Overwhelmed with diet regulations

miakristmann

So I hear people constantly talking about macronutrients and such and carbs and fats and every other term that breaks down food.... This really really overwhelms me and I have no idea what the heck to do. Like I'm just trying to loose a little weight... Not sure if I should be worried about this stuff?? Can someone help me out and explain all of this? I took a health class so I understand most of it, but I just don't know what to do!

Sabine_Stroehm

Why not try: eating less, moving more. Let MFP guide you. But be realistic, if you have a "little weight" to lose, then set MFP to lose something like 1/2 a pound a week.
Don't worry about perfection with your macros etc, just eat a balanced, healthy, varied diet and eat some treats from time to time.

barbecuesauce

For weight management, calories trump everything. You could eat 100% of a macronutrient and lose weight the same as you would with a balanced diet. If you want to build and maintain muscle, get plenty of protein. If you do a lot of cardio, eat plenty of carbs. Fats are good for brain, skin, and digestive health.

wannabeskinnycat

Check out the sticky posts - chocka full of great info. To lose weight you need to eat less calories than you burn and move more. That's about it. The problem is once you get a hold of that you just have to take it further and want to eat the healthiest you can. That's where the rest of it comes in.

Don't worry - you'll pick things up as you go along and you may not want to pay any heed to all of it.

Enjoy your journey and take it easy on yourself x

losingitseattle

I know right? Good news is there isn't one size fits all but it can take a while to figure out what fits you! If you to the Community link there is a Getting Started board. The Sexypants link is a good one.

I also highly recommend any of the links on the Scoobysworkshop.com page.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

I am not a bodybuilder but I am an athlete and fitness instructor. I think his info is sound.

I also like the eatmore2weighless website and one called girlsgonestrong . Lots of good ones out there to educate yourself when you are ready.

The key to long term health and weight maintenance is consistency of eating less than your body uses. So getting food figured out. Oversimplified it's calories in calories out (CICO). Applies to all but the unicorns (those whom defy science of whom there are truly a few). Separately but related you could consider fitness goals. You don't have to exercise to lose weight but if you do you can eat more and you will reap all kinds of health benefits by doing so.

I would nail down a TDEE personally (see Sexypants or Scoobys) and go from there but others will tell you to follow MFPs base and eat back varying amounts of exercise calories. I workout a bunch and find eating a steady rate of calories I can count on each day works for me (so technically I will eat at TDEE-15% on a rest day whereas MFP would give me 1200 calories). It's a matter of preference so find what works for your personality type,

Here's a good link on diet myths debunked.

http://www.acefitness.org/fitness-fact-article/2677/diet-myths-debunked/

You will see they recommend a wide macronutrients range. Again fitness goals come into play here!

Good luck!

ncboiler89

miakristmann wrote: »

So I hear people constantly talking about macronutrients and such and carbs and fats and every other term that breaks down food.... This really really overwhelms me and I have no idea what the heck to do. Like I'm just trying to loose a little weight... Not sure if I should be worried about this stuff?? Can someone help me out and explain all of this? I took a health class so I understand most of it, but I just don't know what to do!

If you are just looking to lose weight don't make it harder than what it is. Just eat fewer calories than you burn. If you eat a decently balanced diet you are going to get the proper nutrition. Don't overthink it.

malibu927

Get calorie counting down first, then if you're inclined to, work on how you want to distribute your macros.

999tigger

miakristmann wrote: »

So I hear people constantly talking about macronutrients and such and carbs and fats and every other term that breaks down food.... This really really overwhelms me and I have no idea what the heck to do. Like I'm just trying to loose a little weight... Not sure if I should be worried about this stuff?? Can someone help me out and explain all of this? I took a health class so I understand most of it, but I just don't know what to do!

No juts keep it simple and do the basics well. That means focus on the consistent deficit and then you will lose.

losingitseattle

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

Why not try: eating less, moving more. Let MFP guide you. But be realistic, if you have a "little weight" to lose, then set MFP to lose something like 1/2 a pound a week.
Don't worry about perfection with your macros etc, just eat a balanced, healthy, varied diet and eat some treats from time to time.

Agree wholeheartedly! If you have a little to lose setting it to a half lb a week gets you fat loss most likely. That's what I do when I need to lose a few. It's actually pretty painless than way.

MommyL2015

malibu927 wrote: »

Get calorie counting down first, then if you're inclined to, work on how you want to distribute your macros.

This.

gainwait

If thats a recent photo of you and you have logged that you only want to lose 5lbs I would not get hung up on macros as such yet. If you have had blood test etc for general health and they are all fine then just watch your calories and do some exercise whether it be cardio or weights or both. The only thing I try to watch is my added sugar intake. Good luck.

Psychgrrl

Mia,

Part of this process to sustain the changes you want to make is being patient with figuring out what works best for you, what your goals are and how everything fits into your life. And forgiving yourself when you fall off track. Because you will--we all have. Nobody's perfect. And if you start by giving yourself a little grace, you'll be a lot happier in the long run.

PAV8888

If this is a recent picture of you, you may want to avoid the whole "diet" mindset and just concentrate on moving a little bit more and perhaps developing some fitness and strength goals.

The picture does not show someone in need of restricting their food intake....

Docbanana2002

If you want to lose a little weight, just set a modest goal like a half pound a week on MFP and eat a little less than you burn. It's that simple... yet just implementing that can be challenging and a lifestyle change for many people. So start there and just make choices based on whatever you want to eat that is within your calorie goals. When you get that figured out, then you can set other goals if you want.

For example, after you have some data for a week or two you might see something that you want to change or improve about your nutrition. Maybe your natural choices aren't giving you enough protein, so you might make a plan to exchange a few carby items for some higher protein items. Or maybe that's fine but you are never getting enough vitamin C. So vow to grab some oranges at the store next week and eat one daily at breakfast! Maybe you are going for runs and feeling too tired... then work on meal timing or optimizing macros for your running. These are all going to be individual things that you tweak for your own purposes, there isn't a one-size-fits all "right way".

For me personally, I joined MFP at a time when I was already successfully losing weight but had recently switched to a vegetarian diet, with plans to go vegan. My personal goal was not to change my weight loss plan which was working just fine, but to track calories online (instead of on an Excel spreadsheet) so that I could also have the nutritional data to make sure my diet was properly balanced. So I tracked for a while and realized that my protein (everyone worries about my protein...) was just fine but iron was a disaster. So I did some research and worked on tweaking my diet to include more iron rich foods. As I went vegan I watched my calcium levels which I knew to keep an eye on.... but then realized I had inadvertently cut too much fat and protein out of my diet!! I was getting a lot of it from cheese and eggs, I guess. So I started doing research, trying recipes, adding in more plant based fats/proteins to balance things out a bit. This process wasn't an overnight thing, I've been on this road for nearly a year, just tweaking things as needed.

Bottom line: It is an individual thing based on your habits and goals and situation. Don't get bogged down, just start with the basics--losing weight which is your primary goal--and then as you see things to optimize and have the interest in doing so, set a new goal.