Has anyone found an alternative weight loss forum with a more balanced male:female population?
One of the reasons that I had stopped posting was constantly reading other posts about issues with their father, husband or SO who are overly critical of their weight. I get it, and it's a legit issue to bring up but those types of posts gain the most traction while other equally legitimate posts get drowned out. For instance, there's one person who's asking how many calorie he/she needs that's received two replies. On the other hand, someone's talking about their wedding dress and receives 15+ replies.
All this is to say that I don't get the impression this forum is for someone like myself. I suppose my first clue was the web address...
I've looked at other weight loss forums and too many are rife with immature 22-year old frat bros and gym rats who rather disparage and criticize someone than give useful advice. Are there no weight loss forums that has consistent moderation and a more balanced gender ratio?
Not a man, but before 3fc I used to use weight-loss . fitness . com (not sure if links are allowed but in case it gets removed, it's the first result if you google "weight loss forum"). I found it to be extremely balanced not only in terms of gender but also in discussing the physical and emotional aspects of weight loss. However, this was over 5 years ago so I'm not sure if it's changed.
This is the only weight loss forum with reasonable traffic that I'm aware of. The others I have seen seem to be pretty quiet. Are there others that have similar or greater activity than 3fc?
Alas, the number of males that find their way to 3 Fat Chicks has consistently been less than the females. I've learned over my eight years here to skip quickly over the gender specific issues since it's always been easy to find folks interested in that huge group of issues that the genders share in common.
If you try to get some guy topics going here in the Men's Corner, I'll jump on board in support.
I have learnt quite a lot of tips and tricks from the ladies.
Name them
But, seriously I like this forum. Lots of weight loss challenges to participate in which is why I'm here. They keep me on track and invested in the goal. So thanks 3fC, I've been struggling to get this underway for a while due to my motivation or lack of it. But with these challenge threads I have been at it for 3 and a half weeks and still keen. I will probably scoff half of it back on by the end of Xmas day though
Also a female here, but hoping you don't mind if I chime in...even if it's an older thread, maybe you are still around. I agree with you and Bill on the name "3 Fat Chicks" being a deterrent to some, especially males. I really hate the name myself, but I have learned to love the place itself and what it has been able to offer in the way of support and good advice, outside of the more gender-leaning topics like weddings and girly stuff of course. I know males are just as welcome on all the boards, and I'm sorry that you haven't really felt that inclusion, as well.
To answer your question, I think your best bet would be to check out some weightlifting and bodybuilding forums! Every time I have looked into them in the past, they have all been largely male in population and still seem to be so after doing a quick search. Even if you're not interesting in the actual pursuit of weightlifting itself, they will usually have boards and resources for weight loss and healthy eating in general. One that seemed to be both active and more well-rounded was at forum.bodybuilding.com ...you could check that out, if you haven't already. However, I can't account for how many frat boy types you may run into there, because the whole gym rat/bodybuilder correlation. I know on the link I referred to, they have an "Over Age 35" board...even if you're not in that age bracket, you may run into less immaturity there.
I hope you find what you're looking for! In the meantime, I hope you stick around and that the active males of the board are able to dust off this corner of the forum so that other men who are feeling the same way might find some support. If I come across any other more balanced forums, though, I will be sure to come back and share them here. Have you had any luck finding anything?
Last edited by opheliaphoenix; 01-06-2017 at 04:05 PM.
I for one will continue to post. I found 3 fat chicks by searching specifically for a diet site and forum. One that that isn't for a specific diet only ,but allows many types of diets.
I've been on other diets forums and some were great and others fell silent. so many dieting posters come and go, and some do just as well on their own. I've learned that there can be some great insights and tips happening , but there is also a sense of community and thread family. just like a family filled with brothers and sisters it's easy to talk over each other sometimes .so I can how frustrating it can be to find a thread that keeps a core group that can both cater to newbies and contain excitements.
As for the men to women ratio here at TFC.
I agree other sites that focus on strength training retain more men. However TFC is not excluding any threads like that. mostly we all become overweight for same reason. more calories in than out. the other point is there can many reasons why individuals allow the gains to accumulate .some for just 20 other for 200 or more.
Food is something that pleases the senses. We see it, smell it, taste it, feel it's textures, hear it even as we pour drink and chew it . we can't survive without it. we pick favorites, and we can love and hate foods.
I've noticed there other things all of experience that also can fill our senses all at once. I have met a few women that have filled all of my senses at once. not many things do just that. when some of those women were gone it left a void where once I could feel filled. easy to fill that void with other sense appealing things. I can relate to being tolerant of verbal abuse ,and in its wake avoid or even shun people that do it. people change over time. when I try to hold on to someone's past and refuse to accept whom they've reinvented their persona as there is always stress and tension. most girls learn to shun their friends and reemerge as a reinvented persona in their teens. however typically men start doing this in their 40s and is called a mid life crisis. when most girls become mature women they learn to not shun their core group of friends and Family.
where as some men do shun those whom can't tolerate their new persona.
I decided that I was the only one who can put calories in my mouth.
I was not going to be goaded into eating just because someone else is hungry or took time to cook for me. not be unappreciative I count the calories on the plate and if it's way over 1000 . Then I get out the portion cups. hoping my preparer can learn portion control. I realised late in life that food can be an intimate daily routine. it took me too long to knuckle down a learn food . not just as a cheap filling of flavor, but as a satisfying flavor experience. to go further and filter out the foods than make us sick or fat if they are not eaten in moderation .
the conversation goes inward. when this special person in my life is gone.
why do I still eat the foods that are contrary to the person I want to see in the mirror. why do I sit down so much?
I've decided I need support. and I know I can give support. I'm not willing at this time to pay a trainer,or cook , or a therapist. so here I am on TFC.
I prefer to be on forum such as this . if I discussed my obsession with my weight and my passion for health foods with my spouse it's like talking to a wall. I know there are others just like me male and female. however it's difficult to be online at the same time or even in the right years . these online forums are nothing less than miracles for being able to find support.
I have to be patient, cautious, and tolerant. respect that others my have very different ways to their body image. I do go to a gym. but where I seek support is with food. so I see that fitting into a wedding dress is also more about food restrictions and less about building muscles.
my personal approach is fasting. the biggest hurdle is hungers pangs but the long term bone health. nutrient intake is my driver. so it's not an easy conversation to keep on about when a newbie May only be interested in vanity pounds. I'm OK with moving the conversations away from what I'm focussed on because my way will take not only years but hopefully take a very long lifetime.
so far this year I've had two fasting days and 3 health food feed days 2 exercise days.
where I differ from alternate day fasting where I eat every other day is 153 fasting days Intermittent and 182 alternate day.
why I chose 4/3 and not alternate day is social.
I want weekends to be feed days
I want Tuesday's and Thursday's to be feed days at work and home.
With four days a week eating normally I feel sated.
I've mapped out how to be in a state of good health even though I'm morbidly obese.
to switch this abit to longevity. all of us men women and children alike are in a constant state of growth. for instance as our bones breakdown and replenish we grow something like 12 skeletons worth of bones over long lifetime. many other parts of us are in continuous growth replenishing themselves per our DNA. nutrition and how we feed these functions are determining factors.
when we fast it's my understanding that after all the food nutrition has left our blood stream the switches from the constant state of growth to repair mode. about 27 hour mark and we are different so that's not a fact.
during this time is my focus in reading research. my understanding is can be both healthful and harmful. healthful when we are filled with nutrients all along. Harmful when were malnourished and entering the fasting state.
so where's the line?
there isn't definitive proof and there won't be from human trials for a long time.
I have to make up my own mind .
there is evidence that eating In a 1hour window once every 24 hours is harmful long term to bone health.
to avoid this I eat in a 5 hour window on both feed days and fast days.
however when I've been semi intermittently fasting for a while and hunger pangs are no longer compellingly. I switch the weekend schedule to start with my lunch with friends at 5am I order healthy fish.
but then I fast for 30 plus hours mostly sleeping.
I eat at 9 am Saturday morning with bodybuilding foods.
again. at 12 , 4,and 9pm Saturday evening. then fast again for30 hours as I sleep though as much of Sunday as possible. until 1150 pm ten minutes to go before I start my work week.
I semi fast on Wednesday healthiest nutrition dense 600 and a supplement.
in this model I have 104 days a year where I'm entering the repair mode.
and 52 semi fasts.
what I found was I lost more weight than 4:3 but I also had more energy to skiprope ,and practice compound lifting.
I bet you can guess at how much stress this put on my spouse.
I was transforming into a thinner person, but not eating with her , sharing her meals and I slept alone alot. when I wasn't sleeping I wanted to go to a gym for hour at some point.
so when I read about the male female ratio. I just want to shrug it off.
if they want to talk then I'm all ears. if they want to socialize I'm OK with that too. If they want to stereotype well what can I say that will matter.
Has anyone found an alternative weight loss forum with a more balanced male:female population?
One of the reasons that I had stopped posting was constantly reading other posts about issues with their father, husband or SO who are overly critical of their weight. I get it, and it's a legit issue to bring up but those types of posts gain the most traction while other equally legitimate posts get drowned out. For instance, there's one person who's asking how many calorie he/she needs that's received two replies. On the other hand, someone's talking about their wedding dress and receives 15+ replies.
All this is to say that I don't get the impression this forum is for someone like myself. I suppose my first clue was the web address...
I've looked at other weight loss forums and too many are rife with immature 22-year old frat bros and gym rats who rather disparage and criticize someone than give useful advice. Are there no weight loss forums that has consistent moderation and a more balanced gender ratio?
Talkmanfattv
Google it! I am not allowed to link it, but I think it will be to your liking mate. I hope you find what you're looking for.
Not to be overly critical...
I hope you find what you're looking for.
