Tips on starting a new lifestyle

Metalmonkey007

Hey, I'm practically brand new to this, but recently I've decided I want to be in shape and skinny like I was years ago. Basically after I quit playing soccer it all went downhill as that was around the time I got more into video gaming and starting loading on weight. I started using MFP 2 days ago, this is now my third day, and have a calorie goal of 2430 (81g fat, 123g carbs, 91g protein). I was wondering, is this the diet I should be using? I started this at 274.6 lbs and am currently at 273.2 lbs. Even though overweight (even obese maybe?) I am still able to exercise. I can run a mile in 8-10 minutes depending on how hard I try, and have bought the couch to 10k app and am starting this tonight, I also go for walks with family every night after dinner which usually last about 30-40 minutes and are about 3-4 km long.

Basically, my goal is to shed 30 pounds or more over the course of the summer, I started at 274.6lbs, 6'4, and am 18 years old. Is the diet that is set by MFP the right diet to use? How many calories should I aim to burn a day if I try my best to keep my intake under 2430 cals? And is it bad to go over my set macros (or even the others such as sodium) for the day? Thanks a bunch for the help!

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Calorie goal of 2430 but your macros add up to 1585 calories. Eat at least .35g fat per pound of body weight and 1g protein per pound of lean body mass. You can fill the rest however you'd like.

AmIhealthyyet

I would try to put some weight lifting into it too!

stuffinmuffin

Hello and welcome to MFP! :flowerforyou:

I've been here for 2.5 years. I have some friends on here that have been here for almost double that. Anyway here's a some bits of advice from an 'old timer'

Your calorie goal sounds great. Lose weight slowly is really the way to do it. It's a learning process rather than a crash diet and it's about gaining new habits that you can adopt for the rest of your life to maintain your new slimmer shape. There are things that I would eat without thinking and now post-MFP I wouldn't touch with a barge-pole! And I don't miss them either.

Don't get too hung up on macros. There are days you might feel like eating junk. So eat junk, but of course do this within your calorie allowance.

Reward the effort you have spent doing exercise by eating back your exercise calories. This will allow you to eat more in a day and also provide you with the energy and motivation to do more and get better at your chosen exercise.

Try lost of exercises and find something that doesn't feel like a chore.

Get good motivating non-faddy people on your news feed. I have an awesome bunch of MFP friends that make me laugh, keep me motivated and don't berate me or themselves for the occasions that we fall off the wagon.

There will be days you exceed your calories goals. These might be parties, unexpected outings with friends etc. Try and plan for them if you can by 'banking' some cals from a few days before and maybe doing a big workout. If this doesn't happen then maybe do some repair work afterwards.

One good meal wont make you thin. One bad meal wont make you fat. Note the word 'one'. I believe in 'cheat meals' but not cheat days.

Don't get too hung up on the scales. Weigh in once a week to a fortnight when you feel like it. There are a myriad of things that make the scale fluctuate that is not fat. If you follow the programme correctly, you will not gain fat!

Appreciate that this sometimes will suck and will be hard and you'll wonder why you're bothering, it's all a waste of time and you just want to be able to eat what you want and when...

....and then you'll put some trousers (pants) on and discover you can't wear them because they keep falling down, and your self confidence is rising...

and trust me, it is totally worth it. :bigsmile: