Frequently Asked Questions

Below you’ll find a handy bunch of answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s). Have quick read through them first and if you can’t find the answer you are looking for click the link at the bottom of the page to fill in the Contact form.

General Questions

What is Extrapounds.com?

Extrapounds is the free online weight loss community that provides you with weight loss tools to help you stick to your diet plans. It is where Extrapounds members share their experiences and support one another on their journeys to becoming weight loss success stories.

Track your weight loss progress using these Extrapounds diet aids:

Weight Loss Blog
Weight Loss Tracker
Weight Loss Support Groups
Weight Log
Food Log
Activity Log
Body Log
Photo Albums

Technical Problems

If you are having any kind of technical problems with Extrapounds please try the following three steps to ensure that your computer’s set up is correct and up to date.

Ensure that you have enabled cookies in your browser, Extrapounds won’t remember your settings without them. If you are not sure how to check your cookies read this Google Help Page
Clear your browsers’ cache to ensure that you are seeing the latest version of the site and not an older version that is stored in your cache. If you are not sure on how to clear your cache read this Google Help Page
Update your browser to the latest release if you are currently using an outdated issue. You can download upgrades for most browsers free from their official website.

Below are links to where you can download the 3 most popular browsers:
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox *
Apple - Safari

*Extrapounds runs best on Mozilla Firefox.

If once you have completed these steps the problem persists please contact us

Joining Extrapounds

How much does it cost to join Extrapounds?

It is FREE to join Extrapounds and become a Silver Member. If you choose to become a Gold Member so that you can enjoy all the extra features at Extrapounds you would need to pay a nominal fee. Find out more about Gold Memberships.

How can I join Extrapounds?

To join click the 'Join' link at the top of this page. You will need to fill in some basic details about yourself, then click the link in the activation email we will send you. By clicking the link you will confirm your membership and will be able to start using the Extrapounds tools.

I have completed the sign up form, but I can’t use my account

Once you have filled in and submitted the sign up form we will have sent an email to the email address that you entered when registering. You need to click the link in the email before you can start using the Extrapounds tools and get involved in the EP community.

I haven’t received the activation email

It may be that your email provider has mistaken the email to be unwanted mail and either sent it to your Spam/Junk/Bulk folder, or blocked it completely.

First check all your email folders, the sender will be 'Extrapounds'. If you cannot find it please add subscription@extrapounds.com to your Address Book and your safe senders/white list if your email account has one. Then Contact us so that we may resend the activation email to you.

Logging into Extrapounds

I have forgotten my Login Name

Fear not! You can retrieve your login name by using our Forgot Login Section.

I have forgotten my Password

Don’t worry, you can reset your password by using our Forgot Login Section.

I want to change my Password

You can change your password by using our Forgot Login Section.

Or if you sign into your account you can change your password by modifying your Security Settings in your Profile section.

I haven’t received the Reset Password email

It may be that your email provider has mistaken the email to be unwanted mail and either sent it to your Spam/Junk/Bulk folder, or blocked it completely.

First check all your email folders, the sender will be 'Extrapounds'. If you cannot find it please add lostpassword@extrapounds.com to your Address Book and your safe senders/white list if your email account has one. Then try using the Forgot Login Section again. If all else fails contact us

I have forgotten my Login Name and don’t have access to the email address I am registered with.

For security reasons we are unable to send you a copy of your Login Name. Please contact us so that we may tell you what to do next.

I have forgotten my Password and don’t have access to the email address I am registered with.

For security reasons we are unable to send you a copy of your Password. Please contact us so that we may tell you what to do next.

What is the 'Enable Autologin' option?

The Extrapounds Autologin feature removes the need for you to login in every time you want to access your account. If you check the ‘Enable Autologin’ box Extrapounds will save your login settings so that you stay logged in even if your browser closes. .

Autologin is recommended for use only on non-public computers that do not have shared use. To log out at anytime click the ‘Logout’ option in the top right hand corner of the screen.

When I log in Extrapounds automatically logs me out.

Please check that you have allowed cookies to be used with Extrapounds, the site won’t remember your settings without them. If you are not sure how to set your cookies in your browser please read this Google Help Page Once you have allowed Extrapounds cookies close and restart your browser, then try to login again.

Blocked account

For security reasons, if somebody tries to log in several times unsuccessfully, the system will block the user account. After 24 hours the block is lifted when you can try to log in again.

Profile

Changing my avatar

Your avatar is your Profile picture. You can choose one from the Extrapounds range or upload your own custom image. To update your avatar go to the ‘Personal Data’ Tab of your Profile section. Click the magnifying glass icon to either select your favorite avatar from those that appear in the window, or click the ‘Browse’ button to use a file saved on your computer. If using one of your own files remember to click the ‘Upload’ button to apply the image to your avatar.

Change my email address

To use a different email address with your Extrapounds account amend the setting in the ‘Contact Info’ Tab of your Profile section.

Change Units of Measurement

Different countries use different units of measurement. For example in the US Pounds (lbs), are the standard weight unit, in the majority of Europe Kilograms prevail, whilst in the UK Stones and Pounds (St + lbs) are the favored method. Height units also differ.

To change your Weight or Height units go to the 'Units & Dates' Tab in your Profile section.

Change Date Format

To choose between mm/dd/yy and dd/mm/yy formats go to the ‘Units & Dates’ Tab in your Profile section.

Change my Password

If you remember your current password you can change it to a new once by going to the ‘Security Settings’ Tab in your Profile section.

If you don’t remember you current password you can reset it by using our Forgot Login Section.

Weight Loss Blog

A weight loss blog is your own personal weight loss journal. Writing about your weight loss experiences is believed by many to aid dieters as it has numerous benefits. Writing a diet diary will help:

Identify & set goals
Day-to-day planning
Clarify your emotions
Recognize where changes are necessary
Keep you accountable for your decisions
You stay Motivated!

What is a Blog Title?

You could liken a Blog Title to the title of a book. It will be written at the top of your blog page. For example the Extrapounds Team blog has the title 'EP Customer Support Blog'.
Note, that your blog title can be changed at any time once your account has been created.

What is a Blog Address (URL)?

Your Blog Address is the location of your blog on the internet. When you create your blog you can specify your own blog address by filling in the blank www.extrapounds.com/blog/ on the sign up form.
You may only use alphabetical and numerical characters (0-9 and a-z), but it can be related to anything you like, for example, the title of your blog, your name, your weight loss goal or one of your interests.

Note, once you have decided on a name for your address it CANNOT be changed.

What is a Blog Description?

A blog Description is a short piece of text that you can use to describe your blog. It will appear under your Blog Title at the top of your blog page. You may want to write a summary about yourself, what you plan to include in your blog, why you are trying to lose weight or anything else you like! Note you can change your description at any time once you have completed sign up.

What is the Blog Design?

The Blog Design refers to the layout and background image of your blog page. At Extrapounds you can personalize your blog with the design of your choice. You can change the look of your blog as often as you like to match your mood or the season. Select your favorite from the Extrapounds range or if you are a Gold Member you can apply your own custom image to create unique look that reflects your style.

How do I start my Weight Loss Blog?

Once you have completed your blog set up by defining your blog’s title, description, design, etc you are ready to write your first post. You can add a post at any time by visiting the 'My Posts' Tab in your Blog Administration area and clicking the "Add Post" button. A window will appear where you can write whatever you like before you ‘Post’ it to your blog. Finally, click the ‘View Blog’ button in the ‘My Posts’ Tab to see how it looks in your blog page.

How can I change my Blog Design?

Whilst creating your blog you get to choose your favorite Extrapounds Blog Design. If at any time you want to change the appearance of your blog you can do so by changing the settings in the ‘Blog Settings’ Tab of your Blog Administration area.

Gold Members can go a step further by applying their own images to their blog by editing their CSS Stylesheet or the easy to use Extrapounds Design Wizard from the ‘Gold Member’ Tab in their Blog Administration area.

The weights shown on the charts in my blog are incorrect

The data shown in the weight charts on your blog is taken from both your Weight Log and your Long Term Goal Tracker. Make sure that your Initial Weight and Goal Weight are recorded correctly in your Long Term Goal Tracker and that you have updated your Weight Log with your latest weigh in.

Can I restrict who can see my Blog?

Gold members of Extrapounds have the option to make their blog private, allowing only those who know the correct access details to view their blog. If you are a Gold Member you can privatize your blog by checking the ‘Activate Privacy Option’ in the ‘Gold Member’ Tab of your Blog Administration area. You will need to assign a Private Access Username and Private Access Password, this is the information you need to give to others so that they may see your blog.

Link Buttons to my blog

You can use Link Buttons to your blog in online forums and on other websites to let others know about your blog. If they click the button they will be taken straight to your blog. Go to the ‘Links to my Blog’ Tab of your Blog Administration area and follow the instructions provided.

Adding music to your blog

Gold members of Extrapounds can personalize their blog by adding music to their page. From the ‘Gold Member’ Tab of your Blog Administration area you can select one of the tracks provided by Extrapounds by clicking the track’s title, a checked box will appear next to the music that will be played in your blog.

If you know of some music on the internet that you would prefer to add to your blog you can use that instead if you wish. The music you want to use must be an mp3 file and needs a URL address that ends in ‘.mp3’. Copy and paste the entire URL into the ‘Link’ box in the 'Gold Members' Tab of your Blog Administrationarea, then click 'Add Mp3'. The list of tracks you can choose from will then be updated with your new file included. *Please note you are responsible for the content of your blog. It must not infringe any relevant copyright laws.

Stop Music in my Blog

To remove music from your blog click the 'No music in my blog' at the top of the track list in the ‘Gold Member’ Tab of your Blog Administration area.

Weight Loss Tracker

What is an Extrapounds weight Loss Tracker?

A weight Loss Tracker is a visual tool that illustrates how much weight you have lost from your start point and how far you are away from reaching your goal weight.

How many trackers can I have?

Gold members can create up to 5 trackers to help them track their overall weight loss goal and mini goals along the way. Silver members may have 2 trackers.

Why would I want more than one tracker?

Create more than one tracker to track your overall weight loss journey and milestones along the way. Read the two FAQ’s below:

Tracking my overall weight loss journey

Your Long Term Goal Tracker (found on the far left Tab in your Tracker section) is designed to be used as the tracker for your overall weight loss journey. Enter your Initial Weight and you Goal Weight then set yourself a time scale to reach your goal. As you update the data in your Weight Log the characters on your tracker will move, showing how far you have come from your Initial Weight and how far you are from Goal. You can choose whether to display this tracker in you blog by checking the ‘Show Tracker in my Blog’ in the first tab of your Tracker section. Information from this tracker is also used in the weight table on your blog page, for this reason you cannot delete Long Term Goal Tracker.

Tracking weight loss mini goals

Aiming for a goal which feels difficult to achieve can be de-motivating. Many dieters find it useful to break their overall goal into smaller milestones. For example if you have 50lbs to lose you could focus on losing in 10lbs stages. As you update your Weight Log your tracker will move, showing how close you are to reaching your goal. Create mini-goal trackers in addition to the one that tracks your overall weight loss journey to track milestones along the way.

Using my tracker on other websites

When you create a tracker code is generated and displayed in three separate boxes on your Tracker page. You can use these codes to insert your tracker into other spaces online, for example your signature in an online forum. Copy the ENTIRE code from the appropriately titled box and paste it into the other website where you want the tracker to appear.

Weight Loss Support Groups

What are Extrapounds Weight Loss Support Groups?

Extrapounds weight loss support groups are groups of EP members who share a common goal or interest. They are run by EP members themselves and each group has their own dedicated page where they can share their experiences, interests and advice in a communal space.

How do I find a Weight Loss Support Group that interests me?

To find Support Groups go first go to the Support Group section of your account. There are three ways to find a group that matches your interests:

Browse by category – see all groups that belong to a specific category, i.e. ‘Region/State’

Browse all groups – a list of all groups arranged alphabetically.

Search by keyword – type a search term to find groups that focus on that theme i.e. ‘Wedding’ (When looking by keyword only groups’ titles and descriptions are searched)

How do I join a Weight Loss Support Group?

If a group is an ‘Open’ access Support Group then all you have to do to join is click the ‘Join this group!’ button on the group’s main page to become a member.

If the group is ‘Leader Restricted’ or has ‘Closed’ access click the ‘Request to Join’ on the group’s main page to send a message to the group’s Administrator. You will receive a Private Message if the Administrator accepts or declines your join request.

Support Groups with Public or Private Viewing

A support group's Administrator can decide whether to allow all Extrapounds members permission to view their support group - Public Viewing, or whether to restrict the ability to view their support group to only existing members of that group - Private Viewing.

Creating a Weight Loss Support Group

Only Gold members are able to create new Support Groups. Visit your Support Group section to get started.

What is a Support Group URL?

When you create a support group you are asked to specify a URL. A Support Group URL is the location of that Weight Loss Support Group on the internet. The text you type in the URL field on the creation form will form the end of your group’s address (the part shown in bold in the example below:)

http://www.extrapounds.com/group/supportgroupurl/

You may only use alphabetical and numerical characters (0-9 and a-z), but it can be related to anything, for example, the title of your Weight Loss Support Group, themes of your group, or anything else you like. Note, once you have decided on a URL for your Weight Loss Support Group it CANNOT be changed.

Open Access Support Group

Open Access support groups are open for any Extrapounds member to join. Users who want to join just have to visit the Support Groups Page and click the "Join this group" button displayed on the right of the screen.

Closed Access Support Group

If a support group has Closed Access no new members can join that group at that time. The support group members have decided to restrict membership to existing users only. A closed group can only be re-opened by its Administrator.

Restricted by Administrator Support Group

Groups that have "Restricted by Administrator" Access means that new members can only join if the group's administrator approves their request to be a new member of their group.

Categories and Tags

Categories and Tags are ways to define the interests of your group. The support group's Administrator can select 3 categories for their group, for each category they can add their own customized tag. See the example below:

Category: Sports & Exercise

Sub Category: Low Impact

Custom Tag: Pilates

Categories and tags are an easy way to see what a particular group is interested in and are used by members to search for groups that are relevant to their personal interests.

What’s the difference between Administrator, Moderator and Member?

The group's Administrator has maximum access rights. Each group has only one Administrator and only Gold members can be an Administrator. They have the ability to:

Update the group's profile
Determine access/viewing rights
Invite/approve/remove members
Edit/delete news, forum posts and quick messages
Grant other members administration rights

Moderator: the group's Moderators are members that have been given additional administration rights by the Group's Administrator. They may be given the ability to write and/or edit News and Quick Messages content.

Member: group members are able to view all content on their support groups page as well as post in the groups forum. The group's Administrator may have also granted them the ability to add News and use the Quick Messages function.

Weight Log

What is an Extrapounds Weight Log?

A Weight Log is where you can regularly record your changes in weight so you can see the progress you are making as the scales move. As you update your weight chart a graph is generated using your data so that you can easily see your progress over time.

Food Log

What is an Extrapounds Food Log?

The Food Log is where you can plan and record all the food you eat and see the calories you are consuming. Planning is one of the most important elements of weight loss and keeping a track of your food intake helps you identify where you need to modify your diet. Use it with the Extrapounds Activity Log to work out how much exercise you need to be doing to burn off the food you have eaten.

Activity Log

What is an Extrapounds Activity Log?

The Extrapounds Activity Log enables you to schedule and record the kind of exercises you do on each day. Many people find that planning an exercise program means they are more likely to commit to completing the activity and helps they stay on program.
Use the Activity Log with the Extrapounds Food Log to work out if you are doing sufficient exercise in relation to the amount of food you eat.

Body Log

What is an Extrapounds Body Log?

The Extrapounds Body Log is where you can record the measurements of different areas of the body as you lose weight. Many dieters feel frustrated when the scale isn’t moving, however this doesn’t mean they aren’t losing inches off their body. Muscle weighs more than fat meaning that even though you are getting fitter and slimmer your weight might not be dropping. For this reason it is important to not only record your weight, but also your body’s measurements throughout your weight loss journey.

Photo Albums

What are the Extrapounds Photo Albums?

Your Photo Albums are where you can save pictures to motivate you on your weight loss journey. Many people fail to notice the gradual day by day changes in their body whilst they are losing weight. Taking photos at regular intervals can be extremely rewarding and motivating as you actually see your figure changing shape.

How many photo albums can I have?

Gold members can create up to 5 Albums containing 10 photos each, so 50 photos in total. Silver members have 1 Album to which 10 photos may be uploaded.

Friends

How do I make friends at Extrapounds?

Aside from writing your blog the best way to make friends at Extrapounds is to leave regular comments on other member’s blogs and get involved in the support groups. You’ll soon find that your support and encouragement is returned.

Commenting on someone’s Blog

To leave a comment on another member’s blog click the ‘Comments’ link at the bottom of their post then complete the comment form.

How do I add Friends to my Friends List?

Add an EP member to your My Friends list either by searching for them on you Find a Friends page then clicking the 'Add' button under their profile, or by clicking the 'Add as Friend' option on your friend-to-be’s blog page.

Silver and Gold Membership

What is the difference between a Gold Membership and Silver Membership?

When all members join Extrapounds they are automatically entitled to a free Silver membership. However you may choose to pay a nominal fee to upgrade to a Gold account member. Read this page to find out about the extra features enjoyed by our Gold Members.

Privacy

Is my personal information available for others to see?

None of your personal contact information is made available for other people to see. This information remains private and only visible to you via your administration area whilst you are logged in.

Information about your weight loss progress will be made visible to Extrapounds visitors and members, this will include data you enter into your Food Log, Activity Log, Body Log, Weight Log, Photo Albums, Support Groups and Weight Blog.

I want to delete my account

Items can be deleted within your Administration sections by selecting the item and clicking the trash can next to where it is listed. Deleting the information from your administration sections will empty the data from the publicly viewable areas of Extrapounds such as your Weight Loss Blog and Photo Albums.

If you wish to terminate your account completely please contact us so we can tell you what to do next.

My question is not listed above

Please contact us with your question so that we may try to help you.