Where to start?

c_ray0191

Hey all, just a little back story, so I had my 3rd son in October & got on the scale earlier this week & realized I have not lost any weight since having him. To get to my goal weight I need to lose a significant amount of weight (80lbs). I’m looking for some advice on where to start. I know I need to start exercising but I have no idea where to start nutrition wise! Any advice or tips are welcome!! thanks

quiksylver296

A suggestion?

Don't try to eat at a deficit right now. Just commit to logging everything you eat before you eat it. Treat it as an experiment. See what your current diet looks like. After a week or two, evaluate what you are eating. Where can you make some subtle, relatively easy changes? Maybe you cut one calorie-heavy drink from your day. Do that until if feels normal. Then maybe you could make sure dinner includes a vegetable every night. Do that until it feels normal. So on and so forth. You're creating new habits to use for the rest of your life.

There's a great podcast called Half-Size Me that has tons of good information on how to lose weight sustainably. Maybe check that out.

R0ENIN8

I started with tracking with MFP, and I mean I tracked everything, meals, snacks, gum etc... I did that for a couple of weeks to see what I was eating normally and that really opened my eyes. I’ve got a sweet tooth so I started substituting fruit, then switched from milk to almond milk, stopped drinking sugary drinks and focused on how much water I was drinking in a day. Portion control is huge. Just do one thing at a time, pick one thing like fruit instead of candy, after you conquer that move to next. Just focus on what you do today and don’t get overwhelmed. One thing at a time, one meal at a time, one day at a time. You got this!

Moi_jo

1. To start with log everything in your diary and get an idea of how much of what you eat (carbs protein fat sugar salt) and how many calories , just see how it all balances out and adjust it from there. It does matter what you put in your body, it’s not just about the calories. Small but good choices 👍
2. Whats your step count around each day? Try to increase to 10,000 steps a day .
3. Exercise I tried intense workouts right at the start and almost died went right off the idea of workouts SO go with beginners workouts low intensity, unless you think you can handle the more intense stuff?

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert there’s many good people that know more than me here, this is just my easy approach to getting your head around this. Good luck 😊

NellyK12

Start by tracking your food and exercise with MFP then combine that with a good diet plan like the gut health and weightloss program. You will see good results in a short period of time. Let me know if you need more information.

Lietchi

You can read these helpful threads here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest

sianlr87

Some really good suggestions here.

For me, when I've tried to change everything overnight it just hasn't been sustainable. This time, I did small changes... so increasing water, finding alternative things to snack on, swapping wine for gin and low cal tonic.

My current focus has been to make sure I'm getting my 5 day into my diet. Naturally this means I've been increasing the amount of fruit and veg and therefore reducing other foods. I've had the odd couple of days where I haven't done it, but I'm trying to not be hard on myself and just start again the following day. Things seem to be going the right way.

Good luck!

bmeadows380

You actually don't have to start exercising; while exercising helps with health and can earn back extra calories for you, how much you are eating plays a much larger role.

Besides with 3 kids and one at 7 months, I'm guessing you're getting plenty of activity as it is

Also consider your body's needs if you are still breast feeding; if you are, you are supporting both yourself and your son and need adequate nutrition to do so.

Weight loss is intaking less than you burn; nutrition is for health, so don't think that you must eat "clean" in order to lose weight; there is no need to completely change your diet all at once; just eat less of what you area eating now, and make small changes to help tweak those calories down. Definitely browse the link posted above and consider small changes that are manageable - ask yourself if what you are doing you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life.