Sparkpeople.com or myfitnesspal??

[ChrisinNJ]

Hi!

I'm new to this forum.

My hubby & I both need to lose weight. Hubby visited his doctor who gave him a sheet with "food exchanges" and recomended he visit sparkpeople.com.

I see many people here use myfitnesspal.

Are these sites similar? Do they basically help with calorie counting and fitness?

I have done WW in the past & am considering joining again. My hubby definately will not join, so if I join, I then have to guesstimate how many points he should be eating & tell him what to eat.

I thought I would try sparkpeople or myfitnesspal instead, at least for now.

I don't really want to register at tons of sites. Have you had any problems with excess spam after registering with either of these sites??

Thanks for any advice!!

 

[smile4stamps]

Hi. I use myfitnesspal. I primarily use the iPhone app but have gone onto the web page. I tried sparkpeople but the food database for ease of calorie counting wasn't as extensive so I've been using myfitnesspal. I have not been to the sparkpeople website however

 

[lisah0711]

to the WISH boards!

I'm a big sparkpeople.com fan. I like their food tracker as well as activity tracker -- it is very easy to think you are burning way more calories that you are. They have tons of great info, are easy to use, but I have to admit I am referred to as the "Queen of Spark" on the BL threads. I've never had a spam problem with sparkpeople.

With that said I recently switched to WW online because I wanted something new and to try the points plus system. I just set my DH up with a sparkpeople account so he could keep track of his own stuff. Does he? Not as much as I think he should be he thinking about things and eating the same things I am and going to the gym. I give him as much encouragement and support as I can but ultimately this is up to him -- just like it is up to me.

It is just a matter of finding what works for both of you and it might not be the same thing. Good luck!

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Thanks for the responses,

I just signed up with Sparkpeople, set up goals & logged my food & exercise for today. Now I need to menu plan & grocery shop before the next snow storm!

 

[MissDisney121]

I LOVE Sparkpeople.com. I think it is the best weight loss tool I have ever used including my paid subscription to weight watchers. I love all of the message boards, nutrition and fitness tracking, and all of the helpful articles they have. I would definitely recommend sparkpeople.com!

 

[lisah0711]

There is a Disboards team on sparkpeople, too. It is a quiet group but it is there. My id on sparkpeople is 1313harbor.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

There is a Disboards team on sparkpeople, too. It is a quiet group but it is there. My id on sparkpeople is 1313harbor.

Thanks. I just joined the team. Still trying to figure out how the whole "team" thing works. Are the teams like forums??

 

[lisah0711]

Thanks. I just joined the team. Still trying to figure out how the whole "team" thing works. Are the teams like forums??

I think teams are similar to forums -- they are a way for you to find folks that have similar interests, goals, etc. I belong to the Disboards team but we all seem to do our yakking over here. I think it is just what works for you. There is a lot of info there so don't feel like you have to see it all at once. The Biggest Loser challenges work just fine for me for support and accountability. You might want to join us!

 

[SurferStitch16]

My vote is for MyFitnessPal. I LOVE the app on my phone, I find that its so convenient. I have only had to add a few recipes to the site for it to calculate the calories. I find it a lot of fun to log my food and exercises. I have not used SparklePeople though so I cannot say which one is better than the other. Being that there is W.I.S.H. team over there I may head over and check it out. But I am a very very big fan of MyFitnessPal so switching over to sparkle may be tough for me.

DJ

 

[ChrisinNJ]

The Biggest Loser challenges work just fine for me for support and accountability. You might want to join us!

I sent a PM today asking to join. I am waiting to find out which team I am on, will someone PM me back, or do I need to go check the teams & see if my name is on the list?

 

[SurferStitch16]

I sent a PM today asking to join. I am waiting to find out which team I am on, will someone PM me back, or do I need to go check the teams & see if my name is on the list?

You'll get a PM back. Its great fun!! Hope to see you on Team Mickey!!

 

[verticalchaos]

Looks like you've decided, but I'd vote for myfitnesspal.com. I've tried them both and have had much more success (and been less scared by freaky "drink the kool-aid" emails) with mfp.

Good luck though!

 

[ChrisinNJ]

You'll get a PM back. Its great fun!! Hope to see you on Team Mickey!!

Got my PM, I am on Team Donald.....

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Looks like you've decided, but I'd vote for myfitnesspal.com. I've tried them both and have had much more success (and been less scared by freaky "drink the kool-aid" emails) with mfp.

Good luck though!

I may log into mfp to try it out. I am having trouble finding some foods on SP. I don't know if there is an easier way to search, but some of the results I get when I look for an item are almost completely unrelated to my search term.....


Easiest to use is best....

 

[smile4stamps]

I may log into mfp to try it out. I am having trouble finding some foods on SP. I don't know if there is an easier way to search, but some of the results I get when I look for an item are almost completely unrelated to my search term.....


Easiest to use is best....

I started with the Lose It! app as it was recommended by another DIS friend and was having trouble finding foods so I went looking for other apps. I installed both Spark People and My Fitness Pal. I did random searches for various foods on both and found MFP had a lot more food choices so I started using that one. I did look more at SP today and like that it has a bunch of exercises on it with some short videos so I may keep the app for that but otherwise I do my journaling on MFP. I do use the apps just for journaling and I haven't poked around the websites.

 

[SurferStitch16]

Quick Question for MyFitnessPal users...I was wondering if when you workout and put in your work and time if you used the calories that MyFitnessPal said you lost or if you used the calories that the machine you used said?? I have been using the elliptical a lot and it seems that my elliptical always says that I have lost almost 100 calories less than what MyFitnessPal says. Does MFP take into account your weight when figuring out the calories?? I know my elliptical does not so I was wondering what the more accurate track would be?? I am hoping it is MFP, get me those extra calories hehe

Thanks guys!!

DJ