be a good tool, though it is like a swiss army knife and there might be five things you find helpful and 20 you don't. At first figuring what's going to work is the biggest part.

I think consistency here is what makes MFP work, please log in tomorrow and make a comment here.

50%+ of poster post once and then go away. Don't be one of those people.

See you tomorrow.

Welcome. I have been using MyFitnessPal for a very long time. It works well once you get past the learning curve. The big things that cause people issues are 1) Not measuring what they eat carefully enough. Weighing solids (that would include things like peanut butter) and using actual measuring spoons and cups for liquids makes a huge difference. 2) Trusting database entries without comparing them to the nutrition information on the food package. This is a user-created database, and many people seem to struggle to put in the information correctly. Add to that many prepared foods change their formulations over time changing their nutritional makeup, and when you start you need to verify the foods you select. Having said that, most people have a relatively small amount of foods they eat, so after a couple of weeks you will have a selection of foods in your recently used that will be accurate. 3) Not giving things enough time. People are usually in a rush to lose weight, but it took your whole life to get where you are now. You not only have to realize it will take time to burn off that fat, but you also have to consider that you have habits in your eating and lifestyle that got you to where you are now. You need to figure out what they are, and learn different habits. This is not to mention that weight loss varies from person to person. Some will lose a lot quickly at the start then slow down. Some will take a week or more to see any weight loss, then it will start. Some will have it go slowly the whole time. Others will get times of no weight change followed by a sudden drop. Learn to be patient and don't compare your progress to others. If you are measuring your food carefully, checking the foods you use from the database for accuracy, and not neglecting things like tastes of something or the like you will lose in time.