I need help desperately

Lqqieee
Lqqieee Posts: 45 Member
Hi everyone. I’m here and I think it’s time for me. For me to make a change. I just don’t know where to start. I eat like *kitten*. I don’t meal prep. I hate it. I’m an emotional eater. I need to lose at least 40-60 pounds. I don’t want to do Keto or any diets that eliminate an entire food group. I just feel lost. I do t know how many calories to consume and I dont want to overwhelm myself with tracking. I dont know what’s healthy to eat for breakfast lunch or dinner that will keep me satisfied. Im lost. Help!
«1

Replies

  • Lqqieee
    Lqqieee Posts: 45 Member
    Thank you! I need to make some big changes. Exercise will come later. I’m restricted because I just had ankle surgery in October but that will come in time as I heal more.
  • Lanabanana42
    Lanabanana42 Posts: 13 Member
    First things first, enter your stats in Myfitnesspal and it will calculate your calories for you. Set a reasonable goal and eat within your allotted calories. There is no reason to eliminate ANY food group if you keep within your calories. Set your activity level and any extra exercise will give you more calories for the day. Tracking does not have to be overwhelming. It is a good idea to track your daily calories before staring on any plan. This will give you an idea of how much you are currently eating, it can be quite an eyeopener. Then, track for a few weeks to get an idea of what your intake looks like. Measure and weigh in the beginning because we can fool ourselves into thinking we are eating much less than we actually are. Over time you will have certain meals that you know the counts for off the top of your head, we all have go to breakfast or lunch meals etc. I've been tracking for years on here ( lost my original profile for some reason which is why it looks like i'm new, lol), and it take less than 5 minutes out of my day. Once you enter stuff it goes into your food lists and is so much easier, just point and click. You can also enter recipes that you use often then just enter your portion each time without needing to enter each ingredient. I eat anything I want just keep to my calorie goals depending if I am cutting, bulking or maintaining, this site is very versatile!
  • Hollis100
    Hollis100 Posts: 1,408 Member
    If you fill in your numbers, MFP will tell you how many calories to eat every day in order to lose weight, at the rate you want to lose (.5 lb a week or more).

    What to eat? The number one thing to me is to eat food you enjoy and that fits your lifestyle -- both the way the food tastes and the amount of work/prep that goes into meals. Food is similiar to exercise. What works is what you're willing to eat and do.

    Calories are all you need to keep in mind for weight loss.

    I wanted better nutrition as well as to lose weight, but what I like might not appeal to you at all. I usually have oatmeal with berries or an apple and a protein for breakfast, a large spinach salad with other veggies and a protein for lunch (my main meal), and a simple dinner, like soup, with snacks like almonds and fruit.

    Best of luck!

  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    The only thing you need for weight loss is a caloric deficit, hence why logging/tracking is useful. Have you tried tracking your food for any length of time before to know it overwhelms you or are you assuming so?

    As far as a calorie starting point, the guided setup built-in to MFP is a decent starting block. Conventional wisdom from the community is as follows:
    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb/week is ideal
    If you have 15-25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lb/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lb/week is ideal

    I suggest that you go through the guided setup, don't change what/how you're eating yet but try logging exhaustively to see how that compares. More often than not it's readily apparent where you can start making sustainable incremental calorie cuts to bring down your daily intake. Personally, it was things like 3 oreos instead of 6, or spicy mustard over mayo on a sandwich that got me started in building long-term improved eating habits. Many find that manipulating macros is helpful to improve satiety as well; there's not a magic macro formula for everyone, you'll have to see what works for you.

    I found success in that sort of iterative, step-wise approach to changing my habits in a sustainable way; I lost almost 20 lbs when I first got here and have stayed while maintaining that initial loss followed by improving my body composition over the last four years.
  • SlayLikeAWarrior
    SlayLikeAWarrior Posts: 89 Member
    Hi, first of all I want to congratulate you for taking the first step to admitting you need help and for joining MFP. Yes it is possible to lose weight without tracking, but it isn't sustainable if you can't even take the time to track. This is where you say, wtf lol. What am trying to say is, in order to master the art of not tracking calories, you need to learn how to track your calories first till it becomes second nature. Once it becomes a habit, and you can recognize what the size of food you eat per meal looks like and how much snack you eat, then you can indulge in not tracking as much. The best advice I can give you now is to stick with tracking your calories for now.

    Yes, stay away from all those fad diets. Stick to your daily caloric intake. You can eat regular foods, but stay away from processed foods. Here are a few examples for breakfast/lunch/dinner meal.

    Breakfast: eggs whites (real eggs not box), 1-whole grain toasted bread or oatmeal, black coffee
    Lunch: Grilled chicken & Salad, low sugar dressing or use oil/vinegar.
    Dinner: Brown rice, grilled or sauteed veggies, grilled fish (salmon, tuna, tilapia)
    Snacks: Apples, bananas, nuts etc...

    To plan you meal for the week, I will suggest get a sheet of paper, write down the days of the week on the left side and to the right of each day create a column for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In each column write down what you will all items you will eat for each meal. I have used the Walmart eMeals. It actually help you plan your meals for the week based on what ingredients you pick. you can then go shop based on the meal plan the emeals gave you.

    https://emeals.com/grocery-delivery-pickup/walmart-grocery/

    Like I said, it's going to take discipline to achieve not tracking your calories, but if you want to give it a shot, here's a link I found that gives suggestions on what kind of foods to eat. Just know if it was that easy, everyone will be doing it and melting that fat like crazy :D .

    https://healthline.com/nutrition/7-ways-to-lose-weight-without-counting-calories#section8


    Lastly, if you change you mind and decide you would like to track your calories and need help determining your daily recommended calories, feel free to message me if you like or add me.


    All the best in your journey.



  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Lqqieee wrote: »
    Thank you all so much. I will get set up with my numbers to see where I am. I will try my best to log everything into MFP right now to see how much I’m overeating.

    Try to not to get overwhelmed. My best advice is to make changes slowly to avoid panic and burnout. I know you said tracking would be overwhelming but I usually suggest people start by getting in the habit of tracking and learning to select reasonable entries from the database. Not focus on meeting calorie or macro goals, but just start logging. If that's too much for you though, then focus on making small changes 1 or 2 at a time. Don't completely overhaul your diet at once but just start reducing or replacing a couple of things with lower calorie options.

    I personally find that fat is what keeps me full longest but other people find it is protein. You don't have to go on a special diet to make small changes that work for you. Expect to have off days and set backs, don't punish yourself, just learn from them and move forward.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,301 Member
    There is so much good advice above. Small steps are probably best for you, getting to understand yourself is a good thing to do. You know you need to improve your health so, it may take a while to gain the understanding you need, the best thing is you are starting to address your issues. Possibly seeing where your financial budget is going and how this is hitting your pocet might be something of an incentive. Wishing you all the very best as you discover what is right for you.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited December 2019
    I had a trimalleolar fracture, so understand the increased daily mobility to move a bit more will be difficult then.
    I was full weight bearing and mobility allowed after 3 months.

    So in that time you can practice the eating side of the equation.
    Sadly with decreased mobility, to lose you'd have to eat a lot less than you are used to before injury.
    Also this isn't the time to rob the body of potential nutrients so it can heal the fastest/best it can.
    So this would be the time to practice what can be filling that is more nutritious, and what can you eat that's fun that won't cause you going overboard if that's an issue.

    But not really the time to attempt to lose weight, except minimum - while body is healing.
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    Nobody said this was going to be easy....sorry but I am being realistic....you have to want it enough to do it!
  • mrswhite714
    mrswhite714 Posts: 12 Member
    Find what works best for you, and it may take trial and error. You have to want it for yourself and nobody else. Maybe find someone who is on a similar journey and hold each other accountable. Try your best to make new habits and stick to what works. You can do this!
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    Lqqieee wrote: »
    Hi everyone. I’m here and I think it’s time for me. For me to make a change. I just don’t know where to start. I eat like *kitten*. I don’t meal prep. I hate it. I’m an emotional eater. I need to lose at least 40-60 pounds. I don’t want to do Keto or any diets that eliminate an entire food group. I just feel lost. I do t know how many calories to consume and I dont want to overwhelm myself with tracking. I dont know what’s healthy to eat for breakfast lunch or dinner that will keep me satisfied. Im lost. Help!

    1. you're at a great site filled with USEFUL information - read all the sticky posts at the top of all the forums. OR at least just this Getting Started forum. Believe what you read about Calories In, Calories Out - it really is the one main thing to know about how to succeed.
    2. Use MFP to set your calorie budget (Goals).
    3. weigh and log everything you eat and drink.
    4. Eat what you enjoy - use a food scale to weigh the portion you are about to consume, and adjust the portion as needed to fit in your calorie budget for the day/meal.
    5. Allow yourself to accept fluctuations in your weight from one day or week to the next; assess your progress by looking back 2-3 months at a time.
    6. don't try to rush the weight loss. Time spent changing habits will serve you better in the long run.

    good luck
  • fdlewenstein
    fdlewenstein Posts: 231 Member
    I just started a program in August and it takes al lot of work and dedication. I would recommend a good scale and weigh yourself everyday. I purchased a feelfit scale, but I'm sure there are many to choose from. Be sure it is calibrated correctly. I also just started using the app happy scale hoping to see trends in my weight loss. I would not change your eating habits for a week and log everything you eat and I mean everything. I weight and measure anything I put in my mouth. Use a food scale and measuring spoons and cups. Be diligent. After a week see where you can adjust. I can't say how much fat, carbs, and protein you should have because it is unique to each person. I had genetic testing and am following a diet specifically for me. Start with small changes, like no soda. Drink half your body weight in water each day. I think this is the best habit you can start. Also, incorporate exercise. I walk 6-7 days a week.

    Good luck and stay positive. A positive mindset can go a long way. If you don't have support at home find it else where.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    . Drink half your body weight in water each day. ...

    I weigh 169 pounds. Water weighs 8 pounds per gallon. By your advice, I should be drinking 10 gallons of water a day.

    Is there maybe a mistake in what you wrote?
  • freesafety056
    freesafety056 Posts: 1 Member
    My success using my fitness pal to lose weight was because of going to a nutritionist ! I found out that my health insurance covers this and I pay a small co-pay. Started May 22 this year. I therefore recommend this to you too.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    I just started a program in August and it takes al lot of work and dedication. I would recommend a good scale and weigh yourself everyday. I purchased a feelfit scale, but I'm sure there are many to choose from. Be sure it is calibrated correctly. I also just started using the app happy scale hoping to see trends in my weight loss. I would not change your eating habits for a week and log everything you eat and I mean everything. I weight and measure anything I put in my mouth. Use a food scale and measuring spoons and cups. Be diligent. After a week see where you can adjust. I can't say how much fat, carbs, and protein you should have because it is unique to each person. I had genetic testing and am following a diet specifically for me. Start with small changes, like no soda. Drink half your body weight in water each day. I think this is the best habit you can start. Also, incorporate exercise. I walk 6-7 days a week.

    Good luck and stay positive. A positive mindset can go a long way. If you don't have support at home find it else where.

    The bolded sounds like a good way to get hyponatremia. I'm hoping you are using a conversion such as lbs ->oz/2. For instance a 200lb person drinking 100 oz of water a day may not be unreasonable, but drinking 100lbs of water would be absurd.
  • freda666
    freda666 Posts: 338 Member
    Personally, I find tracking what I eat is pretty key, and it does get easier and quicker as time passes and you become more proficient.

    It means you then get a good idea what foods are calorie dense and what you can eat more of and this I find leads to being able to adjust portion sizes so you can still get a good plateful of food while consuming a few less of those pesky calories.

    I also find logging before I eat hugely helpful rather than after the deed is done.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,252 Member
    ugh on the water stuff. Drink enough to be hydrated. Drink more if it gives you the illusion of feeling more full. I find that eating a soup does that well enough for me without having to chug water all day regardless of whether I feel like do so to hit some metrics! And, in any case, I prefer to chug coffee, so there's that!

    To the OP.

    There are many kinds of "big" changes one can make.

    There are the big changes where one just changes anything and everything at once because CHANGE IS NEEDED.

    To me that's sort of like grabbing pebbles from a sack and throwing them at a target hoping to hit a bull's eye. Sometimes you will get a hit. Most of the times you won't. And when your sack runs out you will have a heck of a time collecting all your pebbles and continuing to throw them.

    There are the other big changes which in the end boil down to just one single change: re-arranging life's priorities so as to carve out the time and energy to care for yourself.

    To me that's sort of like spending the next three to five years learning how to play darts in the hopes of being able to regularly throw your set of high end darts straight into the bull's eye. Chances are quite good that, with time and effort, you will learn to regularly hit at or around the bull's eye. And it is relatively simple to retrieve your darts and keep on throwing them again and again.

    The mechanics of weight control are actually quite simple: Use more energy than you're taking in over a long enough time period and you will lose weight. Do the opposite and you will gain weight. Be in an approximate energy balance most of the time and you will maintain your weight.

    Implementing the mechanics to our liking is NOT simple.

    You do need to ask yourself why you do certain things. You do need to learn to work with yourself on modifying and mitigating problem behaviour. You do need to figure out what is worth eating in terms of calories, nutrition and enjoyment and what is less worthwhile to you. And you need to be willing to spend the time and effort to do so if this is going to be more than a short term effort that will be abandoned when things are not going 100% as per plan and life's other issues start to intrude.

    One things I've discovered over the past few years is that humans seem to operate best in some sort of "medium" state. Neither too little nor too much seems to work well for most of us whereas both the top and bottom of the performance envelope often comes with a price!

    Take care of your current and future selves!
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    If you're overwhelmed then start simple an I mean really stupid simple. The good thing is managing your weight is a really simple process (simple, but not always easy).

    Eat more calories than you use an you'll gain weight. Eat fewer calories than you use and you'll lose weight. That's it. That's all there is to it. What you eat, when you eat, how you eat is all largely irrelevant when it comes to managing weight so don't over-complicate things

    1. Get your calorie target, buy a scale and log accurately. In order to manage your weight you need information, data. The first thing you need is your target calories based on how many calories you burn each day. MFP can do that for you when you enter your details. Next you need to know how many calories you're putting into your body and this comes from accurately tracking your food intake. It's a bit of a pain to begin with but quickly becomes second nature and takes no more than a minute or two each day.
    2. Eat food you like in quantities that let you maintain a calorie deficit most of the time. You don't need to 'eat clean', you don't need to 'meal prep', you don't need to change the food you eat. In fact I'd recommend not changing the food you eat. You're eating those things because they're what you enjoy so keep eating them with one caveat you need to track the quantity you're eating so that more often than not you're getting close to your daily calorie target.
    3. (Optional, but recommended) Start moving more. This doesn't have to be joining a gym, but it can if that's what you want to do. It can be as simple as finding an activity that you think you'll enjoy that gets you moving or just making an effort to be more active throughout the day (park further away, take the long way round, take the stairs, etc). This will help you start to improve your health and fitness and can help you burn slightly more calories. This is definitely optional though. Weight loss happens far more due to calories in than calories out and lots of people, myself included have lost significant weight with zero 'working out'

    That's it. Start there and build. As you go along you'll learn things about yourself that will make it all easier (what foods fill you up, what foods just aren't 'worth it', etc).

    G'luck
  • I had the most difficulty with figuring out healthy options mostly for breakfast and lunch. My favorite go-tos are, avocado toast, boiled eggs, almondmilk yogurt w/fruit or granola, tuna/chicken salad. For dinner I have made a hearty vegetable stew for the week and eaten it each day with rice or whole grain/wheat noodles. You just have to just find healthy but tasty options that you genuinely enjoy! My area of struggle is getting in the water I need and excercising regularly. Best of luck to you!!
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    You are the only one who can make this happen for yourself. People can come here and make a million great suggestions but ultimately, it's only up to you to incorporate change into your daily life. To lose weight you have to eat less, move more. It's much easier that way. Tracking what you eat isn't bad at all! That's the main reason why I've stuck to MFP and succeeded so far.
    I hate exercising. :( Wish I were one of those people who are driven to it or at least clean when stressed :/ but nope, I'm an emotional eater too. But I also want to live out the rest of my days healthier, being able to breathe going upstairs, have normal blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. I don't want to have retired only to suffer a stroke and become debilitated. Could it happen anyways? Sure, but I want to do everything within my own power to delay it. I simply walk for exercise. 2-4 miles at a brisk pace every day. I want to feel healthy enough so I can enjoy hiking come springtime. I want to go to the dr. and have her look at my chart and say 'wow what are you doing differently?' I want to go shopping for clothes just for fun. I've never done that because I've always had to shop L-XL-XXL sizes. I want to feel empowered and know I can do whatever *I* want to do. I want to travel. So in order to do all those things, I need to get out of myself that I've wrapped up in a safe comfortable cocoon all these years and change my self-image.
    For you, you need to find your path and the reasons why you want/need to make these changes. Then maybe you'll find the motivation to do it. I'm a binge-er too. :( Probably always will be. It definitely takes a lot of strong resisting temptation and avoiding your trigger foods completely. (I don't bring them in the house or if they do come in, I throw them away/make my dh eat them, whatever works to keep me away from them)
    Wishing you much luck and hope you find your way!!!!
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
    You just have to take small steps. Tracking isn’t hard or overwhelming. Most stuff you can just scan a barcode and you’re done.

    Put your info into MFP and set your weight loss goal to 1 lb a week. It will give you a calorie goal. If you exercise, eat those calories back.

    When I started losing weight (needed to lose 70ish lbs) I started very slowly. I didn’t focus on eating super healthy, I just focused on my calories. I ate a lot of pre-packages meals/foods because it was much simpler. I wasn’t exercising at all. Over time as things like tracking became more of a habit, I added in new health habits - like home cooked meals and more exercise. But you don’t have to overhaul your whole lifestyle overnight. Just start by tracking your food, don’t even set a calorie goal right now if that’s too much. Figure out what your base is, what do you eat on average. And then just try eating less than that. I promise this is not that hard if you take small steps/make small changes.
  • BlackBartBlues
    BlackBartBlues Posts: 5 Member
    I feel you. I was 365 lbs a year earlier, and today am 190lbs. I hate tracking (although I religiously did it). So the best thing to do is:

    a) Be consistent - with what you eat and your workout.
    b) Keep things simple - eat the same things everyday, so you dont have to track, and you dont have to overwhelm youself.

    The best diet thing that worked for me is:

    High fiber food (Fruits (in moderation), Greens, cruciferous veggies, tofu etc, low carb multigrain, wholegrain or protein bread, brown rice, quinoa), high protein (lean proteins such as eggs (preferrably egg whites), chicken breast, fish, turkey but no red meat), low carb, low sodium (nothing processed and nothing out of a can even if healthy), low sugar (no dairy, sugars, desserts etc) and moderate fats (eat healthy fats such as avocados, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil. No butter, ghee, cheese etc).

    My menu daily was (with intermittent fasting):

    Breakfast - Fasting + Decaf black coffee (no sugar or dairy but with Truly Zero keto sucralose drops)
    Lunch - 2 slices ezekiel bread or protein bread, veggies and 5 oz chicken
    Dinner - veggies adn 5 oz chicken.

    I ate a pound of veggies and 10 oz of chicken a day. And now and then included fruits.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    I feel you. I was 365 lbs a year earlier, and today am 190lbs. I hate tracking (although I religiously did it). So the best thing to do is:

    a) Be consistent - with what you eat and your workout.
    b) Keep things simple - eat the same things everyday, so you dont have to track, and you dont have to overwhelm youself.

    The best diet thing that worked for me is:

    High fiber food (Fruits (in moderation), Greens, cruciferous veggies, tofu etc, low carb multigrain, wholegrain or protein bread, brown rice, quinoa), high protein (lean proteins such as eggs (preferrably egg whites), chicken breast, fish, turkey but no red meat), low carb, low sodium (nothing processed and nothing out of a can even if healthy), low sugar (no dairy, sugars, desserts etc) and moderate fats (eat healthy fats such as avocados, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil. No butter, ghee, cheese etc).

    My menu daily was (with intermittent fasting):

    Breakfast - Fasting + Decaf black coffee (no sugar or dairy but with Truly Zero keto sucralose drops)
    Lunch - 2 slices ezekiel bread or protein bread, veggies and 5 oz chicken
    Dinner - veggies adn 5 oz chicken.

    I ate a pound of veggies and 10 oz of chicken a day. And now and then included fruits.

    So you were eating about 1000 calories a day; no wonder you lost weight.