So do I just focus on my calories

cooper_mol

Hey! I literally just started and signed up today and im just a bit confused.

Do I just have to try and stick to my calorie target? I don't really know much about carbs and protein etc.. hence why I'm overweight!! But am I right in just to stick to my target?

CarvedTones

Start my just sticking to calories and limiting portions so that meals fit and hopefully leave room for snacks. Then see how the macros fall out of that and think about making adjustments if they are way out of whack. Don't overcomplicate by trying to totally rework your diet before you know you need to. You might just need to adjust portion size.

malibu927

Yes, focus on calories, as that's all you need to look at to lose weight. Once you have a handle on things, then you may want to play around with the macros to see what ratio works best for you.

ccsernica

For weight loss, yes, you focus on calories. The macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) are important for specific fitness or health goals, but for the time being don't worry too much about them. Where they're important early on is when people find different mixes of them result in feelings of satiety on fewer calories. You want to lose weight, not suffer, so what you want is to eat the kind of food such that you won't be feeling hungry all the time. In general that means more protein and fat and less carbs, but this is highly individual and may be different for you.

qweck3

CarvedTones made some great points above. Try to learn portion sizes right away. Avoid major changes as you adjust to this. Who knows, your diet might already be set but you may just eating to much. For example, a label might say 3oz but one full unit may really be 6oz (chicken for example) so invest in a food scale. Search CICO (Calories in Calories Out). It's a debate topic for many on these boards so I won't get into it but read up on it and decide if the concept will work for you. Even if it doesn't there are still some really good pointers in that thread.

In the beginning it's all about calories but DO NOT have yourself hungry. You didn't gain the weight in a day so you can't expect to lose it all overnight either. Later on as you learn what your body really needs you might find yourself trying to add calories to your day to maintain.

sassysherr

Thank you. That was helpful for me too!!

kommodevaran

cooper_mol wrote: »

Do I just have to try and stick to my calorie target? I don't really know much about carbs and protein etc.. hence why I'm overweight!! But am I right in just to stick to my target?

You gained weight by eating too much (too many calories). To lose weight, you have to stick to your calorie target (not "try"). That's all you have to do to lose weight. You can eat whatever you want.

But in order to stick to your calories, you might have to look into what you're eating. Good nutrition keeps you healthy, energetic and not starving. A balanced and varied diet is important to get in sufficient nutrition. MFP's default macro setup is supposed to lead you towards a balanced diet, because it's really hard to not eat nutritionally sound and still hit those macros. But if you make an effort, you can game any system, so you have to use common sense - eat your fruit and vegetables and whole grains, cook at home, and don't deep fry everything, don't eat cookies and cake and candy every day, etc.

That covered "balanced". Now on to "varied". As mentioned, you have to stick to your calorie target, and for a long time, too, and you can't do that even on the most optimally balanced diet unless you're eating food you like, and aren't bored. So choose meals and foods you like, and be open for trying new foods, be prepared to go out of your comfort zone, but also practice boundaries and self-care and kindness, and discover your true preferences. Your preferences can change when you change your habits and attitudes, and this can be exciting and empowering.