Tips on how to even get started?

Ciara108

Hi all!
I was hoping for some tips on how to get started. In the past 3 years I've doubled my weight and now aim to lose about 100lbs to bring me to the weight I was happiest and healthiest at. I've lost weight before using this, I lost about 60lbs but I did it by pretty much starving myself an ended up in hospital due to it. I've been attempting to start losing some of the weight I gained but realized I don't actually know what I'm doing and to avoid what I did before I want to fully educate myself on how to do this right before even starting. I realized I pretty much don't know anything about exercise or how to eat healthy on a very tight budget(I'm a student so finances are very tight).
So if anyone could give me tips on the best ways to get started or point me towards any resources that would be helpful I'd hugely appreciate it!

zeejane03

Welcome to the group

Here's where you'll find lots of helpful info-

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

quiksylver296

zeejane03 wrote: »

Welcome to the group

Here's where you'll find lots of helpful info-

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

LOL. I was going to post Sexypants, too.

texasredreb

I would start by accurately logging what you normally eat (weigh everything if you can; if not measure it with measuring cups and spoons). You should be able to see the things that are really adding nothing but calories to your diet. Cut out or cut back on one or more of those things. When you get comfortable with the things you've cut out (don't miss them or crave them anymore); look again at what you're logging and make some more small substitutions.

InsertFunnyUsernameHere

texasredreb wrote: »

I would start by accurately logging what you normally eat (weigh everything if you can; if not measure it with measuring cups and spoons). You should be able to see the things that are really adding nothing but calories to your diet. Cut out or cut back on one or more of those things. When you get comfortable with the things you've cut out (don't miss them or crave them anymore); look again at what you're logging and make some more small substitutions.

^ There is wisdom in this.

The main habit you need to develop is diligence with logging. Log everything. Log accurately. If that means weighing your food, so be it. Any cheating with your logging defeats the method.

Start logging without changing your eating habits so that you get a true idea of how many calories you really are eating. It's easy to guess you're only eating 2000 when you're actually eating 3500 per day. We all under estimate our food intake until forced to see the truth via logging.

Once the habit of logging is established, get your calorie goals set and start deleting the excess calories from your daily intake by whatever method works best for you, whether that is clean eating or keto or going vegetarian or whatever. Most of us just opt to eat less of the same foods, but some people need to suffer in order to feel like they are accomplishing something, so if theywant to live on juiced kale for 6 months, more power to them.

julesdechaine

As someone who successfully lost a lot of weight on my own, here are some of the things that really helped me. I put the weight back on due to personal circumstances and just recently got back on track. This app is a great source of help with tracking and logging your progress. Starving yourself will never work, as you clearly already discovered. Depriving yourself of treats will often lead to just gorging, so always allow yourself small amounts of the things you enjoy. For example, I love sweets and could plow through a bag of M&Ms with ease - instead of not allowing myself that I would take a small - SMALL - handful and add them to a SMALL individual bag of popcorn. My brain was convinced I was getting the snacks I love the most, but in reality I was eating maybe 8 of them, and along with the sweetness of the popcorn (kettle corn) I was satisfied. Sodas were also a weakness, and so I would get a very small juice glass and fill it with ice, and add just a small amount of Coke. I would only do this as a treat and after I accomplished a goal I set for myself for that day. I am not someone who does well with authority, directions, goals, etc. that others place on me or are too far in the future, and I don't like timelines, so instead of coming up with some unrealistic goal I knew I couldn't reach, I just made sure I did an activity every day and took each day as it came. Unfortunately now, I live in a concrete jungle, so it's not as easy as it was in the past (lived 5 min from a river with trails and 15 from the beach so I spent a lot of time outdoors) but look around you - what can you do? Do you have stairs in your house? Run up and down them several times, multiple times per day. Park as far from the door as possible when out shopping. Kick the fast food and microwave food habit. I absolutely LOVE the Wii Fit, and it tracks your weight and progress. Fun but a great workout! I am not sure where you live, but you can go to Planet Fitness for about $10/mo. Swimming is a great source of exercise and if you are a student should have access to a campus or community pool. You MUST burn more calories than you consume to lose weight, and losing weight long-term will involve a complete lifestyle change, so to do it properly you will need to take it very slow. If you don't have a bike, you can get a really cheap one at a yard sale or pawn shop. Just commit to doing SOMETHING every day, choose healthy options, drink lots of water, and track/log your daily progress to hold yourself accountable.

egbert2016

In the beginning I kept my meals super simple and repeated the same meals often so that logging was easier. I picked things I like to eat and weighed out reasonable portions. Once I had a little bit of history in my recent foods, logging took less time and felt like less of a burden.

I highly recommend logging *before* you eat because it's easy to forget. If I am cooking and need to keep track of multiple ingredients, I weigh and log as I'm preparing the recipe.

I also went through the exercise of pre-logging an entire day of meals and snacks a few times. I found that to be especially helpful in the beginning. It was interesting to me to see what I could "buy" for 1,350 calories per day.

Another thing that helped me was to keep a written list of tips and tricks that work for me personally. I keep that list handy and refer to it when I need a motivational boost. Some examples are... Drink hot tea with a meal because it makes me feel more full. Am I hungry or am I just thirsty? Have a healthy snack in my purse/car just in case. Can I find something to do for a half hour that will distract me from my current craving? If I'm considering giving in to a craving, weigh and log the item and then decide if it is really worth the calories.

I agree with everyone who said to read all the stickies. Very helpful info in there!

Good luck to you!

AmyC2288

Welcome! You will find lots of support and great info on this site! You already have lots of good info here, but I wanted to quickly add to not forget about liquids. Everyone has mentioned that it is important to log all your food, however it's equally important to log all liquids. Soda, Teas, Juices, coffee creamer, and any oils you use for cooking. These things add up quick!

Good luck!

Ciara108

Thanks so much for the help everyone!