BestWishesForYou Member

I transitioned (not abruptly) to caffeine-free first, so no withdrawal. Omg I do love diet sodas. I succeed when I cut down and then cut it completely out. For me, cans of diet sodas fit the old saying: one's too many and a thousand aren't enough. When I drink one, I have to have another. It's true that after you've quit…

I have run the gamut of medications over the years, but for the past few years I have needed very little medication. I came off all meds during my pregnancy. What should have felt wonderful instead sometimes felt very desperate, but I'm glad that I was able to get through it for my baby's sake. There was a time early on…

I came over to share some advice but I have gotten better than I could give. :-) Treehopper, it can be hard to heed that advice when you are feeling very low and helpless. Don't feel pressured to do something right now this very minute instantly. That can feel overwhelming. But take some rest, mull over these excellent…

Pknopf57, I know that feels awful. You may have a chicken versus egg kind of thing going – – are you depressed because you gained weight or did you gain weight because you're depressed? Turns into a vicious circle, doesn't it? All the more difficult because some of the meds that you must have might also cause you to gain…

I do want to clarify that my objection is not to the depiction of a healthy body. I have explained that throughout the thread but it has been consistently overlooked. I do want to be inspired. I would like to see healthy – – meaning "fit" – – women and men of all ages and body types. Apparently whatever stock photo company…

Larissa and Jenny, my original post said: "I'm pretty sure none of the models featured ever used MFP or faced the struggles that we are trying to overcome." In my mind, I was saying that these models face DIFFERENT struggles than such MFP users as myself. I went back to copy-and-paste proof of that for you. I discovered…

Great points, all. One thought, though, about one discussion above: yes, you can be "heavy" and fit. Heavy is not synonymous with fat, just as thin is not synonymous with fit. Height, body type, muscle tone are all factors regardless of weight. That's one of the variations among fit bodies that I would like to see in…

Omg thank you, Wysewoman53 . After some of these comments, I felt so low and that MFP had no tolerance for someone like me, or for anyone who feels as I do. I'm just two months into this and am easily daunted/ intimidated. I came to the forums because I need help, motivation, and advice. "...You will fail" was a h*ll of a…

Barb – – thank you so much for making this thread. I just discovered community posting this week and this thread today. I desperately need support and motivation, and everyone on this specific thread seems so generous with that. quote="sewicanquilt;35638689"]Just turned 50 (Feb 28) and pretty new to MFP (20 days). Hoping…

You are truly inspiring! You are exactly the kind of beautiful woman I would love to see alongside any of the articles!

Most of the articles I'm talking about specifically target weight loss. I have no problem with super athletic models alongside articles about being super athletic.

A lot of the beautiful athletes that I'm talking about appear to be wearing Under Armour, so the argument seems plausible. On the other hand, Under Armour makes fitness garb up to women's size 18. I assume at least some of these women are fit or getting fit, so it doesn't seem likely that the sponsor would mandate that…

Ah, my photo problem is that the app does not have access to my photos. It said that I can change this in the privacy settings, but I've looked through each option and cannot find the setting that changes this.

Emdeesea, my more recent post was a hypothetical, not specifically about that article. Originally I did use that as my specific example, and I think it stands. The same type models are almost always used, even it is at odds with the article. It's not just that one article that doesn't match.

Thank you, Hearts!

Can anyone show me how to post photos?

Giving props to to the models: a lot of the ones they use aren't skinny-- they're ripped! Which is awesome when it matches the article. "20 Ways to Get Ripped" should definitely use them in a photo. But they are almost always used, to the point of exclusion, even in articles that don't match at all. An article about a…

Thank you, Arditarose. I appreciate your helpfulness. I'll check it out.

Did I say a size 2 or size 4 is not healthy? Did I say that everyone using MFP is not fit? Did I say seeing "a normal sized woman" in an ad depresses me? Was I talking about a singular ad?

Putting aside the issue of motivation and body image, and simply to make an analogy of inclusiveness: Pretend that the service is specifically for citizens of California and New York. ALL of the photos, though, are of New Yorkers, even for the articles about Californians. Would that make sense? Might some of the…

Seriously? That's what you took away from my post? Please read my response to your first post--and please don't misrepresent the original post.

Corey, I completely agree with your second paragraph. You speak for me there. :-) As for the first paragraph, that is in no way what I am suggesting. If you fully read the original post, you would have seen this question: "Can we never see a healthy woman that is more in line with the body type of a typical MFP user?"…

Thorsmom01, Thank you for your input. The community forum is helpful as a sounding board and I appreciate your opinion. You are right in that I should not take it personally and that I can unsubscribe to the emails at any time. It's a shame about the emails though, as the articles themselves can be very helpful. I realize…

Sunnybeaches105, no need for the snark. I'm sure you understand my point. Fit is what I WANT to see. What's being depicted is, as I said, advanced athletes and ultra-thin models. That's not typical of MFP users, and certainly not motivating for new users such as myself. And as in the example I listed above, the images…

Idashburn, that explains it. I'm sure you are right about that.

Happycampr1, now THAT is truly inspiring! Congrats on your hard work paying off in spades!!!

Wysewoman53, you are a wise woman indeed. :-)

Singingflutelady, I don't mean to imply that athletes don't struggle. The strength and determination it takes to achieve these muscled bodies is beyond my greatest capabilities. I merely mean that an athlete's struggles are different from the struggles of MFP users who are similar to me.

Take a look at the plug from February 15, 2016. It's a great article. And the opening paragraph clearly shows that the target is someone like me: it mentions grandchildren and the joy of fitting into an old dress. Take a look at the featured photograph. She's a very young, highly muscled athlete stretching before a run. A…

I understand the argument for advertisements. These are not advertisements. These are MFP's deliberate choices to accompany motivation articles. I really think they need to rethink this in their editorial policies. I would send a post directly to them but I could not find an appropriate place.