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Topic: The SparkPeople  (Read 4882 times)

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The SparkPeople
« on: January 09, 2011, 08:45:50 PM »
How many UKY members are also members of the SparkPeople? I just joined up two days ago so it is very new to me. I'm still trying to figure it out tonight. Do you like it? Has it worked for you? Are you a part of a team? and what is the deal with the spark points  ??? I have high hopes for this since before when I got into workout/healthy mode I have always done it on my own...no websites, no clubs, just me. I would like to hear what you all think about it.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2011, 11:54:01 PM »
I've signed up for their site, and have over a year's backlog of their daily e-mails, but I haven't really "done" much with it. I do like the idea of their meal planning, especially since it'll let you plan out your week's meals and then give you a grocery list to shop with, but I haven't ever managed to actually remember to do that. (Partly because I remember midway through the week, and partly because living with a tiny fridge isn't conducive to buying a week's worth of groceries at a time.)

I do want to add fitness into my day (more than just walking around), so I should see about getting back into it. I'm not sure what the deal with spark points is, though. ;)
Moved to London February 5, 2010


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2011, 12:01:10 AM »
Hi SistaGirl,

I use SparkPeople, but not all of the features.  I use the fitness tracking bits, and used to do the nutrition tracking, but having to enter every.single.thing. i put into my mouth sorta put me off that aspect of it. But I quite like the articles that they publish on the site!

I do like it, as it helps me keep track of what I've done and that, but I'm not really a prime example of whether it works or not--I will often track things for about a month and then fall off the wagon...but I know there are other UKY'ers on there, so maybe they can fill you in on their successes.

I just joined the "Americans in the UK" team, as well as "UK MAIN" in the hopes that I could look around and find a workout buddy in my area.  It's also nice to see people supporting and motivating one another to achieve their goals.

As for SparkPoints--I really don't know what the point of them is...but i do like to spin the wheel for logging in..Makes it feel like i'm playing a game/trying to get the highest number I can!  :P

*edited: Grammar*
2007-Short Term Student;   2010-T4;   2011-T1 PSW;   2013-FLR(M);    2015-ILR;    2016 - Citizenship (approved!)


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2011, 12:17:50 AM »
I did it for a while. I enjoyed it. I should try again...
I've never gotten food on my underpants!
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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #4 on: January 10, 2011, 09:27:57 AM »
I signed up for it a long time ago, but I didn't like it.  I found the website just too busy & overwhelming for me - ugh.  Not my kind of thing.  For me to have any kind of discipline, I need simple, simple, simple structures & routines - or else I'll say 'this is just too frickin' hard' and stop doing it.  :P
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in...

- from Anthem, by Leonard Cohen (b 1934)


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #5 on: January 10, 2011, 10:06:42 AM »
I signed up for it a long time ago, but I didn't like it.  I found the website just too busy & overwhelming for me - ugh.  Not my kind of thing.  For me to have any kind of discipline, I need simple, simple, simple structures & routines - or else I'll say 'this is just too frickin' hard' and stop doing it.  :P

This!

I used SP easy in the states and then it got fancy and wasnt quick and easy.  Id ont want to spend all day inputting what I eat.  SP doesnt work for my.
calorie count does why? well its US and Metric waa laa
If I do a search I get results from US and UK brands but my all time favorite is this

http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Paste your recipe in and put how many servings and WAA LAA it figures out the calories and everything ;-)

I say do whatever works for you ;-)


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #6 on: January 10, 2011, 10:26:56 AM »

As for SparkPoints--I really don't know what the point of them is...but i do like to spin the wheel for logging in..Makes it feel like i'm playing a game/trying to get the highest number I can!  :P

*edited: Grammar*

haha me too! mostly because it's the only thing I have figured out how to do.   ;D

I agree the website is very busy and hard to navigate! I haven't had the time to just sit down and explore it much so I will be doing that this week. I will look for the Americans in the UK team and join up!

Thanks for all replies. I'll post back here once I have used the site properly and let everyone know what I think.


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #7 on: January 10, 2011, 01:08:34 PM »
I am a big SP fan - I used it in 2007 (or was it 2006) and lost over 50lbs/22kg and kept it off for years (to be fair, it's mostly still off now and what's come back was a result of being sick and hormone problems, not eating or exercise). I've even got an impressive before/after photo if anyone wants to see. :P

I really liked that it gets you to think about your eating habits and change them FOR LIFE, not just for a diet. And I honestly did that, and it's worked for me. It also gave me a lifelong love of running, too. :) I think they've actually improved ther UK tools since I used the site last. I mainly learned to enter in every food that I put in my plan, as a bunch of the pre-entered US foods that you'd think would be universal had tons more sugar and fat than their UK equivalents (like bread and tinned vegetables, off the top of my head!).

But because SP worked so well for me, I don't really use it anymore. I suppose you can say I "graduated"...
Summer 97 - first visited friends in London
99-00 - studied at Uni of Sussex on exchange
Feb 02 - moved to London on BUNAC
Sep 02 - WP granted (IT skills shortage list)
Sep 04 - WP renewed
Sep 06 - WP renewed again (screwed by 4-5 year ILR change)
Sep 07 - ILR!
March 09 - Citizenship!
July 09 - bone marrow transplant :(
18 Sep 10 - wedding!
Mar 12 - half marathon in Paris! 1:47:12!
Oct 12 - Amsterdam FULL marathon! 3:48:23!


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #8 on: January 10, 2011, 06:50:47 PM »
I've even got an impressive before/after photo if anyone wants to see. :P


Heck yes I wanna see it!  ;D


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #9 on: January 10, 2011, 07:54:44 PM »
I'm on SP... user name Jewlz13, if anyone wants to add me!

I really like the site. I made a few online friends on there who I talk to from time to time, so the social aspect is pretty good. I've added some people who blog a lot on there and who I find to be inspirational, I can go on and read their blogs and things when I feel down - there are some people on there with amazing weight loss stories. The articles are great, too, very informative.

I also like the recipe side of the site, mainly for ideas, and then I go in and calculate the recipe the way I want to make it (I LOVE the recipe calculator and use that tool a lot to see what my portion size should be, which ingredients I should reduce in order to fit the meal into my calorie requirements, etc). It's great for people who cook a lot.

I don't really use the exercise calculator as much, mainly because I'm crap at keeping up with any kind of exercise.  :-\\\\ But, by using the diet tracker and doing an exercise video a couple of times a week, I lost fifteen pounds in 2009. Unfortunately, I gained it all back, then did SP again last year and lost it again, but then quit smoking and gained it all back plus a few pounds. I have a real problem with the maintenance phase, so I will have to figure that out once I get there again. I'm hoping to keep it off this time. Now that I've quit smoking, I no longer have that as an excuse!  ;) (Also, joining the team for people who were quitting smoking was helpful to me... so it's more than just diet support, it's great for any kind of lifestyle change, really.)

It does take time to get used to it, as it is a complex site with just about every tool you could imagine - diet tracker, exercise tracker, endless forums and teams, recipes, articles, blogs, the "my space" type aspect where you can add friends and post comments. I mean, it has EVERYTHING. But, I like that I can pick and choose which tools are most effective for me. Some people just love the social aspect of it and don't use the trackers at all and some just use the trackers and don't do the forums or profile pages.

I don't have a problem with logging in the foods I eat, as it doesn't take too long, and there are a lot of UK friendly foods in there if you search other members items (just check the nutritional info looks right as you are adding it). And if you eat a lot of the same things fairly often, it gets much quicker to keep up with it. Once a recipe is logged in, I can just add my recipe into the day's totals and cook it the same way as I figured it, or I can go in and edit it to suit what I have on hand. Also, you can copy a whole meal onto a different day, which is helpful, as I tend to eat the same breakfasts and lunches pretty often, just on rotation.  ;)

I will say that you do have to get used to measuring everything you eat, but that doesn't take too long if you have a digital scale and a set of measuring spoons and cups. If you don't do that, then there isn't much point in calculating calories at all, in my opinion.

The points thing is mainly for the social network side of things. It's kind of like playing a game on Facebook. The more points you collect, the bigger rewards you can "buy," which is really just like giving a virtual gift to your friends (like some people do on Facebook with flowers, teddy bears, etc). It's kind of dumb, to be honest.  :P But, it is kind of nice when you earn enough points to move up to the next big trophy, it just shows you how much work you have been putting into it.  ;)

Anyway, hopefully you will like it, but if not, there are plenty of other simple nutrition trackers that are easy to use, such as Fit Day, which is the only other one I have used, and it was pretty good.


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #10 on: January 10, 2011, 08:38:11 PM »
Heck yes I wanna see it!  ;D
Ok I just dug it out - it was 2006!

<- Click it for a big version...

(But you can see recent photos of me on my sewing site. The coat photos are from yesterday afternoon!)
Summer 97 - first visited friends in London
99-00 - studied at Uni of Sussex on exchange
Feb 02 - moved to London on BUNAC
Sep 02 - WP granted (IT skills shortage list)
Sep 04 - WP renewed
Sep 06 - WP renewed again (screwed by 4-5 year ILR change)
Sep 07 - ILR!
March 09 - Citizenship!
July 09 - bone marrow transplant :(
18 Sep 10 - wedding!
Mar 12 - half marathon in Paris! 1:47:12!
Oct 12 - Amsterdam FULL marathon! 3:48:23!


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #11 on: January 10, 2011, 09:08:52 PM »
Ok I just dug it out - it was 2006!

<- Click it for a big version...

(But you can see recent photos of me on my sewing site. The coat photos are from yesterday afternoon!)

WOW!!!! That's great! You must have been so proud!  ;D
By the way, did I see you on a repeat of Nigel Slater's Suppers last week?!


Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #12 on: January 10, 2011, 09:26:42 PM »
Ok I just dug it out - it was 2006!

<- Click it for a big version...

(But you can see recent photos of me on my sewing site. The coat photos are from yesterday afternoon!)

Your hair is looking amazing and totally cute :)


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #13 on: January 11, 2011, 09:38:30 PM »
Wow! You totally inspire me with that before and after photo squirrellypoo  :D

You look great in your sewing pics too!


The points thing is mainly for the social network side of things. It's kind of like playing a game on Facebook. The more points you collect, the bigger rewards you can "buy," which is really just like giving a virtual gift to your friends (like some people do on Facebook with flowers, teddy bears, etc). It's kind of dumb, to be honest.  :P But, it is kind of nice when you earn enough points to move up to the next big trophy, it just shows you how much work you have been putting into it.  ;)

 
Thanks for clearing that up! So far I have 37 points  [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

I'm on SP... user name Jewlz13, if anyone wants to add me!

I'll add you as soon as I figure out how....


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Re: The SparkPeople
« Reply #14 on: January 11, 2011, 09:52:00 PM »
I've just signed up to start using the calorie counter..........






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