Fitness Tribe Pride: Traci Perg Gets a Little Help From Her Friends

Getting healthy wasn’t exactly a new goal for Oklahoma City-resident Traci Perg, 46, when she first discovered MyFitnessPal. “I had always wanted to be slimmer, thinner and to be in good enough shape to play with my kids,” she says. But it wasn’t until after knee injury when she was given orders from her doctor to lose weight that Traci’s fitness journey began. “I had tried calorie counting in the past—both with a book and pencil, and with a counting app—but nothing worked until I found MyFitnessPal,” says Traci.

She started using MyFitnessPal in late 2012, and 18 months later she’s dropped an incredible 165 pounds! “I’ve gone from 350 pounds to 185 pounds—a weight I haven’t seen since high school!” says Traci. That’s when her friends and family got on board. “Seeing my success, my mother-in-law and two of my friends started using the app and they have also had great results. My mother-in-law has lost 85 pounds using MyFitnessPal and has been able to keep it off despite having an injury. My two friends have lost about 20 pounds each, dropped several pant sizes, and built muscle,” says Traci.

Today, Traci attributes her continued success to having friends on the app. “I love that MyFitnessPal makes calorie counting a social activity—I can follow my friends, view their updates and food diaries, and we can encourage each other through daily posts,” she says. It helps keep everyone honest, Traci adds. “Being able to post questions to the group is huge. Plus, it is great to have a community who can help keep you accountable and motivate you when you want to take a day off,” says Traci, who doesn’t let distance get in the way of her fitness tribe’s health goals. “One of my friends lives far away, but we’re still able to support each other on MyFitnessPal.”

Losing weight has given Traci a new lease on life. “Before MyFitnessPal, every movement took a lot of energy, and playing with the kids resembled something like sitting in a lawn chair watching them play soccer—if the ball happened to come close enough to the chair, I would kick it back,” she says. “Now, I can play—actually play—with them for hours, and it’s the kids who get tired before I do!” says Traci.

Well done, Traci!

Want to tap into the power of fitness tribes, too? Download our free eBook The Rise of the Fitness Tribe from MyFitnessPal for cool stats, tribe building tools, and helpful tips. And share your fitness tribe success on Facebook, twitter, and Instagram with #myfitnesstribe.