Thinking about starting with MyFitnessPal — does it actually help you stay motivated?

Hello and welcome!

I'm never really sure what people mean by "motivated". I admit, hedonistic aging hippie flake that I am, my budget of motivation, willpower and discipline are very low in the first place. I don't rely on them. I want to stay at a good weight, getting good overall nutrition, and being reasonably physically fit long term, ideally forever. I can't imagine being "motivated" forever.

Most people DO stop using MFP after a few weeks, if they even last that long. Honestly, I don't think the software is the main reason. I'm sure some people find logging tiresome, sure. That's going to be an individual thing. But realistically, most people stop any method of weight loss after a few weeks, if they even last that long. 😉

I'm sure you've heard the platitude "it's not a sprint, it's a marathon". It is. It takes time to lose a meaningful total amount of weight, or to tune up nutrition, or to improve fitness. All of those things work best, I think, when done as a series of small, manageable steps that build on each other over time. That's kind of boring. It takes patience and some degree of consistency. Rewards take time to come. Who enjoys that kind of thing? 😆

On top of that, if a person wants to stay at a healthy weight, keep getting good nutrition, stay reasonably physically fit . . . that's going to main permanent changes in routine habits. I think that's also not a popular thing. 🤷‍♀️

That said, MFP definitely has helped me reach my goals . . . once I committed to the process. Nearly 10 years ago, MFP helped me lose 50 pounds, which for me was going from class 1 obese to a healthy weight. It helped me tuneup my nutrition on the overall somewhat lower calories. I was already active when I started, but MFP's helped me learn more about exercise and helped me keep my head in the game with some consistency.

The MFP Community has been a big help over time for me, too, in various ways. To get that benefit, I needed to at minimum keep reading posts, and personally I probably needed to engage and post myself - to invest in the process myself.

MFP is just a tool. It's how/whether we use it, what our plans and attitudes are, that are the big deal, if you ask me.

A lot of people arrive here with a primary goal of weight loss, want quick results, and think that is going to require some radical plan: Restrictive eating rules, maybe a trendy named diet, possibly stack a punitively intense, miserable daily exercise plan on top of that. That usually doesn't end well, but typically does end quickly. It's just too hard. The rewards - at fastest - are too slow in coming. There are speed bumps. They give up. Next New Years resolution time, maybe they're back. Rinse and repeat.

The problem isn't MFP, it's having an unrealistic plan and unrealistic expectations.

Motivation? I don't know. It's necessary to commit to the process, and to doggedly chip away at changing routine daily habits in manageable bits. I assume people need a good reason, but I'm not sure that's the same thing as "motivation".

Now, I'm in long-term weight maintenance, after around 30 pre-loss years of overweight/obesity. I get decent nutrition, and I stay physically active. MFP helps me do those things. On the eating side, some people find they don't need to log food long term, or find that it feels too obsessive for them. They may no longer need MFP. Personally, I've figured out that logging is helpful for me, and find the time - now that I've learned the software/process well - a very small cost for the major quality of life benefits I get. I don't feel obsessive, occasionally skip logging now and don't feel stressed about it when it happens. I think things like needing/wanting to log long term are pretty individual.

Wishing you success, no matter what you decide!