I'm new and I don't know what to do.

mckissickalaina

Hey! I'm new. I've tried numerous things to try and lose weight but nothing ever seems to work. Eating has always been my vice. And I am beyond ready to make a change to my lifestyle.

gigdeb

Hi - I'm new as far as the message boards are concerned. I started tracking my meals with My Fitness Pal on September 21st as so far I've lost 15.6 lbs. It has REALLY helped me be accountable and it's a blast to see that my daily exercise is giving me additional calories to use throughout the day. I have used the Shred Revolution Diet by Dr. Ian Smith as a guide - he promotes eating small, frequent meals and snacks throughout the day to keep your metabolism up and blood sugar at an even level - you can find his book available on-line through Amazon - for me, it's a smart, no nonsense, no weird foods or crap way to lose some weight in a relatively short period of time. Good luck to you.

mckissickalaina

Thanks! I am new as far as the whole app, and I'm not really sure how to use all of it's parts yet. I will have to check that book out, it seems simple enough. Good luck to you also.

AylaStryder

Welcome to MFP! I find it a really easy app to use, You log every meal into your food diary and change your food choices to keep in your deficit, I weigh all my food and non water drinks and log them all, Its important to drink plenty water, Eat clean and remember its a marathon not a sprint so you wont see results instantly That doesnt mean you wont get there though! best of luck

seltzermint555

I find the app almost impossible to use. I love the full site though and have lost 90 of my 135 lb lost from counting calories and tracking other things (especially sodium) here. Good luck!

lthur714

mckissickalaina wrote: »

Hey! I'm new. I've tried numerous things to try and lose weight but nothing ever seems to work. Eating has always been my vice. And I am beyond ready to make a change to my lifestyle.

Don't worry. I had the same problem. I love food! But since you are ready (as I was) and I know you can't wait to see the pounds come off (it may come slowly as it did for me), but if you use the MVP app (on a desktop computer - not the phone), you will see results.

cwolfman13

when i logged, i primarily went online and only used the app when i was out and about.

pro tips:
1 - invest in a food scale and weigh solids rather than trying to figure out how much 1 cup of chicken is or whatever...
2 - use the recipe builder for homemade recipes...do not use generic entries and/or use them sparingly in a pinch...i.e. "homemade lasagna"...that's just some rando's lasagna recipe and it may or may not be remotely close to your own recipe.
3 - be as accurate as possible when logging...find your actual product in the database...for meats, veg, etc tag it with "USDA"...i.e. "Chicken Breast - USDA" and then pick the option that best matches what you're doing...i.e. raw weight, cooked, etc.
4 - log everything
5 - be disciplined
6 - be consistent
7 - be patient
8 - don't crash your diet
9 - hit your calorie targets
10 - win

257_Lag

Log everything, even if it's a wild *kitten* guess. Don't lie to yourself.

Choose a reasonable calorie goal and be patient. Don't jump on the 1200 calorie wagon if you have a lot to lose. If you don't know what that might be, ask.