I love the information that this site can provide. I would gladly give it 5 starts, but the whole thing of waiting for 30 seconds for a page to paint because of all of the annoying ads that must first display is ridiculous. I can't take it anymore. I'd much rather have a fee-based version and not have to deal with having ads shoved down my throat every time I hit the enter key.

barnold

null

I have enjoyed using sparkpeople.com to improve health and help maintain a proper body composition and weight. I started with a free membership, and it helped me set some healthy goals based on my height, weight, age, and body composition. They set reasonably easy goals that I could were attainable (for weight loss, aiming for a pound or two per week). I was excited to try something that was not unattainable and a ridiculously high goal. They set reasonable goals that can be easily followed and met. They included information about how many calories to eat (a range that fits with the weight goals-mine was 1760 to 2110 calories per day to lose seven pounds in a month and a half) and how to use exercise to help meet goals as well. They also provide helpful medical and nutritional information. I have been able to find good information on how much protein and carbohydrates equate to calories (such as one gram of protein to four calories). It's very helpful to know how to balance out different nutrients, so that I don't waste too many calories on junk without getting enough protein and other essential nutrients.

utlegospam

USA

Sparkpeople.com is a community I truly enjoy being a part of. They have helped me in my healthier living goals so much. People from all over the place come together and share their experiences, wins and loses all in an effort to help you with ideas, tips and to help keep you motivated. They have tools you can use too. Recipes, tips, diet friendly stuff, mobile apps and more. They also help to keep me motivated by sending me an email when I haven't visited the site in a couple days. It makes me feel like I am part of a real community of people who truly want to help other people. I definitely recommend this site.

Estella1

USA

I needed to loose about 20lbs. My daughter told me about sparkpeople.com last year. So glad she did. Not only is it free online it has so many different resources to help you with what and how you should eat. Counts your calories daily and gives you meal plans weekly. I started losing the pounds around my middle and started feeling healthier . Had a lot more energy. You even have the option of choosing substitute foods if you don't like what's on the menu. It's eating healthy and feeling better and tracking your food. Thank you sparkpeople.com for the perfect diet.

weese123

USA

Sparkpeople is a free site that allows me to to keep track of all the exercises I do as well as what I eat if I choose to enter all my food. I also enjoy using their free videos and recipes that are available on the site. I can save my favorites and click them when ever I want to see an article or video that I previously saved. There are tons of options for goals you can set as well as things you can track from nutrients and water and so much more. I find that I am more accountable to myself if I make goals, because I don't want to miss these goals.

DarleneLefort

USA

My new year's resolution was to lose weight, get fit and not spend a lot of money. Sparkspeople has the potential to help me with all three. It's only been a week, so I can't talk to the long term benefits or potential, but so far so good. I like the way it starts you off. It doesn't recommend going "cold turkey" at the start, but wants to ease you into setting goals, making small changes, and getting your mindset ready for what is going (or should) be longterm, lifetime changes, rather than a quick fix and a diet. The eating part of the plan is really pretty straight forward. Eat less calories than you expend. I like that it has a tracker that fills in all of the details pretty easily. You can save your typical foods in favorites, which makes it easy to add for the day. You can also make specific groupings of food that you eat often. For me, it's also interesting to see the breakdown of carbs, protein, fats, and to see whether I'm eating those in the recommended amounts. Finally, I like that it links to my fitbit - that way it can fairly accurately keep track of my calories burned and adjust the amount of calories I can eat. I guess I'll have to give it a couple of months to see what happens.

bonsuew

USA

Like many others, I joined Sparkpeople a while ago and didn't participate fully. I still don't spend much time on the forums, although that would be very helpful since I have no one supporting me at the moment. My favorite thing about Sparkpeople is the exercise videos. There is so much variety that regardless of your fitness level, time constraints or physical handicaps, you can easily find something that will work for you without having to join a gym or buy expensive equipment. Then you can save the ones you like in your Favorites (you can save most things you want to revisit, whether it's an article, a recipe or a blog entry) so that you can easily find it again. They make reaching goals like a game. They give you points for everything you do, whether it's just logging into the site (they actually have a carnival wheel for that), logging your food/water intake, your sleep or even your mood. You get points for supporting groups on the site, such as Daily Bible Study, Vegetarians and Vegans or over 40's. You get virtual trophies for reaching specific point levels, as well as for doing a certain amount of exercise in a month or participating in the site for 30 days running. You can comment on another Sparkperson's blog to encourage them and they can do the same for you. Sparkpeople.com tries to make getting healthy fun and it works despite our moodiness!

gottadancey

USA

Sparkpeople.com is a wonderful tool to use to successfully reach any health goals you may have, whether it be weight loss, muscle gain, vitamin and nutrient stability, or water intake. You can input all foods and exercises, and it will calculate the calories and all other nutritional information instantly. Perfect tool for all your health needs.

Coryh1994

USA

SparkPeople.com is truly a life changing website! I joined the site about 10 months ago and have lost nearly 50 pounds. I have been educated on what foods to eat. They have all sorts of healthier recipes available as well as loads of free workout videos. You do not have to join a gym to lose weight! All my changes have been made in the privacy of my own home. The only reason I gave it a 9 and not a 10 is because the only way SparkPeople.com will work for you is if you WANT it to. You have to have your mind made up that changing your life is something you really want. It is hard work to lose 50 pounds but SparkPeople has provided the motivation, education and social support I would not find anywhere else. Oh, and its FREE!!!

Ginac0

USA

I am so happy I found the Spark People site! It really is helping me keep track of everything and it really is easy to navigate and use. And you can't beat FREE! I Love that I can enter everything I eat into the food tracker (most foods already have info saved so all you have to do is type in the name.) It keeps track of my goals and lets me know how many more calories, fat, protein etc I have left for the day to stay within my goals. I can enter in all my exercise, and I can see how much I have left to do to reach my weekly exercise goals. I enter my weight when I weigh in, and it shows my progress. When you sign up, enter your weight, what your weight goal is, and it pretty much lays everything out for you, gives you a time frame, and shows you what limits you need to have to reach your goal in a certain amount of time. It can't get easier than this!

pinkjazzy789

Fayetteville, NC