Is MFP a hindrance or a help?

mrsdizzyd84
mrsdizzyd84 Posts: 422 Member
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
With very few exceptions (ie things I haven't even the slightest clue how to log) I log EVERYTHING I eat. On most days, I plan my meals out before I even eat them.

Today I started thinking, am I becoming too dependent on MFP? Could I eat right, and not overeat without MFPs help? Does my diligent logging make the program a hindrance or a help?

Anyone have any thoughts on this?
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Replies

  • fitnessbekhs
    fitnessbekhs Posts: 71
    I have to say, I've been a member for a while.....And when I log in and fill out my diary, I lose weight. When I forget to log in, I gain.
  • nehushtan
    nehushtan Posts: 566 Member
    We all need a crutch. MFP is mine.
  • CynthiaCollin
    CynthiaCollin Posts: 406 Member
    I think MFP is a great tool. I have been on MFP for over a year. Now I can pretty much approximately calculate everything without MFP to maintain my weight. I prefer to use MFP when I am trying to lose weight since it more accurate....but when I am in maintenance mode, I tend to just mentally calculate throughout the day.... I think MFP helps to teach you and hold you accountablee and then it just become second nature.
  • david081
    david081 Posts: 489 Member
    I think once you get to your target weight and are maintaining it you might be able to 'go it alone'
  • jezlightyear
    jezlightyear Posts: 167 Member
    i personally feel that by educating myself and getting used to how many calories are in certain foods, when it comes to me reaching my goal weight and needing to MAINTAIN that weight, i will have a much better grasp on my food choices! also, by weighing out food to log onto here, in the future i will just be able to see what a portion is rather than having to weigh it all the time.

    i hope this made sense haha!
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    I just log it. I use the copy feature and all that - just a few minutes of my time. I do depend on it to help me when I go out, or with new foods. I might feel differently when I reach my goal weight, but am not worried about that day.
  • OceansForever
    OceansForever Posts: 221 Member
    Definitely a help! I am sure I would still be over eating if it wasn't for logging.

    Maybe after a long time of logging, when I manage to eat smaller portions without having to measure them first, I will be able to do without MFP but for now I am dependent on it :)
  • JoniBologna
    JoniBologna Posts: 653 Member
    There was a point where I thought the same thing as you. My first attempt at losing weight on MFP failed. I started thinking, "This is too much of a hassle. Can I make counting calories fit into my life long-term?" So, I gave it up. I came back almost a year later even heavier than when I had started. I committed to this process fully after that, and I guess if I have to do it everyday for the rest of my life to be happy and healthy - then that is a small price to pay.
  • jezlightyear
    jezlightyear Posts: 167 Member
    I think MFP is a great tool. I have been on MFP for over a year. Now I can pretty much approximately calculate everything without MFP to maintain my weight. I prefer to use MFP when I am trying to lose weight since it more accurate....but when I am in maintenance mode, I tend to just mentally calculate throughout the day.... I think MFP helps to teach you and hold you accountablee and then it just become second nature.

    haha, this is exactly what i meant - but clearly you put it across in a more coherent way :D
  • sn0wd0gg
    sn0wd0gg Posts: 59 Member
    It can be a real pain having to always log food. And especially when you have food that's not easily categorized or found in the database. I think one can learn to eat well and not have to depend on logging, but it seems that it becomes easy to stray off target and not realize how many calories you're taking in after you've been on your own for a while.

    You could always try it for a while and see how it works out. Just be aware you might start slowly consuming more without being aware of it (or perhaps not). It would be interesting to find out. Once a person becomes more aware of how to properly eat, it seems the logging wouldn't be quite as important.
  • sarammorgan
    sarammorgan Posts: 86
    For me, I think it is a help. Do I want to have to log everything I eat for the rest of my life? No. But I think the more I log, the more I get to know what I can eat and still stay within my calories intake. I am learning different meal plans that fall within my calories and to judge what is a serving. Right now, yes, I think I am dependent on MFP. But hopefully the more I use it, the more I will be able to judge on my own.
  • jennmoore3
    jennmoore3 Posts: 1,013 Member
    HELP!!!!! If I didn't log that candy, or those chips, I would be right back to a 3000 calorie day! For real. I believe that if I never found MFP, I would have not lost the 31 pounds I have lost so far. Besides the logging, I have made some of the best friends I have ever had. Seriously. My MFP friends are so wonderful. They kick my *kitten* when I need it and bring me up as well. I will never ever, ever leave this site. I know I could not do it with out this site's help.
  • SeanFitnessPal
    SeanFitnessPal Posts: 5 Member
    I find, like others have stated, that when I regularly log in, I lose. If I don't....I float up.....
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
    It really helps me goof off but its a hindrance to getting any work done.

    Um. Was that the question?

    Its training wheels in my opinion - in 6 months or a year you'll know roughly "how" to eat the right amount of calories and not gain weight or lose weight. but even then its really easy to cheat - you think to yourself "oh that's only an extra hundred calories" but when you do that for breakfast lunch and dinner and a little snack you end up eating 400 more calories than you though. All without any particularly large splurges.
  • rattler0812
    rattler0812 Posts: 40 Member
    I find it to be a benefit. I log everything on my Blackberry when I am away from the computer. In the end, I can see where my deficiencies and strengths are. But logging calories is only part of the tracking. I have to pay attention to the whole day's worth of events as they make a huge difference on what I will need to do with my food intake. Yes, you may be able to log everything successfully outside of MFP. But there is an added support system through MFP that mere tracking cannot provide.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    I find it a huge help! You just don't know how much you are consuming unless you track it. What better way to do it than MFP?

    I have gotten a little lazy, but I chose when. For instance, I no longer weight every tomato I eat. The difference in calories between one and another isn't worth the effort.

    I will take the time to accurately enter recipe's so I can get a very good idea how many calories are in a dish. And once it's entered, you can you is over and over again!

    I just don't see stopping. Maybe one day when I begin to memorize how many calories are in everything, and have a perfect memory so I can keep a running figure ....

    like that's going to happen! :)
  • paulaparrish
    paulaparrish Posts: 15 Member
    I'm a newbie, but it definately helps me. It really opens my eyes to how many calories I am actually consuming...so I can't really cheat!!
  • Cougar7279
    Cougar7279 Posts: 18
    In my opinion it can be both. I think that as we use this great tool, we need to pay attention to what we're doing so that we can also be independant of it. Kinda like food scales or a Heart Rate Monitor.... I had one friend who absolutely freaked out because her food scale broke and she couldn't figure out how much to eat... and another who didn't want to go out for a run because her HRM wasn't working..... If we pay attention to the quantities of food on the scale and how much a portion really is.... and if we pay attention to how we are feeling at any given time durning a run and what our heart rate is according to our HRM, and how many calories we're burning... etc.... we should be able to guestimate pretty well when we dont have these things available...
  • kkester63
    kkester63 Posts: 28
    Up until yesterday I logged everything in a spreadsheet ... graphed weight loss etc. MFP just makes it so much easier and a food log sure makes you accountable and weight comes off easier.

    First few days of logging I found out those tiny bits and bites added up to HUGE calories.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    MFP is a hindrance. Also, my wife is sabotaging me, as is Rae6503 and MissKortney.
  • MeliciousGibson
    MeliciousGibson Posts: 248 Member
    I think that RIGHT NOW, in the beginning stages of this journey, I rely completely on MFP. Before I started logging absolutely EVERYTHING, I really had NO IDEA how many calories I was consuming. I am suprised on almost a daily basis at how many calories something is. If I'm unsure, I check with MFP before I eat it. 7 times out of 10 I will refrain from eating it or choose a healthier option because I really wasn't aware of how many calories/fat/sodium/sugars was in a food item.

    I am getting to the point now where I don't feel I absolutely HAVE to log things in, and could still eat around my calorie goal. I say this because I am rarely ever HUNGRY, and I'm never "over-full", either. I always feel satiated and satisfied eating the portions I SHOULD be eating of the foods I SHOULD be eating. However, I'm not ready to give up my "security blanket" yet.

    And I just love that little announcement that I've logged in X amount of days in a row! It lets me know that I've been really sticking with it, and it encourages me to keep going!
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    There's actually quite a lot of psychological studies out there that show diligent logging is one of the few effective ways to change eating habits. There are even one or two that show people who log tend to lose some weight over the long term even if they are not trying to!
  • kapspecial
    kapspecial Posts: 67 Member
    Personally, I think it's been a help. I didn't realize or care that up until very recently I was probably eating 3000+ calories a day. I'm on MFP to track my food and activity. To gain some awareness about my personal health and wellness. To eat more intentionally and become an active person. Seeing it and having accountability is helping me develop new behavior and a new mindset about food and activity. In my mind once I reach my goal weight and have maintained it for at least a year, perhaps I'll stop. I'll evaluate things when I get there. In the meantime, I'm tracking like a hawk and reaching out to my MFP friends for support and suggestions.
  • 10acity
    10acity Posts: 798 Member
    Today, it's a hindrance.


    ...to my productivity, as all I've been doing is surfing the forums.
  • junyr
    junyr Posts: 416 Member
    Try it and see.

    It's a tool to use if you want to, but it's be no means required.
  • norariz
    norariz Posts: 18 Member
    HELP!!!!! If I didn't log that candy, or those chips, I would be right back to a 3000 calorie day!

    I agree!!!!!
  • jocelyne2
    jocelyne2 Posts: 271 Member
    I am the perfect example ...i have been gone since July and gained back 8 lbs dammit ...Seems the minute I get comfortable with my weight boom I slack off ... Started at 177 got down to 130 and now it slowly is coming back to bite my in the @ss grrrrr . If its a crutch its one worth keeping hehehe
  • gspea
    gspea Posts: 412 Member
    I log everything - I don't login from work, but do use the Android app to scan my food items if I eat a boxed lunch. Right now it is a great help - as I cannot estimate what a serving looks like. I am learning and by using MFP I can see what I eat, track it and make better decisions. So right now a big help.
  • sgtchester
    sgtchester Posts: 20 Member
    It's a help. I use it now, because I wasn't doing a good job of assesing the right amount of food on my own without help. When I get to the my proper weight, and have done maintenance for a while, I'm sure that I will be able to eyeball the correct amounts of foods. Some day I won't be logging every calorie, but now I am.
  • jezlightyear
    jezlightyear Posts: 167 Member
    Today, it's a hindrance.


    ...to my productivity, as all I've been doing is surfing the forums.

    baha, forreal!
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