SparkPeople Puts a Spark in Weight Loss
Posted on January 18, 2011 by Hamlets Mistress in Health
I’m making a commitment to this weight loss/healthy living thing. I came across a site that has apparently been around forever, but I just came across it and holy geez, it’s exactly what I was looking for. It’s PERFECT. SparkPeople.com is wonderful. Just as good as that other big corporate mega weight loss giant that boasts being online… oh you know the one… with that phenomenal singer who should have won that horribly annoying singing reality tv show, but didn’t, but still has an Oscar anyway? Yeah, that one. Just as good as… if not better. Why better??? IT’S FREE!! That’s why.
The food tracker is great. Keeps track of calories, fat, carbs and protein. You can also add other nutrients for it to chart and they show up on your daily report. For instance I added fiber to mine. The Fitness tracker is very well done, too.
Something I feel is even better than the weight loss mega-giant’s site, other than the fact that it’s free?? Is the community. There’s a much more friendly type feel about it. The community of the other site was nice, the people were supportive and helpful, but at SparkPeople.com it’s just … warmer, I guess.
And you get POINTS!! And oh my gosh, I’m a very like needs recognition for a job well done kind of person. The points really mean nothing. There’s no prizes or anything except a healthier you, of course. But if you track your food for the day? 5 points. Drink all your water for the day? 5 points. You get points just for logging IN, for crying out loud. Leave a message on a message board? Points. I LOVE points!!!
People, let me tell you something about me. Seriously, guys… I HATE to exercise. Loathe it ENTIRELY. I hate to sweat, I hate the whole crappy everything that goes along with exercising. But you get POINTS! 1 point for every 5 minutes of cardio. Ya’ll I got NINE POINTS last night! And 4 the day before. It’s those pesky points! They make me want to earn them!!
As you earn points you get little trophies. Yeah. Bling. Virtual Bling, but still. Bling just the same.
Everyone has SparkPages where you can leave little messages to people and things like that. You can blog on your SparkPage about your weight loss or whatever. The format of the SparkPages looks like a MySpace page, kinda, but with out all the creepiness and pedophilia. Which, bonus!! Right?
I know I’m only on my 3rd day with SparkPeople.com but I really think this is going to make a difference in my desire to go on this whole weight loss extravaganza.
Here’s hoping. 
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Posted on January 18, 2011 by Hamlets Mistress in Health
Twitter recommend SparkPeople to me a few weeks ago and I’ve been using it ever since. I find that it underestimates calories a bit, but it’s close enough. And it’s much easier to use than the LiveStrong version.
I had to quit SparkPeople. As someone who is recovered from an eating disorder but will always struggle with certain things, the auto-calorie counting any time I entered a food was a huge trigger. I now just chart my foods and general portion sizes in an Excel sheet and keep track of my exercise (and take advantage of the community aspect) on DailyMile. Thankfully it’s not just for runners, though I will get back to running once the weather improves!
Just thought I’d share that as an option for people who can’t — for whatever reason — count calories.