I know when to begin can't figure how
cinaminonly
Posts: 7 Member
I need to lose @ least 50 pds. I'll be 56 in March, African American & in menopause. I keep changing diets because I don't see any results but I have to do something as my weight is taking its toll on my marriage and causing stress. I joined a gym, go every morning. Can't do free weights due to shoulder issue. My biggest problem, what will work best for me? Which diet, eating plan.
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Just eat with the the calories that myfitness pal gives you. Make sure you log everyday and everything. Weigh and measure all your food. Stick with it. Remeber You didn't gain it overnight you aren't gonna lose it over night. Go to the success stories here and read a few there has been some very good detailed success stories of people that have lost and maintained their weight for a while now. They will give you a big picture plan of how to go after your goals. Very inspiring and insightful.
Wishing you lots of success and support!
If you want to add me feel free. I'm 39 mom of 4 I've lost 21.5lbs since November working on 80 - 90 more.4 -
How bad do you want it? Do you want it more than you want to breath? Can you give up bread,pasta,sugar? If you can say yes to all three of these give Keto a try.
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I'd recommend ditching fancy popular "diets".
eat foods you like in moderation. practice a way of eating that you will be happy to maintain for life (just with maintenance level calories). do NOT under eat. under eating most often will lead to white knuckling and make it impossible to stick to a plan, cause over eating to the point negating any deficit you had made the previous days.
Plan meals ahead and have foods you can quickly put together when hungry. don't wait until it's 6pm and you are starving to start planning dinner, this is when we make decisions that don't work in our plan.
put your stats in MFP with a reasonable rate of loss and get a food scale and log all foods.
this thread has great info:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest
specifically this thread
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
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How bad do you want it? Do you want it more than you want to breath? Can you give up bread,pasta,sugar? If you can say yes to all three of these give Keto a try.
Are you... seriously asking someone if they'd rather be dead than overweight? Seriously?
OP, there's no need to give up any food you like, if you can make it fit your calories. Plug your stats into MFP, weigh your food, log honestly, and don't run too aggressive a deficit. With 50lbs to lose, 1lb per week is a good safe max. (Don't pick 2lbs to lose unless you're trying to lose over 75lbs and as soon as you've got 75lbs or fewer to goal, reset to 1.5 max.)
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Same. 108 and falling for me!7 -
cinaminonly wrote: »I need to lose @ least 50 pds. I'll be 56 in March, African American & in menopause. I keep changing diets because I don't see any results but I have to do something as my weight is taking its toll on my marriage and causing stress. I joined a gym, go every morning. Can't do free weights due to shoulder issue. My biggest problem, what will work best for me? Which diet, eating plan.
Here are a couple of thoughts, based on what you posted:
1. Congrats on being 56 in March (so will I). Your age won't be a big factor in your ability to lose fat. It will be slower for you as a female, but it's very doable.
2. You have not said how long you stayed on any of the diets or what they were.
3. You emphasized going to the gym every morning, which is great, but it's not the biggest driver in losing fat - by a long shot.
4. I have a shoulder issue too. It has not prevented me from lifting. Proper form has helped to gain strength - even with some pain. There have been several studies out there recently examining the effectiveness of various treatments on the shoulder, whether conservative (physical therapy and strength training) or aggressive (surgery and recovery), and unless you have a separation of muscle from bone, both tend to have similar results. You may not be able to train with free weights, but there is also a chance you still could.
You asked what would work well for you. Well here is another numbered list to help you get started:
1. Input your current height/weight/age/gender and activity level into MFP and your weight loss goal. Hint: do not automatically pick the fastest goal!!! Faster is not better. Most of the time it's worse. In fact, I would start moderately just for the sake of getting used to eating in a deficit. You can also provide your inputs here and some of us can help you figure out how much you should eat and where to start.
2. Buy a food scale. This is more important than your bathroom scale. Weigh everything you eat and log it.
3. The "diet" you pick is not important. The amount of calories you eat is. Pick an eating plan that contains the foods you like and apportion them in such a way as to create a calorie deficit.
4. Start (or continue) a resistance training program. It must include progressive overload to be effective. This will help you retain lean body mass as you lose fat.
5. Do cardio of some sort if you wish. This is not for weight loss purposes, but for fitness purposes. It does have the ability to increase your calorie burn, but too much of it can be detrimental. It can oppose the effects of #4. If you are a runner or cyclist, then take this one with a grain of salt.
6. Do not measure your progress over days. Give it 6-8 weeks at least. Day-to-day fluctuations, if you don't know how they work, will cause you to make bad decisions based on bad data.
Read some of the 'stickies'. They are very valuable.
Best of luck to you.5 -
How bad do you want it? Do you want it more than you want to breath? Can you give up bread,pasta,sugar? If you can say yes to all three of these give Keto a try.
I've always wanted my next breath more.
I wanted it bad enough to learn that I didn't have to do keto if didn't want to. I could get the very same results with pasta, bread and sugar in my diet. Even added sugar on my strawberries if I felt like it.
But yeah, I've always wanted my next breath.9 -
The good news is that there is no best plan. The life changes you can sustain are the ones that will lead you to success. Whatever plan you use you must sustain a modest deficit. By weighing and logging your food you will learn what portions will keep you at your goal.
My toughest challenge is to stay consistent week to week so I set weekly behavioural goals and check in with myself or with an accountability partner. As I successfully hit one goal I create another.3 -
Yeah. That's just silly. I ate bread, pasta, potatoes, sugar, and every other kind of food.
I'd say to the lady who started the thread:
You can do it. I did it at age 55, and I've kept my weight off using the tools on this site. (I lost 70+ pounds.)
Read around the forums. Log your food. Take a walk. Log your exercise and you can eat a little more.
It's about calories. Pretty simple.
Here are the Most Helpful Posts in the Getting Started forum. There are helpful posts a the tops of all the subforums. Check them out - lots of good info.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest
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cinaminonly wrote: »I need to lose @ least 50 pds. I'll be 56 in March, African American & in menopause. I keep changing diets because I don't see any results but I have to do something as my weight is taking its toll on my marriage and causing stress. I joined a gym, go every morning. Can't do free weights due to shoulder issue. My biggest problem, what will work best for me? Which diet, eating plan.
My (best) thought for you (and I'm sure some will disagree)
1. Calories in Vs. Calories out WILL work.
2. The best diet is one that you feel good about sticking to. My personal one; Anything goes, with moderation If I want chocolate, I eat like 10 gram of dark chocolate, and I'm happy with that. (Doesn't work for everyone though. Also I'm trying to eat less processed food.
3. As stated by @Silentpadna; Get a food scale. Weigh everything. And please be kind to yourself, don't over restrict, don't select the fastest goal. It's a process, and it works...
Please feel free to friend me or message me for support
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cinaminonly wrote: »I need to lose @ least 50 pds. I'll be 56 in March, African American & in menopause. I keep changing diets because I don't see any results but I have to do something as my weight is taking its toll on my marriage and causing stress. I joined a gym, go every morning. Can't do free weights due to shoulder issue. My biggest problem, what will work best for me? Which diet, eating plan.
read the sticky posts at the top of the GEtting Started Forum. All your answers are there.
calories are kind, and once you figure out how many you need for YOUR lifestyle, age, height and gender then you only need a food scale, and the determination to log your food every day to be sure you don't eat more than needed.
this is the way to avoid "diet plans" and "yo-yo" diets. Just eat the appropriate amount of whatever food you like. It's also the lowest cost way to start because it doesn't require that you buy anything special in order to do it.
It's easy because you're making and eating the foods you already are used to making and eating.
It really does boil down to PORTION CONTROL and that is managed with a scale to weigh the food accurately.
good luck.2 -
You've already gotten some great, detailed replies. In short, the best plan is one you CAN and WILL stick to that meets your nutritional needs and fits your lifestyle.
Down 52 pounds and haven't deprived myself of anything if I really wanted it, and nobody can tell I'm on a 'diet' because I just eat...food 🤷5 -
How bad do you want it? Do you want it more than you want to breath? Can you give up bread,pasta,sugar? If you can say yes to all three of these give Keto a try.
What? Breathing is life-so absolutely no sane, rational person is going to want “it” more than a critical life function.
Also, OP didn’t mention a word about keto.
OP-the “best” diet is the one that you can follow forever and ever, Amen.5 -
Eric Thomas — ‘When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful.’
LMAO not Literally WOW people!0
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