Things You Want To Tell MFP Newbies

brdnw

consistency is the most important thing, stay consistent and results will accumulate.

try2again

Found this clearing out my bookmarks and thought it would be a fun bump

AudreyJDuke

Great insights!!!!

AnnofB

This thread should be mandatory reading before being able to join MFP!

AnnPT77

Yeah, it's old, but imma pile on, because I think some of my favorites are missing (though a lot are here).

Food is not sin. It doesn't require expiation. Just get back on your healthy routine. Guilt feels bad, and burns no extra calories, so is completely optional. Ditto for drama.

The number on the scale is just data. It's not a measurement of your worth as a human being. Moreover, the data is useful, and will give you insights, if you can stop freaking out about every little fluctuation that your body produces because it is a healthy body functioning the way it should.

For the last time (I wish), a fitness tracker or heart rate monitor estimates your calorie output, it doesn't measure it, and under a lot of conditions (weight training, intervals, more) it may not estimate calorie output very accurately at all. And fit people don't burn significantly fewer calories doing the same exercise compared to unfit ones, they just feel less miserable doing it, and can do it at a lower heart rate, because that's what fitness is about. All that cr*p Beachbody and the like tell you about "body confusion"? That's complete nonsense, aimed at getting you to buy new "fitness products".

I 100% guarantee that a fair fraction of what any woman calls "bat wings" "chicken wings" "bingo wings" "arm flaps" (etc.) is actually relaxed tricep muscles. Don't hate on your muscles. That's just wrong.

Menopause won't stop you losing weight (I'm menopausal, and I'm not the only one). Hypothyroidism won't stop you losing weight (I'm hypothyroid, and I'm not the only one). Age won't stop you from increasing fitness. (I started at 46 after cancer treatment; Ernestine Shepard started at 56; Madonna Buder started at 48. (I'm not in their league, but I'm way fitter than I was at 46. Way.)) You don't have to lose weight or get fitter. But if you want either of those things, focus on what you can control, and do what works. Don't waste time thinking about the obstacles, except to think about how to get around them.

And no, ACV will not help you lose weight. I drank it (for other reasons) and it Just. Didn't. It also won't uniquely rot your teeth, esophagus or stomach.

leanjogreen18

Just relax, don't stress.
One slip up has not ruined all the progress you've made if you get back on plan.
Adjust if something stops working for you, try something else.
Be patient.
Get outside and walk or hike for mental clarity/health.

Read through the threads both old and new, there is a wealth of knowlege and information from folks who've lost and maintained.