Bloviations on my MFP-versary

sheldonklein

I started logging on MFP 365 days and 70+ pounds ago, I thought it was a good time for some (not so deep or original) observations.

1. MFP is an amazing resource, both as a logging tool and for the discussion boards. I could not have lost my weight without it.
2. Healthy weight loss is much simpler than I ever thought. For the vast majority of people the only rules needed are to eat a reasonably varied diet at a caloric deficit based on MFP's recommendations and honest and reasonably accurate logging.
3. As a corollary, many people on these boards seem to struggle or fail by making it more complicated. There is no need to reinvent the wheel of determining calorie targets when MFP does it for you and no need for the recurrent "How many calories should I be eating" posts. There is no need to be worrying about BMR, or even understanding what it is -- BMR is the source of endless confusion on these boards. There is no need to eat special foods and no need for precisely tracking macros (i.e., eat a reasonably varied diet is sufficient for most people and purposes).
4. As elsewhere in life, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good is very good advice. You won't fail because not every slice of bread in the loaf weighs the same or because nutritional information on a package has a margin of error or because you don't know exactly how many calories are in your mom's beef stew. Good enough is good enough.
5. All that said, there is too much of a one size fits all orthodoxy on these boards. For many people, "eat what you've always eaten, just in smaller portions," is not good, or at least not the only sensible, strategy. I was eating north of 3,000 calories/day at the outset (I tracked for several weeks before actually starting dieting). Just eating half of what I was eating would not work because I would not be satiated. That doesn't mean that you need "never eat ice cream again" rules, but for many of us, mere portion control is not enough. Similarly, the prevailing hostility to meal replacement diets and other short time strategies because you don't learn how to eat for the rest of your life is overblown. I started out on a hospital supervised meal replacement plan before successfully cutting over to a "normal" diet, and I am glad I did. There is no magic in the meal replacements -- CICO always rules -- but they can be a short term tool for controlling your calories in a healthful way while focusing your mental energy on other aspects of weight loss. It's not hard to cut over to a normal diet once you have the confidence that the weight will come off. They are training wheels, so to speak, and it is silly to say that someone learning to ride a bike should not use training wheels because they will never learn to ride a bike.
6. You don't need motivation, other than, perhaps, the motivation of not breaking a promise to yourself and of not failing. Weight loss is one of the few important things in your life that is entirely in your control. Don't let an easy victory slip away.

Crochet180

Well said.

mpeters1965

Congratulations on your weight loss! I agree with all you said.

SlimJimIII

Great Points- as said above "well said"- thanks for your post!

Chabela53

Great post! I agree with your observations. Portions are important, but also for me...I have to stay away from trigger foods. My mantra is the same as the one I used when I quit smoking cold turkey. "I want to be healthy and fit MORE than I want that extra helping....or dessert....or whatever will trip me up!

Thank you for your post!

crosbylee

Great job and well put. Thanks.