Your #1 tip for a Noob?

ditsyblond17

I am ready to change my life.

Can you help me? What are some things you would suggest for a beginner needing to lose a substantial amount of weight? Any cool tricks and tips from experienced weight loss experts?

anndelaney67

i found removing food from my diet gradually.e.g less sugar in coffee and less fizzy drinks more water intake,and i found writing everything i eat and drink down ,you'll be surprised what you do consume ,and it also makes you think do i really want it,and if i want a treat i go for a walk so ive burnt calories to have it,hope some off the tips work.

LKArgh

Stick to the amount of calories MFP gives you and do not try to stay under.
Log everything.
Use a food scale, do not estimate, do not use cups for solids, do not trust packages for what a serving is.

MissElectricEyeliner

The thing that helped me lose 60lbs so far was eating chicken almost every day as my main meal. It's low in calorie and fills me up because I have to feel full. An example is you could have one pack of ramen noodles or an 11.4 oz piece of chicken for 400 calories. It would have took me two packs of noodles (800 calories) to feel full versus the chicken. I've also been drinking more diet soda versus regular to cut calories. When I was in high school about four years ago I was drinking over 1000 calories just in soda alone every day, at this time I didn't understand calories. I've had people tell me not to eat certain things over and over, but I find moderation is key with me. I refuse to go cold turkey on anything as it causes me to relapse and go on a binging spree.

britishbeau

dont buy into the pills and quick fixes

LovingLife_Erin

Treat your calorie goal like a budget. Some days may be over, others under, but so long as it balances out at the end of the week, you'll lose weight. You'll find some things are too "expensive" to have all the time and others (veggies, etc.) are very cost effective. Eat what you want, but just keep your budget in mind.

Otherwise, be calm, weigh your food, and trust in the process.

Artemiris

1. Be Patient. Many times you will feel like you want the weight to come off at once, just be patient.
2. Use a food scale and weigh everything you put in your mouth.
3. Don't deprive yourself of the food you love.
4. Don't eat to little at the beginning, or you will probably end up binging and gaining the weight back.

Best of luck. It takes time to lose weight, but I promise you that if you use MFP and don't cheat yourself you will lose it.

TheBeachgod

Don't quit.

mw442

First two things I did. Stop eating and drinking crap. And get moving. Anything at all to begin with....

dinosaurparty

Motivation is overrated. It's awesome if you actively want to do something, but no one feels that way 100% of the time. Eventually you won't want to stick to your diet or get up and exercise - it happens to literally everyone. I think in that situation it's really tempting to be like 'I don't wanna', and sit back to wait for the Motivation Fairy to come along.

In reality, that's probably not going to happen. That's how you get complacent and discouraged, and that's so much worse than just not feeling motivated.

Keep going when it sucks, and soon it won't suck anymore. A bit of discipline is going to be 100% more important to you in the long run.

ditsyblond17

Thank you all for the great ideas!!! Motto of the day..."Don't give up!" And take it slow

kahicky

Don't buy into supplements, and all the suger free or low calorie stuff, it always made me feel crapy and bloated, and it was hard on the wallet get most of your nutrition from whole foods. Good luck

kristen6350

Everything in baby steps.
Learn to say "no". It's ok to tell others and yourself No.
Self control and patience
Learn to don't obsess about the scale.
Take monthly pics of your progress. It helps with getting to goal.
Weigh your food. Trust me. You wouldn't believe how much a serving is of some thing...
Learn to incorporate your calorie limit into every day life. Adjust for it. If you are going on with friends one evening, work out more in the morning or limit what you eat early.
Don't have too large of a deficient. Slow and steady wins this race and won't make you feel like crap.

PinkPixiexox

The only 'tip' for weight loss I can give you is this: Eat at a sensible calorie deficit. Track and weigh your food and trust the process. You can do this

msf74

It's two tips really:

1. find a way of eating which makes maintaining a consistent calorie deficit as easy as possible for you - this may take some experimentation and may well be different from other people
2. never give up

Sued0nim

Same as it was 18 months ago

Eat at a calorie defecit across the week
Move more

Read the beginners threads

Ignore all the woo in your head - avoid your next big weight loss idea - don't go from IF to low-carb to the next thing

focus on calories and calories alone

krithsai

1. Buy a food scale and measure obssessively
2. Buy a weighing scale and weigh yourself once a week(or however frequently you want)
3. Don't go below 1200 calories net a day
4. Keep coming back to the forums and shouting out for help if you find yourself slipping
5. Add a lot of friends. You need two types of friends - ones who're similar to you and then those who've been there and done that.
6. Set mini goals. 10 is a much smaller and a more attainable number than say, 50.
7. Celebrate mini goal achievements with non food rewards(pedicure, new purse, haircut, new sweater etc)
8. At the end of the day, it's calories in vs calories out. Don't stress out over your macros right now because it's not that important until you get to low BF%(protein is way more satisfying, in my experience)
9. Exercise if you feel like it. It'll allow you to eat a bit more and maybe help your depression.
10. There is no need for supplementing unless your doctor tells you to(I have to take a bunch of supplements unrelated to weight loss because I'm severely deficient)


I got carried away there! But those are my top 10 tips!

DeguelloTex

Eat less, move more. How you go about getting there is mostly personal preference, though you need to commit to making it happen.

mkakids

Decide on a goal that you want to try.....whether it's a certain amount of exercise. ....a certain type.....a certain calorie limit.....whatever.... make a decision and GIVE IT TIME. nothing works overnight

snickerscharlie

ditsyblond17 wrote: »

I am ready to change my life.

Can you help me? What are some things you would suggest for a beginner needing to lose a substantial amount of weight? Any cool tricks and tips from experienced weight loss experts?

No cool tricks, sorry.. You just have to eat less than you burn.

strong_curves

Be patient.
Be consistent.
Be realistic.
Don't compare your loss to others.
Use a food scale.
Baby steps when it comes to exercise, especially if you haven't exercised in years.
Lift some heavy *kitten* weights.

TuffChixRule

My #1 tip is two-fold: don't deprive yourself and plan ahead. You CAN fit sweets into your meal plan if you account for the calories. You also can fit going out to restaurants into your plan if you look at the menu online and decide what you want to get before you go. When I was first starting out I also pre-measured my snacks into single serving ziploc bags and would spend Sunday afternoon chopping and preparing my lunches for the work week. So far I've lost 26 pounds in a year, and I certainly could have lost more quicker but I wanted this weight loss to be sustainable and I did not want to feel hungry all the time.

brightsideofpink

Understand the science.
Understand yourself.

Those are the two keys for me. You have to understand calories in, calories out. Its the base.
You also have to realize that while the science apples to everybody, how they achieve a deficit can vary and you really need some personal introspection to figure it out. Some people will tell you that eating more often helps them stay the course. Others will tell you they like intermittent fasting. Others will say they have a hard time sticking to a calorie budget without added exercise calories. Others find it easier to avoid exercise altogether. Some will say its best to focus on one day at a time. Others find motivation with a longer term focus. Some people do well with making room for treats every day. Others may find treats to be 'trigger' foods and find it easier to avoid certain things completely.

After the science, figure out what works for you. Sounds obvious but I find it very important to find what works for YOU. It wasn't until I understand the answers to all above that I ever had consistent, long-term progress.

Meganthedogmom

Don't be too hard on yourself. You're not going to be perfect 100% of the time - when you have a bad day and go over your calories or sit out on your workout routine - that's okay, but only as long as you're not giving up. Only as long as you get back to it the next day, and forgive yourself. Now don't use this as an excuse to stop logging for weeks on end, but by all means give yourself permission to make mistakes.
I've been on MANY "diets" throughout my whole life. This is the only time I feel like I've truly succeeded, and changed for the better. Have I had some setbacks, off days, or even off weeks? Yes, but what's different about this time is I've picked myself up, brushed it off, and kept going. Always keep going.

Kalikel

I'm not an expert in weight loss, much less life-changing. But I'll give you my single weight-loss statement: Eat right, exercise and get enough sleep.

There's a lot to that, lol, but that's what it all boils down to.

Need2Exerc1se

My number one tip for someone new to weight loss would be to think about how sustainable any diet plan you choose is for you.

My number one tip for someone new to MFP would be to take everything on these forums with a grain of salt. Every single thing from every single poster.

debrakgoogins

ditsyblond17 wrote: »

I am ready to change my life.

Can you help me? What are some things you would suggest for a beginner needing to lose a substantial amount of weight? Any cool tricks and tips from experienced weight loss experts?

I'm no expert but I will say this, good for you and good luck in your new journey! Don't go crazy trying to incorporate an entirely new way of eating. Make small changes and learn portion control. If you learn to eat what you love but within your caloric allowance, you are much more likely to stick with it and be successful. Whatever changes you make, be prepared to make those changes for life, not just for a quick fix. If you can't imagine never having ice cream again, then be sure you eat ice cream in moderation. Make a lifelong commitment to a healthier you.

Weigh your food. You can buy an inexpensive scale at Walmart to begin weighing your food. It can be a very eye-opening experience to find out exactly how much or how little an ounce really is. Be sure to get a scale that has the "tare" option. What that means is that you can put a plate or bowl on the scale, hit the tare button and it puts the weight back to zero. Add the first food, log it, hit tare and then add the next item. This may sound like a lot of work but it can be 100's of calories a day if you are underestimating your food.

Find an activity that you enjoy and do it, as much as you can. If the only thing you can do right now is walk, get out and walk. If walking hurts, try aquasize at your local Y. Just get moving - you'll be amazed how quickly your stamina starts to improve.

CoffeeNCardio

LOG LOG LOG. In the beginning it will be hard to eat at your calorie level. It just will be. So try not to kill yourself over it. Take it one day, one step at a time. First step is just to make your logging as near to perfect as possible, even if you're eating over by 500 a day. Develop the logging habit, ideally logging foods BEFORE you eat them, rather than trying to remember how much later. Once logging is like breathing, then you focus hard on meeting your caloric intake goals. This will be easier if you are already good at logging, it's just gonna take some trial and error learning how to spread out your allowance throughout the day to keep from getting ravenously hungry. Imagine calories are like money: you wouldn't want to spend them all in one place would you? Then when you're meeting your goal consistently, add in some exercise. And log it. Then a while after that becomes habit, focus on WHAT you are eating. Try to get into the habit of making healthier choices, getting in your protein and fats, and carbs, and micronutrients. One step at a time. Slow and steady wins the race.

earlnabby

ditsyblond17 wrote: »

I am ready to change my life.

Can you help me? What are some things you would suggest for a beginner needing to lose a substantial amount of weight? Any cool tricks and tips from experienced weight loss experts?

Haven't you been around here for almost a year? I am sure I have seen you on the boards. Anyway, My best advice is to read. read, and do more reading. On the forum, read what those who have been successful have to say. Commiserate with other newbies, but look to those who are now where you want to be for how to get there, they have done it and have a wealth of knowledge to share. If someone is peddling something common sense tells you is wrong, check out their profile and see how much they have lost (and kept off). Most of the woo peddlers on here have been here for a while and have not lost much, if anything.

Also, change one thing at a time. Start eating regular meals instead of eating when you feel like it. Then work on portion control, then work on nutrition (and macro and micro nutrient mix), etc. You are not making a big change in your life, you are making a series of small changes.

tracie_minus100

-Have realistic expectations. The weight will take time to come off.
-Choose a plan/strategy that is sustainable for you long term.
-No matter what, don't give up. You may have weeks where you eat according to plan and work your butt off, yet don't lose any weight. It happens, it's part of the process. Just keep going.
-Remember that you get back what you put in. If you aren't willing to work at it, you won't get much or anything at all back in results.
Good luck!! You can do it!

firststepformefal

Weigh and record everything, including water and other fluids. On MFP, if you cheat or avoid recording, the only person you are hurting is yourself. Start meal planning, maybe only 1 meal a week.