Having MFPs

I think it varies by person. Some people swear by their MFP friends and the fun interaction on their timeline.

I used to interact some with people in my MFP friend feed, but there's an ultra-high disappearance rate. After a while, it felt like a poor time investment because so many people drop off pretty fast. I'm not very active at all there now.

Personally, I've gotten lots more out of participating in the Community . . . but that may just be me. I've for sure learned a lot from people here.

I think I may be wired in some unusual way, mentally, though. I've never understood why people arrive here looking for support from people just like them, i.e., asking for characteristics such as having failed multiple times like the OP has, or who like them are starting from scratch to become more fit. I'm not saying that doesn't work for others, but it doesn't work for me.

IRL, if I want to do something I haven't done before, or haven't succeeded at doing, I try to find people who've successfully done the thing, so I can learn from them about how they did it. That's pretty much how I looked at the Community, too: Wanting to get ideas about possible ways to succeed, from people who'd succeeded. Paths to success aren't one size fits all, but it's a source for ideas to consider.

I also don't think other people are going to give me "motivation", another thing that new arrivals here seem to seek from MFP friends. Maybe that does work for others, dunno.

I admit I try to rely on motivation as little as possible, because it's not my strong suit. But IME, to the extent I need some or get some, it completely has to come from within. If anything, it's a switch I flip inside my own head, not something someone else can somehow do to me. It's possible for other people to be inspiring, but that's kind of rare. (There are a few people here in the Community that inspire me, now or past, though.)

I guess my advice would be to try getting a good group of MFP friends, and invest at least some time in providing support to them, see if some give useful support back to you. From the limited amount I did do it at first, I'm pretty certain that putting in some effort at first in creating dialog is essential, rather than just sitting back and expecting interaction to happen. Clicking "like" has limited utility in creating a supportive MFP friend feed, IMO, though it's not nothing.

Just my weird opinions, as always.