OK to START with small steps ?

Trish1c

I'm still overwhelmed. I have tried this site before but never stuck to it. I know for the past few years my calorie intake has been high & my activity level decreasing. For example in college I'd walk to the parties, drink, dance all night, then walk back. Now I have a glass of wine (or more) on the couch.

All of the stuff I have been learning here is a LOT to take in.

On the theory that something is better than nothing, if I overall lower my calorie intake, even if I slip or don't eat "perfect" foods, plus manage at least 3 days per week of exercise I'm going in the right direction, right?

I figure if I expect to make these changes permanent, I can't cut all the way to 1200 calories with no fun things because I won't stick to it. If I do the little bits, I can work my way to bigger / healthier / more permanent changes.

Is my reasoning logical?

acolton1287

Hi Trish,
I think it's totally logical. I've tried MFP multiple times, but I've consistently failed. After speaking with my doctor, she said that my "all or nothing" mentality was what was stopping me. For instance, I can do great for breakfast and a mid-morning snack, but if I mess up lunch, I'm likely to eat like crap and not exercise the rest of the day because "I've already screwed today up!" I'm back on the wagon and have been for 3 days now (cue applause), and I'm aiming for 1580 calories a day. I think it's a good start (SIGNIFICANTLY less than what I was doing before), and I'm hoping that it's a high enough calorie count to keep me motivated. Good luck!

kcpond

I also found it easier to take small steps. Make a change and then get in the habit of following through with the change. Make another change and get in a habit. It takes longer but I believe you will be more successful in the end.

Good Luck!

kommodevaran

I think it's the only way to be successful, because we aren't robots, and we aren't locked up in a facility where food and exercise is portioned out by guards, either.

4legsRbetterthan2

first step is to learn to log. get a food scale and learn to weigh your food and accurately log what you are eating. if you don't learn to log accurately then there is no point to MFP.

once you learn to accurately log start making that changes that work for you to meet the goals you want. make sure you set realistic goals and calorie targets, and then forget pretty much everything else you have heard/read about dieting. eat a variety of foods for a well balanced intake and stick to your goal. with a little bit of trial and error you will figure out how to time your meals and what types of foods keep you happy and full and within your calorie target.

RoxieDawn

Baby steps or tapering your self down on calories each day to reach appropriate number of calories needed to loose weight is certainly fine!!

Reasoning is certainly logical.. A lot of folks wake up one morning and say I HAVE to loose XX pounds by XX date and take extreme measures and have NO patience to the process..

I like your plan a lot!

aliciapastorlecha

It is perfectly OK to start with small goals, actually that is the best choice.
I would recommend you not to cut your calories that low at the beginning, start to something that you can stick with and go from there, for example start with 1600 calories a day and see if you are making progress, from there you can lower your calories.
Focus first in your nutrition, once you have that nailed, then you can add workouts.

NEOHgirl

Yes, one step at a time is the only way to keep it from being overwhelming. First, congrats on making a decision to be healthier. It takes work, but it IS achievable. Next, go into your MFP settings, and set your goal to either maintain or only lose .5 lbs per week. See what your calorie target is. Then spend a couple of weeks accurately measuring & tracking & trying to keep to that target. Once you are comfortable with that, you can change your settings again to the next level down (either lose .5/week if you choose to start at maintenance or to lose 1.0 if you chose to start at .5). Also each week, pick one thing to focus on. Is it getting all you water in? Is it getting more activity? Is it getting more veggies? Whatever it is, pick one good habit a week and focus on that. By the end of a month, you will have 4 new good habits. They will build upon one another & in 10 weeks you will look around and see that you’ve already made some solid lifestyle changes.

As far as having an “off” day, my philosophy is to not eat or drink mindlessly. You want that 2nd glass of wine? Have it, but track it. You want a piece of cake on your birthday? OK – go ahead, just be aware & hold yourself accountable. Have it, track it, & move on. Don’t fall into the trap of one bad food choice means you have a free-for-all for the rest of the day/week. Each time you put something in your body is an opportunity to make a healthy choice.

Good luck.

Trish1c

Thanks all. You made me feel better, like I'm not a giant failure because I can't go from couch potato who eats pizza & fast food & <gasp!> drinks to a clean eating person who only drinks water & green tea who is working toward running a marathon.

apullum

Small steps are great! Try just tracking what you eat for a few days without making any changes, and see what your current diet looks like. It will give you a good idea of when you're eating, what your most nutritious and most high-calorie foods are, and where you can make changes. Even a little more exercise than you're currently doing, like going for a short walk after dinner if you don't already do that, is a positive step.

I have been at 1200 calories for a year and a half, and I don't have any forbidden foods (other than those I don't want to eat). I just budget my calories for any high-calorie treats and eat them occasionally in moderation. If I want pizza, I eat it on a long run day and with a salad. I have a small piece of dark chocolate on most evenings because I like having something sweet to look forward to. It's worked for me so far.

RoxieDawn

Trish1c wrote: »

Thanks all. You made me feel better, like I'm not a giant failure because I can't go from couch potato who eats pizza & fast food & <gasp!> drinks to a clean eating person who only drinks water & green tea who is working toward running a marathon.

OP, just be ware, you do not have to adhere to complete CLEAN eating style of eating to loose weight. And certainly no need to train for marathons..LOL

You can enjoy all the foods you enjoy right now, just eating less of them will do the trick.. And if you want to exercise for your health, certainly do that.. No need to exercise to loose weight. Make the exercise a part of your new form of habits to be healthy for the rest of your life.. and make sure your exercise is fun and something you will enjoy doing.. Anything a person does out of "dread" is short lived!!!

44to44

Small steps is a great way to start. I've only been logging for 3 days, and although I'm trying to make better choices, I've been more or less eating as I normally do just so I can see exactly how many calories I've been taking in - what an eye opener! On the weekend, I will plan out the next week's meal plans and hopefully stay within my calorie goal range going forward. I already know based on just a few days' food logging that if I cut down calories to 1700 or less and add exercise, I will lose some weight. Once I get used to that, I can cut down a bit more, and add a bit more exercise. The less painful the transition, the more likely I'll stick to it long term, and that's what I want to do. If I'm starving all the time, I will make terrible choices. I've tried drastic changes and it just doesn't work for me. Slow and steady will hopefully win the race! Good luck!

ashliedelgado

Small steps are huge. When I started, I focused on small, sustainable changes. Seriously, week one I changed from white to wholewheat and that was ALL I DID. Then, week two, I did whole wheat AND took a walk after dinner. The next week, I stopped drinking anything but water except one cup of coffee a day. Momentum builds, you get motivated, and the habits stick. I lost 70lbs before stopping to manage/maintain for a pregnancy before losing the last 40ish. I'll start my weight loss journey again in January, after recovering from delivery, and spending the first two months of my daughters life letting breastfeeding provide my calorie deficit.

Trish1c

I'm also learning to focus & concentrate on what I'm doing. As a kid with an eating disorder I took minuscule bites to control my consumption. Now I'm trying to go back to that slow eating mindset (but not all the way back to my anorexia) I'm trying to be more mindful, to borrow from the mediation crowd, & savor every bite. I literally just took 40 minutes to eat a granola bar, tasting each bite & then waiting between the next bites. Granted I was multi-tasking but I think I feel more satisfied then if I wolfed it down.

lorrpb

My favorite quote: Small daily improvements are the key to staggering long term results. --Robin Sharma

HeavenLeighDiamond

...xXxHunger hurts, but starving works...xXX