Introduction and life summary

JamesThorsen

Hi! This is my first post. I just have a few things I'd like to share as well as a few questions.

I'm 32 years old. Male - 5'5 - 162lbs.

Growing up I was very relatively fit. I was never stick skinny, but I was definitely in shape. I played sports in grammar school and became really active in skateboarding during my high school years. I'd say my average weight was about 140-150lbs during this time.

When I started college, I started drinking and smoking pot. I barely exercised, ate a lot and I gained significant weight that I carried around throughout my entire twenties. I'd say my average weight during this time was about 200lbs. Not cool.

Fast forward to about two and a half years ago...I hit thirty and decided I needed to change my lifestyle. I immediately cut out all soda and sugar drinks. I don't really drink much (1-2 alcoholic drinks a week). I go some weeks without drinking alcohol at all. Obviously, cut out the pot (never smoked cigarettes) - didn't have uncontrollable "munchies" anymore.

I dropped weight relatively quickly (about 6 months in time to about 150lbs. I incorporated cycling, running and walking into my routine, which helped me maintain that weight. I am a line cook, so I have a pretty physically demanding job. I'll usually have at least two days a week where I'm on my feet for 12hrs (+) a day.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but there were times when I didn't eat much and skipped meals. But generally, I ate pretty high octane food - so I wasn't starving myself entirely. I was just trying not to eat so much (my question for the forum is coming soon). My lowest weight was about 138lbs last Spring.

I moved into the suburbs from the city and I'm driving a lot more now. Naturally, I went up to about 162lbs. I'm now looking to lose about 15-20lbs because I think for my height, somewhere between 140-145lbs is best. I'm trying not to get into a catabolic state because I am doing a lot of cardio (and some strength training) to compensate for the change of environment (more driving, less walking).

I'm running into some problems on how to calculate the amount of food I'm taking in through "Myfitnessplanner" diet log. I think the food database is geared to people who had very "cut and dry" diets. I eat a lot of homemade foods made from food sources. What are some techniques people have tried to calculate their diet logs?

AFMOMX2

I use the recipe builder to figure out my homeade food. In the food section it's in the bar across the top,

klkarlen

Since I have not mastered the recipe builder function yet, I just input each ingredient individually.

jorge_ta83

Hello there.

I am new to MFP app too. I also mostly cook my own meals. Many of them from scratch. The recipe builder is a great tool to track my custom meals.

From there you can just add your recipe instead of individual ingredients.

Edit: If you get your recipes online like I do (Beginner cook here). There is a cool option where you just copy the web link where your recipe is hosted and MFP will try to "read" and match all the ingredients of your recipe. Very neat feature.