It's just faster at everything and "cheaper" (iirc) unless you use free versions. But the MFP free version doesn't have barcode scanning which is a big pain ime.

It's UI is cleaner, it's less cluttered with other stuff. It's just better. But it does cost money. There is a relatively short free trial but definitely long enough to try it out.

If your #1 priority is not paying, then, yeah, MFP maybe is the best choice. I found I just didn't keep using it, and $80/year or w/e MacroFactor is must be worth it if it helps me be compliant.

I started at 2500 calories. Now after a few weeks of logging almost every day I'm at like 2200. Lol. Fatties wanna keep their calories .

I quite like MFP. It is a bit terrible in some ways; but I have logged every day for over 5.5 years so it's quite a deeply ingrained habit at this point.

I've been using MFP 1.5 years and I also like it a fair bit. I can live without the bar code scanner because someone has already logged whatever I put in, so I never have much difficulty finding what I want to log.

2200 calories isn't bad at all, but I can see it being hard to start when you're used to eating much more.

Messed up my right shoulder. Not sure I can remember the last time I screwed up on a lift but I set up the incline bench too far forward (so I could have a biiit more space squatting behind it...aka I was being lazy and tired).

On a work set (thankfully doing highish reps so not a too big weight for me), I missed the right hook when the bar was behind my head. Not fun, don't recommend. I assume it will rehab fine if I can actually stick with rehabbing and stuff. Been over a week and I can use it but certain movements (especially scapular wall slide type movement) aren't great.

After watching Cha's injury video...yeah...this is nothing.

So you're lifting around 3 times a week, no cardio, not a ton of walking around? I assume at some dadbody weight?

No wonder you didn't lose much at 2500 cals if that's the case. I usually start at around 2000 cals. I assume we have similar dad lifestyles and awesome white guy genetics, though I'm even older than you are iirc (49 now).

How old are you now? Recovery more or less fell off a cliff for me after having kids and getting older (LOL at people without kids complaining about recovery, bwahahaha). Battling up to at least decent lifting weights with some cardio which helps, but let's face it, We're not in our 20s or even 30s with no responsibilities anymore.

Two dadbods tackling #firstworldproblems

Might be time for a log title name change.

The olds comes for us all. Though perhaps not dadhood.

Had my first real squat session (which felt great!) after a two week holiday break on Monday. Still too sore/not recovered enough to DL productively today Thursday. Good times.

I'm doing f*ckall after hurting my shoulder. Just can't get the inertia going and/or motivation. Like, I legit don't enjoy lifting or exercising anymore. I'm not really sure.

If I actually lifted 3xWeek and did cardio 2xWeek and just kept at it I think I'd lose a bunch of weight and be fine. Like many things, I felt "betrayed" by the last few years when I did a lot of things right and my life still was frustrating and not very fun.

I'm working on it. Kind of at least.

I'm 43. I'm not sure age plays into it too much, I think not having a consistent and regular sleep schedule for 8+ years is a big problem. My girls (and sometimes dog) still being needy 1-2 times each week. So whenever I get in some kind of groove, it feels like things start getting hijacked. If I continue on, it get hijacked later.

I don't know, there's no real point here, just me whining since Soulman posted here. Lol.

Did I ever send you that shoulder rehab program that I use?

Have you seen Dr K about the shoulder?

I don't think so.

I haven't seen Dr. K in many, many years, lol.

My shoulder will likely get better even faster if I...you know...lift. I have been super unmotivated and not doing it.

I just tried getting under a bar for a squat...pretty close to HBBS tbh, especially considering I haven't consistently done much actual lifting or anything resembling rehab since injuring my shoulder.

Fwiw I almost don't notice it in day-to-day life except for taking off shirts lol.

I can send the program to you if you want. Doing it will strengthen your rotator cuff muscles. If it bothers you when you take your shirt off, my guess is you have something going on in a rotator cuff. Let me know if you want it.

My first thing to do with a should issue like that would be seeing Dr K.

I'm not a great motivator, and I know what dealing with young kids is like, but doing nothing will probably ensure that it doesn't really improve.

Hope you feel better soon.

I've only lifted twice a week for the last couple of years, which coincides with #2 being born (or well, the last two months before as well). Surprisingly I still have some progress and as long as I don't eat like a moron the weight is fine as well.

Like you, things fall apart if sleep gets screwed up and/or work gets too hectic. Having small kids mean you're balancing on a razor's edge way more, doesn't take much to knock you down. Lack of sleep is a surefire way to **** up my eating.

Perhaps be less ambitious than working out 5 times a week, and find motivation to get better eating habits? You know full well the mechanics of dieting, that's not really the issue. Better habits are imo.

I've grown into some bad ones I'm in the process of ditching. Like too many breads and no food prep. Sure, we all love breads and they're delicious, but too many aren't good for me at least.

I don't know many people who have small kids and who work out often and with steadfast regularity. Mad respect for Monte doing it when he had the 'cores, I just can't at least. And really, why should you?

I've tried to do enough cardio and lifting at the same time for the last 3 years and I just can't, so I won't anymore.

Guess this is our daddy emo blog now?

I've definitely gone through stretches where exercise has taken a back seat and I've boozed way too much, but having the boys be older is definitely helpful these days.

Not too much more to add here except that I have a bit of an obsessive personality, so I have to prioritize training and cooking if I'm going to stay on track (just doing one or the other tends gets me into a negative feedback loop).

I know I'm not saying anything novel, but I think gradually working things in until the habits calcify might be better - maybe start with one to two lifting sessions a week and one cardio session a week and see if you can fit that in for a few months, and then evaluate afterwards - this isn't to say that you can't do more during weeks you have more time, but reframing your goals in a way to make success more easy to attain may help you keep a more positive mindset and stay on track. We're pulling for you.

"its a work in progress"

complicated topic, and i have zero kids. i just like the phrase above and it seemed relevant.

the phrase provides elements of dedication, effort, and consistency. thats what we owe ourselves.

sure personal records feel great. but the real wins are those crappy workouts you grind through because you know one more day without exercise is one more step towards becoming physically inept as we age. those are the workouts that really aid in aligning our mind, body, and spirit.

I'm not trying to put anyone down who relaxes in other areas of life when they have kids, but there are examples of people juggling demanding jobs and taking care of kids that still put in time at the gym.

One example is a teammate of mine. The guy just finished earning his second four-year degree while working full time as a manager at UPS, and he has a 2 year old and a ~4 month old. He would hit the gym whenever he possibly could while he was going to school. He just won best tested lifter at a meet, going 903, 501, 600 for his first 2,000 + lb total.

Another guy I know wanted to become a powerlifter, but he quickly learned that lifting with my team was going to consume too much of his time. He is an MD who was doing his residency, putting in 80 hours a week. He still managed to hit the gym 5 - 6 days a week, but he was in and out in an hour or so.

I'm not suggesting that anyone else should strive for something like that (I would never have done something like my teammate did), but it is possible to get a lot done with our lives if we really apply ourselves and organize our time well.

65lb dumbbell presses are impressive for starting out—great job! A general rule of thumb is to warm up with the bar before each exercise, though I usually skip this for deadlifts......

I agree with everyone (except Zobb66 lol).

Being less ambitious is helpful, especially when establishing a sustainable habit. OTOH, I've been less ambitious and still "failed." The next step is probably just to not worry about "success" or "failure" and simply concentrate on enjoying being active/lifting for a while even if that means doing half of a program or sometimes random stuff.

On a trip to a lake with my family and wearing a swimsuit around. Definitely loco fat donotwant.jpg. OTOH, I feel I look better/in better "shape" than most of the other dads around...sometimes by a lot.