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I miss the articles on the front page and the epic debates that ensued in the comment sections. This forum segment, as a result, is dying a slow but certain death. What’s the point?
The forums do seem less lively now that the blog/comments is gone – so at least you have a point. I think the forum is still somewhat helpful though, but you are right, things seem to have slowed down here – for me, it would be better to bring back the old 180. But I am not seeing things on the other side. Maybe the 180 way is spreading well through other means and not getting mired in some of the negativity of the debates in the comments sections?
There seems to be fewer voices of experience in the forums now. Experience is extremely valuable and gives others a reason to trust 180 but also brings in room to debate among those that have gone through this stuff which is what shows individuality amongst those of experience. The more individuals that stand out here – the more the new people can connect to….
Blurg, there are lots of problems with the 180 diet that perhaps weren’t apparent when we first started experimenting with it. It would be good to have those old debates around the subject, but there *seems* to be so little traffic here and so dispersed that it’s not even worth attemtping it.
For whatever it’s worth, I miss the old/original set-up, too. I kind of enjoyed that it was a little all over the place. The advice that was being given toward the end was far different than what was being suggested 5 years ago. I loved that because, in the end, no one really knows. I found it crazy interesting to have different and contradictory information floating around. I can understand how people may have perceived that as confusing, but life is confusing and bodies are complex.
Oh, well. On the upside, I have more free time now!
Agreed. These forums seem dead. But this is probably better for our health anyway. I’m been trying to keep internet consumption down to about 30 minutes a day, so I have time for more productive things.
I agree with you, Thomas. I found more health through the debates in the comment sections. I found that re-feeding in large amounts and reducing liquid consumption to be problematic. However, increasing salt, calories and exercise in moderate increments was very helpful. Sleeping more is good, too. I was never here on this forum for weight issues. I had health issues. Mostly digestive. It was because of the comments that I began to see that we are all individuals and what helps one person may be poison to another. I became very cautious and was able to change direction before too much weight gain or additional health problems. Sometimes I wonder if Matt is now less interested in communicating and helping people. Perhaps now it is more about residual income for Matt. I’m sure we’ve all seen/experienced this before. Initial enthusiasms become wearisome but we plow on for whatever reason. I’m glad I found 180 degree health, though. I learned a lot in the beginning, mostly about how to monitor my reactions to food and other physical changes. I check the forums about once a week now to keep up on any current experience/wisdom they might offer. I don’t find any value in Matt’ current newsletters.
Well, of course, it’s Matt’s dime so he can do whatever he wants, but I do wonder about what he’s doing. I mean, it’s become more top-down. The so-called “experts” write on the newsletter. Instead of immediate feedback and questions about what “the experts” write, one would have to come here to comment and, unlike in the old format, one can not expect “the expert” to participate in the conversation. The experts write “ex cathedra” and we “the peasant faithful” read. The only problem is that it would seem that there are fewer and fewer of the peasant faithful. Soon the experts will be discoursing to what remains of the choir.
I have to agree. I only discovered Matt Stone’s writings recently, so the old forums are something I’ve never seen, but initially it was enough to read through the backlog of forum posts. I’ve now read all of it, and half a dozen ebooks, so consequently I only check the forums about once a week now.
However, the 180degreehealth Facebook page is updated every day or so, and each post gets quite a few comments, so that’s currently where the main action and debate seems to be.
Agreed. This forum isn’t where Matt’s energy is now. I try to check in every few days since people have questions and I’m supposed to be a moderator and I like to help people, but it’s not so lively.
I am not a big Facebooker so I miss that whole side of things. Like David, I am aiming for less Internet/social media these days.
Well, that explains it. Ugh. Facebook. What a life suck. I won’t go back to that ever. Time to think of moving on, I guess.
Well I am on the 180 Degree Facebook group, and I don’t see nearly as much action there. It’s too diffuse and, Facebook threads, even more so than your usual forums threads, are more appropriate for blurbs rather than conversations. Tim Berners-Lee (the guy who actually did pretty much invent the World Wide Web) has called Facebook and sites like it “Silos”. They are “walled off” from the rest of the Internet. If you were to do a google search on 180degrees, you would not be able to see the Facebook threads. You have to join Facebook, and I completely understand why some people do not care to do that.
For better or worse, 180 Degrees has become much less accessible.
I’ll speak up in favor of the new format :)
When I first found Matt’s site a few years ago, I had to really push myself to get through all the comments on the blog articles to get some of the gems of info I was looking for. It was a time and energy drain for sure, and I never felt comfortable participating in the voices that seemed so familiar with each other already (I’m introverted even online) So I really appreciated the move to the forums with the hope that it would be more accessible, and in some ways, I think it is. It’s very helpful to have easily identifiably threads for topics, though it doesn’t always seem to matter when you go and see that someone has posted a question months ago that no one answered.
So I see the point about it not really working because there isn’t enough energy pumping through the conversations anymore, but in theory I wish it could work out. I’m not on Facebook anymore either, but I get that it’s easier for some people than coming here. And there is certainly the misconception/false advertising that you will get some “expert” advice here. Not that I don’t think I’ve seen that…the moderators and certain participants have done a great job of trying to help people as much as they can, but I think people come here expecting something more, and don’t come back when they are ignored (or told what to do ;) Just a bummer I guess.
I think the old format didn’t work out for Matt because so many people communicated to him via email, social media, blog comments and in this forum. It was like everyone had their own primary platform, hence useful reader experiences were too spread out.
I can see Corktree’s point that the forums have potential, but unfortunately there’s just not much activity here. I think new and old members have different expectations. New people come here looking for reinforcement of what they read in some of the books, and they may be disappointed when they encounter different viewpoints–or even complete disagreement. It seems in many people’s minds, 180 is now synonymous with overeating, avoiding water, sitting on the couch all day, and constantly checking your temperature. As Thomas pointed out, there is at least the appearance of a dogma now, where before there was more openness to exploration. This was perhaps inevitable, after so many changes over the years.
I’ve stuck around because I thought my experience might be helpful to others, but honestly I just don’t have Amy’s knack for giving advice. I just try to pass on what worked for me, but my recommendation to exercise more and moderate calories probably isn’t what people are looking for when they come to this site. I might post a one-year progress update on myself here in a couple months (about how I ended a decade of bad health and traded in my beer belly for a six pack), but I think I’m pretty much done posting.
The best thing about 180 has been how it’s helped people break their orthorexia. It’s important to realize that sugary cereal, pizza, and other “junk” food is just fine if you don’t go crazy with it. At least it was important for me. I hope people still get that message, though I’m concerned in some cases old obsessions are just traded in for new ones, which kinda defeats the point.
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