Is MFP a laborious data entry excercise ?

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My Fitness Pall is good for what it's good for. However, I'm finding it just a very long boring data entry exercise. No big deal as I work in admin. It's just a grind to tell MFP what I've eaten and what exercise I've done. It's a duplication of effort as I already know that.

Once I've input the recipes and copy & pasted the meals that repeat e.g. breakfast I find it a bit pointless ?

What does anyone else think ?

i like the ability to track my exercise. I find the food side of things less helpful. I also like the ability to track my measurements. And that if you chose not to use all aspects then if doesn't matter unlike some software. However, I am currently considering a fitbit so it will probably make MFP redundant for me for a lot of bits.

It did trigger obsessive behaviour with me and drove my dh round the bend. However it taught me portion control and I kept off the weight I lost.

I'm still overweight but I am happy with my size. I've just started using it again to make sure my old habits didn't come back at xmas. This time it's set to maintain and I just try and eat as much below as I can. I don't log any activity and don't put in my own recipes just go as close as I can find from other people's. So it's probably out.

I think most diets that aren't restrictive have you counting something somehow and the ones that don't don't teach you good habits with portion control.

I also had issues with mfp when I made my diary public and got a lot of criticism. This time I forgot to change the setting but it's been fine.

In answer to your question I hate doing it but it's the only thing that works for me. I'd like to be able to stop thinking about food all the time though!

Another option is to weigh yourself once a day/week/month whatever so long as things are going in the right direction whatever you are doing is working?

I think it would be beyond tedious to use mfp forever but it does usually help me keep on track.

I use a Fitbit One synched with MFP. It's been v useful for spotting where the calories are mounting up, and not too onerous now I've worked out it remembers your favourites. I find the recipe function useful.

I found that it was at first, but after a while when you have all your common recipes /weird foods etc added it becomes much faster.

I like it, I find that it really makes me consider my portion sizes. I tend to have recipes that I use on a regular basis which helps to speed things up. I also put down everything, including my Friday blowouts. By being this honest I find I don't want to stray away from my planned intake.

Yes it is to a certain extent, but as others have said, once you've been using it for a while you can select from your previous meals which makes it much quicker.

I like mfp because I can calculate the calories of what I cook by entering my own recipes, and because it isn't a diet iykwim. By logging everything and being brutally honest, I can make incremental changes that are sustainable in the long term. I also have it synced with a fitbit - I'm still not convinced how useful that is tbh, but at least I'm making sure to do all my steps...

I found it a faff to start with but once I'd been on it a while, and my usual foods were logged, it was much less so. As I do most of my own cooking, rather than buy ready meals, I really like how it's possible to add our own recipes too.