Where do I start?!

Ssumner2001

I need help. I've read hundreds of articles, blogs, and websites on weight loss but I don't know where to start. I have little motivation so doing too much at once isn't going to work for me. I don't eat a lot but what I do eat is usually prepackaged, processed food and I don't exercise at all. I have managed to cut out soda for the last week. Any tips and tricks that's helped you get started would be helpful.

Lshona

Hi! I would recommended cooking at home, & trying to cut out the processed food. Starting with a short walk and slowly increasing over time.

RachelWithoutAPaddle

One of the very best things I could do for myself when I got started was work with a trainer.

Meal-prepping has also been a great help for me. I get a large sense of satisfaction in making a weeks worth of healthy meals!

kommodevaran

I would suggest starting by stopping reading blogs etc, they're almost universally after your money and live off confusing people.

Then read the stickies, the "announcement" topics under this category.

Then stop looking for and waiting for motivation. It won't just come to you, and worse still, it will leave you when you need it most. Instead, make a good plan. A weightloss plan must include four things: 1) how you'll achieve a calorie deficit, 2) how to stick to it, 3) how to stick to it when things don't go as expected, and 4) how to measure your progress correctly. It should include as little else as possible.

Set up MFP with your stats and hit your calorie goal. But that's just too simple!? Losing weight is so simple, and that's all you have to do, but you have to do it for real and every day and for a long time, so it's not necessarily easy.

You can eat anything you want and lose weight, and you don't have to exercise to lose weight. But exercise is good for you, and a nutritious diet is good for you. Neither will in themselves make you lose weight, but it can be easier to stick to a calorie deficit if you exercise moderately and aren't terribly hungry.

Tips and tricks are so individual, mine may not help you at all. Cutting soda may or may not be helpful for you, you have to find out if the calories add up to something substantial, or missing it will make you want to quit your weightloss plan, or if cutting it out enables you to do something else that works better.

bkstein40

I used to think there was a miracle drug out there until I found MFP and started logging my calories and walking again. (3 weeks ago I ran my first marathon & have run 4 half marathon's and got 2 more yet this fall) You just have to take it one day at a time, it's a process that takes time, but eventually you will find what works best for you. No matter what form of exercise you find, find something that will make you feel good after you have completed it. I started my journey 2 years ago, today diet is no longer in my vocabulary, it's a life style change. Just know you can do this and believe in yourself

GlassAngyl

If you are overweight and not losing, you ARE eating a lot. At least, a lot of calories. You may not think you are (I didn't! Because I always skipped meals!) but once I logged what I did have, I was appalled! Some of these foods are calorie dense with little substance. Take peanut butter for instance.. 190 calories in just 2 tbs. most people don't measure out a perfect 2 tbs. They pile it on bread with some honey (another high calorie in a little amount food) or jelly, slap on another slice of bread and poof.. 600-800 calories in one sitting. Not much to EAT but LOADED with calories!

Oils.. Just.. check the back of olive oil.
Butter.. 100 calories per tablespoon.

See my point? You can easily consume a ton of calories in just a few bites if you are careful. What you need is to measure and log EVERYTHING.

Something else that is a shocker on calories. Ever had a snow cone or slushy? OUCH! And those small fries from mcD's? Ooof!

Ill be happy to help if you want. But yeah, don't read articles. They can't help you.

TeaBea

Weight loss is about taking in fewer calories than your body "spends."

The good news is smaller portions of your current food choices = fewer calories. The bad news is perhaps those smaller portions won't be satisfying and you may be miserable or fall off the wagon. One way to combat this is to eat "mostly" regular foods, but tweak your choices here and there. Examples - diet soda in exchange for regular soda - adding veggies to calorie dense dishes (such as mac'n cheese)......add cauliflower, reduce calories for the same serving size. Find these tweaks by measuring & logging your regular diet. This is a great learning experience. This knowledge will also help you maintain your new weight.

You don't have to exercise for weight loss. Exercise because you want to be a healthy person. Exercise and activity makes your body "spend" more calories so you don't have to cut as much.

SoulOfALion5

Ssumner2001 wrote: »

I need help. I've read hundreds of articles, blogs, and websites on weight loss but I don't know where to start. I have little motivation so doing too much at once isn't going to work for me. I don't eat a lot but what I do eat is usually prepackaged, processed food and I don't exercise at all. I have managed to cut out soda for the last week. Any tips and tricks that's helped you get started would be helpful.

I'm in no way expert in this as I am currently overweight and novice to this. However I got my username from a quote that has stuck with me. "BACK2BASICS". I am going right back to basics, cutting down my portion sizes, cutting down on junk food and begining to walk regularly at I can. If I can give you any advice, Go slow and be patient. Wish you luck in your way to healthier lifestyle.

Ready2Rock206

Just start logging. It is a real eye opener. Don't worry about big changes all at once. Log, log, log - you'll see where the changes need to be made.

dani_1977

Doing too much in the beginning, can sometimes be over whelming. So I say take a few things at a time. You already have started with the soda and coming here. The next thing I would do is start logging your food, weighing, practicing portion control, logging honestly. Make sure your setting for weight loss are not extreme, 1/2 lb, or 1 lb. Or just to get in the habit or logging your for put your settings for maintenance . Once you start logging your food, you see where items need to be cut. You say you eat a lot of packaged food, good in a away because you will be able to scan most of your food with the app.. bad because you will see most packaged foods have way too many calories.

Ssumner2001

All of you have very good things to consider, thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate the insight from everyone. I will do my best to log, that seems to be the general consensus of everyone. I want to start walking, my excuse is I work a lot and when I get home I don't want to leave. Guess I need to get over that.

Ready2Rock206

Ssumner2001 wrote: »

want to start walking, my excuse is I work a lot and when I get home I don't want to leave. Guess I need to get over that.

Buy a dog. Mine is very demanding about his nightly walk - won't let me get away with skipping it!

theowlbox

Ssumner2001 wrote: »

I want to start walking, my excuse is I work a lot and when I get home I don't want to leave. Guess I need to get over that.

Can I just offer an alterative approach?

You are doing a good job. You have done a lot of reading and you're here asking for help. That is a great start! Good job!

You eat processed food and you're tired and unmotivated. You see a mountain of work ahead of you and all the advice you got was to knuckle down and do some work. Can I just offer this thought? It's not that hard. I swear, it's not horrible, it's not awful, it's just a stack of new habits that you create over time. You can absolutely make it terrible by beating yourself up over not being perfect and comparing yourself to other perople, and by hanging out on the internet where you never know what kind of info you are getting. But take it slow and be nice to yourself.

Try one habit: logging food. When you're able, add weighing yourself once a week. When you have those down, you are ready to make any changes because you will be great at logging your intake and measuring progress. When you are good at this, feel free to tinker. But peiple lose weight without exercising all the g d time. And people lose weight eating processed food every g d day. So if that's all you can get it up to do, great. I bet you a dollar you'll be more motivated and interested in exercise once you are able to see the effect of your actions and feel like you have some agency. Doing what you can do consistently is better than the all or nothing self flagellation many people engage in. Don't stress yourself. Inch your way forward lady.

Gould118

That's good that you have cut out the soda! Drink lots of water! Keep going for walks and slowly increase the distance you go each day!

JJS1979

RachelWithoutAPaddle wrote: »

One of the very best things I could do for myself when I got started was work with a trainer.

Meal-prepping has also been a great help for me. I get a large sense of satisfaction in making a weeks worth of healthy meals!

This^^^ Get a trainer. Try to find someone online as they will be cheaper and will provide workout and meal plans. I did this when I first started as I was just like you, too much information and I had no idea what to do with it all. Goodluck!

Brabo_Grip

By a food scale.

Religiously logg and be honest.

Eat at a deficit.

You will lose weight. How quickly you do depends on how much of a deficit you maintain. It's simple. (It's just not easy).

-down 90+ lbs and in the best shape of my life at almost 43.

KKowalski2008

I ate the same way you do and had zero motivation to try any exercises or put any effort into a diet. I started slow. First week cutting all fast food, the second week cutting all added sugar from food. I still had been drinking sodas everyday but on the third week I had completely cut off sodas and switched to mostly water with no calorie flavor enhancer. This week I am starting to do a few exercises, only a few simple ones first and will do more and longer after I get into a routine. Just take it slow and find a groove that works for you. I hope you are able to get started!! Keep us updated on your progress.

Rickster1967

A few tips from my 63 days using the app. Promise you I was WAY worse than you are now:

Use the app & log your food intake: this will show you exactly where your calories are coming from. Over time you'll be able to swap out some of the low nutrient density (empty calories) foods for nutritious foods that really satisfy

Set a daily calorie intake target, one that will not leave you feeling hungry, and aim to hit it every day. Don't vary the calories.

If you find yourself getting hungrier over time (a sign that your metabolism is increasing) then bulk your meals out with low calorie foods like mushrooms, cabbage, lettuce

gradually increase your activity level, start going for a walk even 10 minutes counts. Try climbing flights of stairs or step ups and record those cals burned on the app

take measurements like neck, upper arm, calf, thigh as well as bust, waist and hips - you will get motivation from knowing you're getting smaller all over

MOST importantly: buy & cook whole foods from scratch. Ditch the packet & processed foods Ditch as much sugar from your diet as possible. You can eat sweet things like blueberries & cherries which are low in sugar.

A food I found really helpful is the 0% fat Greek Yoghurt which is high in protein, low in cals and you can eat loads of it. Two brands I use are : Fage 0% and Milbona Skyr. Check them out.

Take this from me: you do not need to drop calories to lose weight. Eat filling, nutritious whole foods, consistently with the same number of calories and increase your activity level. I been at it two months and am totally transformed following this plan - which I got from a top 'body transformation' coach. I couldn't see it working at the start.

Oh, yes, that reminds me. He worked out my menus BEFORE I started so I knew exactly what foods I had to shop for. You could do the same. Use the recipe calculator to work out a breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for one day thatcomes to your calorie total. Then shop for the ingredients to make those meals.

I'm pretty much eating the same breakfast every day, have a variation of the same lunch every day and a batch cooked (chilli, stew, curry) with rice for dinner. Then the yoghurt with cooked fruit for snacks.

Good luck! Eat well, eat fresh, eat nutrient dense foods. You can do this.

theabsentmindednurse

You have been given some very sound advice.

I have been an MFP user for two years with a massive 145 pounds to lose.
I felt overwhelmed. What I did what realise from day that this was a MARATHON NOT A SPRINT!.
By making a lot of small changes over a lifetime I would achieve my goals.
This is a lifetime journey. You will learn as you go along.

I have found personally, that meal planning and prepping has helped me achieve many of my goals. I still have 50 pounds to go, but I will get there. It just takes time.

You just keep learning, growing and pushing.
Good luck

animatorswearbras

Make simple changes you can adhere to you don't have to exercise and you can lose on processed food, as long as you log honestly (even condiments, drinks and weigh everything, do not eyeball) and stay at a deficit that's it. Maybe start at 1 pound a week loss and see how you get on?

Maybe further down the road you can change another habit to eating home-cooked food or adding some exercise but for right now just make one change, stick to it and ease yourself into it.

You won't see changes overnight it may be over a year until you get close to goal but as long as you give yourself realistic goals and expectations and don't try to punish yourself by over restricting or making impossible life style changes all in one go, you've got this. x Good luck and welcome to MFP. xxx

Ssumner2001

Such good advice from all of you, thank you. Do you all have any favorite recipes that have helped you along the way? I need something cheap and quick.