Real Live friends as MFP friends...

I have a friend, who's also a co-worker, that's on here. She's actually the person who introduced me to the site. I love having her on here. We don't check out or stalk each other's profile pages, we give each other a nudge when we notice the other hasn't been logging for a few days. And a congrats when one of us logged a workout. She's awesome for helping get through the work day. Helping each other make good choices around all the free food in the break room. And making efforts to eat well when we hang out outside of work.

But all that depends on the friend and your relationship.

I find it easier to not have any friends on MFP period. I just read and post on the boards.

I have one real life friend on MFP and really enjoy her on this site. She lives two houses down from me and we talk nearly every day anyways. It's fun to have the team spirit. I think I would only want my closest real life friends or family members. If it were just someone I didn't know very well or someone from work it may be uncomfortable.

I would hate having a real-life friend on here. This is a place for ME and MY goals, and I'd feel like I couldn't really focus if my friends were here.

I couldn't understand MORE than I do!!! Yikes. It's a slippery slope. I had a few friends on here that are (were) my friends in real life first. I found that I was much more serious about doing what needed to be done for myself and I eventually deleted them from my friends list after seeing over and over that they were not logging in. I guess it depends on the friend and depends on you... My experience did not end well for my 'real life friendships'. But I am perfectly ok with it. My journey is MINE. Good luck to you. It's a double edged sword that's for sure.

This is me -- I took off my real life friends that I had on here for the exact reason stated.

If you don't feel comfortable with that real friend seeing your posts then I'd let her know that and decline. I actually made a rule when I started that I would only accept friend requests from people I knew in real life. That's what I felt comfortable so you just need to stick with what you feel comfortable with.

One of my best friends was on MFP for a little while (she left after she got pregnant again), but it was a great way to keep motivated. that was my experience. Oh, my friend also worked with me so she knew if I ate something at work and didn't log it. It helped keep me accountable

I would never tell my real life friends what I weigh

I have one "Real life" friend on here, we are both working to improve our lives so it just makes sense... we also live together so...

But being randomly "Friended" out of the blue when you don't want RL friends finding you? That's why this particular ID is unique to me here at MFP it won't be used by ME at any other site, no one can "find me" as me unless I tell them my username so we can add each other, they can't just go to random sites and try my "known" usernames and find me... each site has it's own unique handle and that's my reasoning behind it :P

I agree. I have a few friends on here who are real-life friends, and it's very tricky. We have very different starting weights, goals and dedications to this process. It gets awkward sometimes, and has already spurned some hurt feelings (we're not all losing weight at the same rate, as is to be expected, and some people are taking that badly.) I'm thinking about weeding them out of my friends list. I love my anonymous new friends all over the world who don't judge or see me in real life scenarios.

You just have to use your best judgement. I would hope people would understand and not fault you for wanting to stay a bit hidden in the MFP world.

i can understand your point, but i think it has to do with how comfortable you are with the friend. i just introduced someone to the site and i'm happy to have her here, but some others i know i would be uncomfortable having on the site and following what i'm doing.

I started on here with 5 of the people from my office. It was great for a while, but they all dropped off the wagon and stopped logging in. It was then that I started coming on the boards and making new friends. I did introduce one of my friends to it, but she only has me as a friend so literally uses it to log her food and very occasionally puts a comment on my weight loss. It doesn't bother me, but maybe would if I found out she had been discussing what I was up to with our other friends.

I have several real life friends on here and wouldn't change that. In my opinion, we all joined the site for the same reason...to lose weight. If they know me, they already knwo I need to lose it and vice versa, so now we can support each other on MFP and in the real world. It helps me with accountability. But of course, every one has their own feelings on the subject.

Well if they're dedicated an involved I wouldn't mind. If they were putting up a front "acting on here like they were pushing toward their goal but in real life they're doing and eating whatever" I'd not add and if they asked why I'd be honest. I would love to have my current friends as real life friends but people seem pretty standoffish even the ones who may live close. I guess it's for the same reason, they appreciate their anonymity. I wouldn't want family members or coworkers on here if we never talk much anyway so I hate when they try to add me on ANYTHING. In the end it depends on how good of a friend the person is and their dedication.

All of my friends on MFP are real friends or family except for 1 and I find that it is so encouraging to have them on here. They give me the motivation I need to keep going! We are constantly cheering each other on and giving each other different ideas for recipes and workout routines. Its awesome! We are all focusing on the same goals and it just works for us!