Where do I start?!
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Ssumner2001 wrote: »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.
One thing that may help is if you start swapping out some of what you already eat with other foods. So if you buy ready made meals, also buy some veggies (fresh, frozen or tinned, but if you go with tinned make sure they're not in sugared or salted water). When you make dinner, have half the ready meal (put the other half in the fridge as a leftover), and supplement the rest with the veggies. That way you're still getting what you know works, but you're also adding bulk without adding too much in the way of calories or time investment. This may also get you a little more comfortable in the kitchen (if you aren't already). Cooking all your food from scratch is totally doable, but not without the correct tools and preparation. I would make that a long-ish term goal personally (and I am in a home-cooked meal household).
What sorts of things are you eating now? Once you've logged them, and you know what you're putting into your body, you can start to think about how to tweak that (as said above).
But to echo what so many others have said: don't try to change everything now. Willpower is a finite resource, just like time is. Make little changes in the right direction, stick with them and add to them*, and you will find what works for you. That will be the major thing, when you start making this journey yours.
*In my experience, one positive change leads to another. I keep finding more things I want to try. Part of it is that success is pretty addictive. Give yourself time to succeed at one thing - logging is a really good way to start - and see where it leads.2 -
For me bags of salad and low fat dressing (I like caesar and balsamic) and bags of microwave veg to pad out my meals. I just have more or less the same food I had before but smaller portions and pad out the plate with low cal veggies. So if I have spaghetti bolognese I just have half a portion and a salad, if I have a curry I'll have less rice and have it on a big bag of spinach and mint yoghurt, if I have a meat starch and veg I'll have less of the starch like potatoes and have loads of low cal veg with gravy.
I make swede and carrot mash instead of white potato mash and add a bit of low fat marge instead of butter, also I've swapped out burgers and sausages for Linda McCartney vegetarian sausages and vegetarian pulled pork burgers even though I'm not veggie (I'm from the UK so don't know different country brand availability) they taste really good especially considering the calories saved, and have quite high protein (which is an important macro for feeling fuller longer)
I have options low cal hot chocolate for when I need a chocolate fix, and ice lollies in the freezer if I need a sweet dessert.
I personally have been aiming for 1400-1500 cals a day, it's a good enough deficit for me without feeling deprived or hangry
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Ssumner2001 wrote: »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.
One thing that may help is if you start swapping out some of what you already eat with other foods. So if you buy ready made meals, also buy some veggies (fresh, frozen or tinned, but if you go with tinned make sure they're not in sugared or salted water). When you make dinner, have half the ready meal (put the other half in the fridge as a leftover), and supplement the rest with the veggies.
Great minds think alike!
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What sorts of things are you eating now? Once you've logged them, and you know what you're putting into your body, you can start to think about how to tweak that (as said above).
So yesterday I had instant grits for breakfast, two hot dogs and a package of Raman noodles for lunch and some kind of cheese "pizza" thing for dinner. I drank one large soda and about a cup of Lipton green tea.
That pretty much sums up what I eat. I work in a convenience store in the evenings so whatever I can find there is usually what I eat. I do pay very close attention to what I eat there but it's usually hot dogs.
I do know how to cook, when I had my family I cooked regularly every day and always healthy food, I wanted my kids to eat healthy. Grilled or baked chicken, lots of fish, and beef and pork roasts. I'm single and by myself now so it's much easier to just do whatever or even not eat at all.
I wasn't as heavy back then as I am now but even back then I found it hard to lose weight. I find that I feel hungry a lot. Even not long after I eat a meal I feel like I want to eat something again. Maybe I'm not eating enough protein to get full?
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@Ssumner2001 The initial phases of a lifestyle change always seem overwhelming. Reaching out to the MFP Community is a good step.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.
As @kommodevaran saidkommodevaran wrote: »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.
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.
The stock advice I give is to go read the Stickies in the Forum's as there is a lot of good information that will help you.
This whole process is a science experiment and you are the subject of study, so take your time and continue to reach out to the MFP forum's for advice and feedback. Not sure where you live and I don't troll, but if you have a registered dietician available through your local Health services it's well worth the visit.
One of the best piece's of advice I received from the Dietician at our local Hospital was " Don't Drink your Calories".
It's so easy to consume a lot of calories with low nutritional value, a piece of fruit is better than a glass of juice, Iced Cappuccino's, Milk Shakes etc are calorie bombs.
It will take you a while to learn what works for you so be patient, work on one or two things at a time and they will become routine.
One thing that helped me (similar to @RachelWithoutAPaddle who started with a trainer) I signed up for an Adult Swim Club where I had 2 scheduled Swim Club Periods each week and one open time period dedicated to Swim Lesson/Swim Club members, once they are in your schedule and you have paid for them the motivation to get out and get value for your money. We actually had a discussion around this concept yesterday after Run Club. Whether it is Swimming, Running, Dog Walking ( volunteer to Dog walk for local SPCA ), Court Sports etc. Once you are scheduled it helps with motivation.
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If you go to the Getting Started Message Board you will see a list of posts at the top of page 1 that have Announcement and Closed below them these are commonly referred to as the Stickies. The one titled Most Helpful Posts - Getting Started (Must Reads) is exactly what it says.
This concept applies to all the Forum's.
Here are some of the direct Links.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300312/most-helpful-posts-food-and-nutrition-must-reads#latest
http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/a-beginners-guide-to-your-metabolism/
http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/quick-easy-guide-creating-calorie-deficit/
This concept of Sticky posts applies to all the Message Boards so when you have a little free time go explore.
There is also an evolving forum about Old Posts that is a good resource.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10260499/i-like-old-posts-and-i-cannot-lie/p1
Follow this chart as a General Guide:
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When it comes to the MFP pre-defined calorie burns most of them appear to be higher than other sources.
So if you start to log exercise calories do the experiment, eat back 3/4 or 1/2 of the estimated Calories Burned for at least a 3-4 week period and then analyze and adjust. It's important to do it over a longer time period as we all have natural body rhythm fluctuations that will affect our weight.1 -
Water, water, water! Limit or drop the caffeine altogether. Drop all sweetened drinks. Just drink water and herbal tea. Start walking. Don't worry about speed or distance. Just move. Once you have that down...
Clean eating and moving more will help more than anything. Once I cut refined sugar and wheat out of my life and adopted a regular exercise schedule, the weight finally started budging. My scale is actually moving in the right direction again. The numbers are going down slowly, but they're consistently moving. Pretty impressive for a chick in her late 40s.
Refined sugar is addictive and wreaks total havoc on the body. It's hard to break the habit, but once you do you'll feel so much better.5 -
Processed food is so easily digestible it gives you a spike than a crash so you usually are hungry again soon after (processed food companies know what they're doing) and I think some of it is even addictive because of the spike you get (I smoke cigarettes and I do feel I crave certain foods like I do cigarettes sometimes), complex carbs and protein will fill you for longer so if you can prepare your own meals and take in your own lunch (even just healthier sandwiches) you may find it easier and feel better and fuller. x
Do you have a day off a week you could cook a batch of nutricious food and perhaps portion it off and freeze for the week? Do you have a slow cooker throw some chicken veg and sauce in and have a meal ready for when you get back from work? 2 -
Ssumner2001 wrote: »What sorts of things are you eating now? Once you've logged them, and you know what you're putting into your body, you can start to think about how to tweak that (as said above).
So yesterday I had instant grits for breakfast, two hot dogs and a package of Raman noodles for lunch and some kind of cheese "pizza" thing for dinner. I drank one large soda and about a cup of Lipton green tea.
That pretty much sums up what I eat. I work in a convenience store in the evenings so whatever I can find there is usually what I eat. I do pay very close attention to what I eat there but it's usually hot dogs.
I do know how to cook, when I had my family I cooked regularly every day and always healthy food, I wanted my kids to eat healthy. Grilled or baked chicken, lots of fish, and beef and pork roasts. I'm single and by myself now so it's much easier to just do whatever or even not eat at all.
I wasn't as heavy back then as I am now but even back then I found it hard to lose weight. I find that I feel hungry a lot. Even not long after I eat a meal I feel like I want to eat something again. Maybe I'm not eating enough protein to get full?
So please bear in mind that I'm not an expert, just another working mum, but here are my observations:
- a quick online comparison of instant grits with oatmeal told me that per 100 g you've got almost 350 kcal in the grits versus about 70 kcal in the oatmeal. So right there you're taking in more energy and probably not getting as much out of it. For lunch you had two hot dogs and a package of Raman noodles, which in and of themselves aren't necessarily horrible, but there's going to be a lot of sodium (as well as other stuff I can't even spell), and again not a huge bang for your nutritional buck. Ditto on the pizza thing, only adding in a bunch of sugars as well.
- You've got almost no veggies. Vegetables are a brilliant way of filling up without loading on calories.
- It sounds like you are probably eating as quickly as you possibly can, which is an easy trap to fall into. Try to think about how your day is structured, and figure out if you can allow at least 15 minutes, once your food is ready, to actually eat it. When you're concentrating on the texture of the food in your mouth, the flavour on your tongue, you will probably not want to stick with the convenience food.
- Do you enjoy cooking? If you do, think about the food you made when you were feeding many mouths, and what might be able to be frozen in single-serving portions. If you don't, then start looking at how your grocery store can help you out.
- I'd be willing to bet that a good bit of why you're still hungry after you've eaten is because you're not feeding your body what it needs. You're filling it up, but with what? It's sort of like throwing sand at a pinwheel: yeah, sure, it might make things happen, but it's not what the pinwheel needs to really GO.
- Finally, my challenge to you is to try bringing food to your convenience store job for a week. Take notes. See what you need to do to prepare for that week, what you can stand eating after having been behind the counter, right next to the baked goods (if it's anything like the convenience store near where I live...) and what you'd do different. Then build out from there. It sounds like time is probably your scarcest resource, but you can do this. It takes plotting and planning, but it can be done.
- (ETA) RE: 'I find that I feel hungry a lot.' You may be dehydrated. Our bodies sometimes make us think they're hungry when actually they're thirsty. Be sure you're drinking water (while other things will hydrate you, they may also be adding other stuff you don't want) before you eat, especially if you've fairly recently eaten a meal. Also bear in mind that it can take 20 minutes (or more!) for our bodies to realise that they're not hungry after being fed (sounds like my son...), so have that water and check back in with yourself 20 minutes later.
I really hope this helps. Feel free to friend me if you'd like more suggestions or just a cheerleader. I've been in the 'living on my own, working 3 jobs' place, it's not easy. You can do this. You've totally got this. In little steps, but you'll get there.1 -
Hey katsheare agree with everything you say although dry weight of grits and oatmeal will be nearly identical give or take calorie-wise, 100g of oatmeal isn't 70 cals that figure's maybe the prepared cals with water xxx However whole oats will keep you fuller longer because again it is a complex carb and takes longer to digest. I had to look up instant grits because we don't have it in the UK and it seems to be processed cornmeal?
Anyhoo as I said you can diet on processed food but it will be easier if you can make a few changes (you don't have to totally eat clean even if it's just 2 out of 3 meals you try to prepare yourself?) you won't feel so constantly hungry, perhaps that should be your first step rather than restricting cals just try to make some easy homemade meals and see if you can get a routine going? You will feel fuller on less. x2 -
Time is definitely a commodity that I don't have a lot of. However, I could do better. I don't drink as much water as I should but I'm starting to do better with that. I'm in the process of making a grocery list for my shopping on Friday, I find that I buy food then don't take the time to prepare it. I think using my CrockPot more would be beneficial to me as well.1
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Ssumner2001 wrote: »Time is definitely a commodity that I don't have a lot of. However, I could do better. I don't drink as much water as I should but I'm starting to do better with that. I'm in the process of making a grocery list for my shopping on Friday, I find that I buy food then don't take the time to prepare it. I think using my CrockPot more would be beneficial to me as well.
Meal planning can be very helpful in this predicament, I plan out what meals I am going to have for the following week on a Wednesday, I use the plan to work out a shopping list and only buy what I need, I prep my food on my day off work usually 5 lunches and a couple of dinners (freezing leftovers for another week so I have a bit of variety).
For example last Sunday I made:
A batch of spicy carrot & lentil soup (cooked carrots, onion, garlic, chill & chicken stock - blitzed in food processor and cooked lentils added after), doesn't take much effort, is made in a half-hour and makes 6 portions.
Some Salmon Fishcakes (Large tin of red salmon, mayo, mustard, egg and breadcrumbs blitzed in food processor and made into patties) - Makes 3-4 dinners can be refrigerated for a couple of days or frozen and defrosted later.
2 x Chicken & Quinoa salads, cooked the Chicken whilst I was making the soup using seasoned cooking papers (20 mins) and cooked the Quinoa whilst I was making the salmon fishcakes, added some spinach and some of the green lentils I made for the soup.
In the freezer from last week I have some leftover lamb meatballs, some Thai Green Curry and a portion of Mushroom soup I made last week.
So that is lunch and dinner sorted for Mon-Fri this week and some of next week in around 90 mins.
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make loads of friends on here and read their diaries to get inspiration for meals, tips and tricks
EAT WHOLE FOODS
batch cookingin the crock pot has been my saviour - I can make 8 portions in one go, eat one and freeze the rest (with a label), then just batch cook another lot
get an accurate scale, keep it at hand and weigh everything except lettuce and stuff like that which is all water anyway
you can do this come on! exciting discussion here
best wishes0 -
One of the things that helped me to finally succeed at this weight loss thing was doing it in a way that worked best for me. I hate to cook, and anything that required a lot of preparation or time in the kitchen would have eventually caused me to give up. So yes, I ate a lot of prepackaged foods on my work days. I still do. I'm lucky that my hubby does most of the cooking on my days off. Losing weight means eating at the correct calorie deficit. For some this may be low carb, others preparing home cooked meals, and for others it's about the convenience. Do what works best for you. I'm sure others mentioned, get a food scale, weigh and log your food. I lost 118 pounds and I've been maintaining for 3 1/2 years.
You do not have to cut out any food unless you choose to.
You do not have to only eat whole foods.
You do not have to "eat clean" which can mean many different things
You do not have to stop eating after a certain time of the day.
You do not have to eat breakfast unless you want to.
You do not have to kick start your diet.
You do not have to cleanse anything.
You do have to eat less calories than your body burns.5 -
Lots of great tips on here but the one that helped me more than anything was to set small goals and take it one step at a time. For instance, you started by dropping sodas, which is a great start! Some people can enjoy them in moderation in a calorie counting situation but they are triggers for some people to overeat (I know all too well). Maybe the next step would be to cook 2-3 meals at home one week or go walking a certain distance or time. Dip your toes in with a new goal every week and you will work out ways to incorporate your health ideas into your real life, as opposed to trying to turn on perfection with a second's notice.0
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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.
This one!! ^^ I'm a big fan of being kind to yourself. You say it's a lack of motivation; I say it's that you're wise enough to KNOW that drastic shifts won't do anything for you in the long run. And you know what? They probably won't. Eventually you'll pick up a handful of sustainable health-promoting habits and that's all you really need; it won't happen all at once though.0 -
@rickinnercirclebet You're right, this is exciting! Whoever suggested freezing the leftover CrockPot food, I don't know why I've never thought of that before. The thought of eating the same thing every day is kinda horrible for me. However, I could eat the same thing on the same day each week, not quite as horrible.
Someone had made the suggestion that I redo my profile, specifically my reason for being here. This was kind of an eye-opener. I realize that I don't have a specific reason for wanting to lose weight. There are many reasons why it's a good idea but I have nothing that I claim as my own. I feel that this is a major part of my lack of motivation, I don't care enough about any one thing. I will have to think on this some more.
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Ssumner2001 wrote: »@rickinnercirclebet You're right, this is exciting! Whoever suggested freezing the leftover CrockPot food, I don't know why I've never thought of that before. The thought of eating the same thing every day is kinda horrible for me. However, I could eat the same thing on the same day each week, not quite as horrible.
Someone had made the suggestion that I redo my profile, specifically my reason for being here. This was kind of an eye-opener. I realize that I don't have a specific reason for wanting to lose weight. There are many reasons why it's a good idea but I have nothing that I claim as my own. I feel that this is a major part of my lack of motivation, I don't care enough about any one thing. I will have to think on this some more.
do let us know how you go
make loads of friends on here, including me if you wish (I log every day), you'll get support and motivation plus tips and advice
use the recipecalculator on the app - add all the ingredients one by one and get a total for the whole lot
then you can decide how many calories you want in your portion and divide the batch into the correct number of exact portions (using the scale)
my advice is to bulk out everything with extra veggies to make the portion size larger (in weight) without adding many calories - this will add both bulk and nutrients to your dish
I add spinach, cabbage, mushrooms, capsicums (green red and yellow), courgette (zucchini) and whatever else I have. Keep the fat down and measure it (weigh or use volume). Use lean cuts like chicken breast fillet, rabbit, turkey breast fillet (I don't myself coz I dont like it), venison - you can eat more meat for the same calories of beef, pork or lamb (this is because they have less fat)
Get creative, enjoy your food, eat fresh whole foods, do not cut calories drastically rather eat your fill but make sure you have a deficit
You excited yet? Come on!0 -
I see that you live in Florida so I would suggest doing a lot of running on the beach and make drinking water your new favourite drink. Don’t even entertain the idea of eating anymore fast food or packaged meals. Go to the grocery find the produce/whole foods section. Let YouTube be your cooking channel there are a lot of healthy recipes on it and let’s face its a perfect guide for a novice. Add me if you like always here for support1
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