MyFitnessPal - Food on Your Mind.

GetOnBored
GetOnBored Posts: 1
in Motivation and Support
I first got MyFitnessPal as a portable app for iOS, so I was not able to interact with the community. This kept me off of the program unless I was adding a new food to the diary. Here's my question:

By being on MyFitnessPal.com, aren't you, in a way, thinking about food? The more you're on the site, the more you must think about food, which seems counterproductive to someone who's trying to avoid it. In my view, a person should only think about food when purchasing it, and before consuming (and logging to myfitnesspal). Extra thought just adds stress, and concern about weight and body image issues. Doesn't stress cause higher food consumption?

Sorry to moderators if you think that this thread encourages people not to use your service, which I would like to add is perhaps the best on the planet, I have been very impressed with the incredible food database and barcode scanning capability. I would just straight donate money to you guys to support this site if I could find a way to do so.

Your thoughts on this below:

Replies

  • leslisa
    leslisa Posts: 1,350 Member
    Sweetie, First of all, I think you misunderstand the site. It is what you make it. Many folks are here to be healthy, for one reason or another. It's not just about food, it's about lifestyle changes and help and support.

    So, here's the bottom line. I'm a recovering (you never really stop) ED person. I logged before MFP, I'd log if MFP fell off the face of the earth. I log food, exercise, and notes. The difference is that it's a d*mn site easier to do on this site because virtually every food I eat or ever thought of eating is in the database, including restaurant food. As far as the exercise, I can see what I've done, and it keeps my numbers as defaults once I add an exercise so I just check a box and voila, it pops in.

    As a perk, I have historical data I can compare to see what's working for me and what's not working. Do I think about food all the time, no. Do I have periods were I analyze my caloric consumption, caloric expendature, yes.

    And as a diabetic, it helps me track sugars a lot quicker than my diabetic charts and pretty darn accurately.

    The generalization that stress makes a person eat more bothers me. Everyone is different. I happen to eat less when I stress.

    So for me the site is not stress, it's a weight off my shoulders.
  • localatte
    localatte Posts: 78 Member
    I get your point, completely, but actually, the site has helped me, because I may still be thinking A LOT about food, but I'm thinking of it in a healthier way.

    I learn tips, get inspired, don't feel so alone in my struggle, and I see food differently. I still fall off the wagon, and it's been the hardest it's every been for the last couple of months, so much so, that I was skipping days on MFP logging.
    So it was kind of like, "I didn't log it, so I didn't eat it". At least, by using all these resources, I'm eating better, feeling motivated, and oh . . . I don't have my head, knee deep in my refrigerator!!! Even though I don't personally know the people on my friend list, I still get so happy when I see a little positive comment on my exercise for the day, etc., and I like leaving comments for others too, and hope my one or two words will make them smile, as there comments do for me.

    Everyone is different, of course, and maybe for some all the other items outside the food log, aren't helpful.

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