Am I doing it correctly? Looking for input.

Britxclarity

Hello, I've been on MFP since around April 1st so I am completely new to it. I have opened my diary so anyone can view it. I am wanting to know if I am doing it correctly and if people could answer some questions for me please? I will explain some things though. Like the weigh I input food. and such.

The critical things I know
- I need to have a food scale. ( I do not have one yet)
- And its okay to eat back half of your exercise cals
- MFP is set up to give you a specific cal intake number that way you're body will always be in a deficit if you can't exercise.



-The way I log my food.
So for example.. last night and today for lunch I had chicken tacos - homemade. I bar scanned every ingredient that went into the building of the taco. Then a few nights ago I had a Cesar salad for dinner - I again bar scanned and measured with tablespoons/teaspoons according to the serving size.Then I build my salad. My question is:
*Am i suppose to then weigh the salad and add it too? or am I fine if i log all of the ingredients. Again I don't have a food scale yet.

- My Exercise
I use a treadmill at my home, and also my gazelle - I recently started doing a Walk away the pounds tape.
I honestly.. do not know how to log this accurately. Someone told me to log it as aerobic general and that's what I've been doing - They have been supportive and helping me on here which I am very grateful for. Someone else told me "no no that's wrong" and to use one of the walking options listed. The only only problem is.. there isn't one listed for a treadmill - or a dvd that consist of different elevated speeds of walking. and for me since I am very new to exercising in general even at a slow pace on the treadmill gets my heart bumping my body warm and I work up a sweat. its just had to believe that I should be using the 18.5 walking option though.

Reason i'm asking these silly questions is. cause I want this to work for the long run. and for it to work. I need to make sure I am doing it correctly. I am hoping that I am within a calorie deficit

girlviernes

Welcome!

Do go ahead and get a food scale. They are about $20 for a decent digital scale (make sure it has a tare or zeroing function and measures grams and ounces).

I think how you are logging everything is fine. Just make sure you are measuring and adding each ingredient.

Regarding exercise, you can use walking for the treadmill and tapes. It's not really going to be exact anyways, so just pick one that seems about right to you. Then let yourself eat back about half of the calories.

You'll see how things are going when you weigh yourself. That will let you know if you are being sufficiently precise. So get the food scale as soon as you can, keep doing what you are doing, and keep track of your body weight over the next couple of weeks to see how your program is working. If you aren't losing weight then you can try eating back fewer calories, increasing your precision with a food scale, or post here for more advice

Liftng4Lis

First, get the food scale! (Walmart 15$).
When using the recipe builder, it asks you for the number of servings. If you're making tacos and they will feed 4 people, that's 4 servings.
As far as exercise calories, yes, MFP is designed to eat back those calories and most eat a portion to compensate for miscalculations.

Britxclarity

girlviernes wrote: »

Welcome!

Do go ahead and get a food scale. They are about $20 for a decent digital scale (make sure it has a tare or zeroing function and measures grams and ounces).

I think how you are logging everything is fine. Just make sure you are measuring and adding each ingredient.

Regarding exercise, you can use walking for the treadmill and tapes. It's not really going to be exact anyways, so just pick one that seems about right to you. Then let yourself eat back about half of the calories.

You'll see how things are going when you weigh yourself. That will let you know if you are being sufficiently precise. So get the food scale as soon as you can, keep doing what you are doing, and keep track of your body weight over the next couple of weeks to see how your program is working. If you aren't losing weight then you can try eating back fewer calories, increasing your precision with a food scale, or post here for more advice

Thank you so much for the kind advice! I was scared I was going to get targeted with attacks haha. and Yes I am getting one on my next pay day. Thank you again @girlviernes. I am going to be weighing myself every two weeks. Just so I can give my body time to change.. May 1st is the big day. Trying to work discipline and wait till that day is hard

malibu927

The only thing I would suggest after looking through your diary is to aim for the amount MFP gives you. Since you have a lot to lose, it'll be easier to pull from your fat stores, but you could reach a point where you're so exhausted because you aren't fueling your body. Now, since you don't have a scale yet, you're most likely eating more than what is logged (I just mean the amounts, not that you're leaving foods out), but you should be aiming for the 2400.

SueInAz

It sounds like you're on the right track. I'll add one suggestion: measure yourself as well as weighing every few weeks. Sometimes when the scale isn't moving you're still dropping inches and, frankly, I think the inches are more important. Every little bit of success is motivational!

Britxclarity

Thank you both @SueinAz and @malibu927. And yeah that is my biggest fear Malibu.. that since I don't have a scale that my measurement may not be on point - and they might be a little bit more than what I am logging(still small portions though) . and thats why I try not to aim for the 2400. Just to give it head room if need be. That and I'm actually feeling full and content so I don't eat.

I did measure myself! thank you for remiding me Sue, I will do that again once I do the weigh in as well.