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christinadavis7027
christinadavis7027 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone:). I just turned 40 and am sick of feeling like 💩. I am overweight, have headaches, high blood pressure, fatigue, arthritis, poor memory- the list sadly goes on. My diet is just blah and I want to clean it up. I’m a bit overwhelmed - but I need to do this! Thank you in advance for tips and advice, and Merry Christmas!!

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  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,401 Member
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    Hello there and welcome! Feel free to ask any questions you have.
  • The_Elephant_Man
    The_Elephant_Man Posts: 202 Member
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    @christinadavis7027 I have lost 55lb so far and need to lose another 30lb by counting calories and low carbs. Make sure that you log everything you put in your mouth and stay below your calorie goal each day and you will lose weight. Never give up on yourself! You can do this!
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 630 Member
    edited December 2020
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    springlering62 wrote: »
    dewd2 wrote: »
    Don't over complicate this. Ignore 99% of the fitness and diet industry (fad diets and shiney magazines/youtube ads) and keep things simple. Start by counting your calories with your current diet. See if there are things you can change. Maybe replace some high calorie drinks with lower cal versions. Or maybe replace some snacks. Look for little things. They will start to add up and make a huge difference.

    Good luck.

    And ignore the Instagrammers. *shudder*

    Seriously, the New Years Diet Miracle radio ads have already begun here- when they can buy space between all the political ads. Jan 5 can’t come a moment too soon.

    Sorry just scrolling on my phone and accidentally hit disagree. I absolutely do not disagree. In fact 100% agree with both comments. —> good news. I figured out how to change my selection from disagree to like .

    I advocate:
    this is a journey not a destination
    This is a lifestyle not a diet
    Make one small sustainable change at a time. Once that change no longer feels like a change, make another small change.
    Track what eat
    Track your weight and measurements
    See how things change

    Examples of small changes:
    If you drink soda pop, swap that out for Sparling water with lime or lemon slices in it.
    If you like potato chips, swap that out for an apple
    If you like white rice, swap that out for brown rice.

    Little by little a little adds up to a lot.

    Merry Christmas.
  • BronTonRollyBeau
    BronTonRollyBeau Posts: 24 Member
    edited December 2020
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    Christinadavis7027 Same here ,time to find focus and take care of ourselves..
    We got this 💁‍♀️
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited December 2020
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    tgillies003 wrote: »
    springlering62 wrote: »
    dewd2 wrote: »
    Don't over complicate this. Ignore 99% of the fitness and diet industry (fad diets and shiney magazines/youtube ads) and keep things simple. Start by counting your calories with your current diet. See if there are things you can change. Maybe replace some high calorie drinks with lower cal versions. Or maybe replace some snacks. Look for little things. They will start to add up and make a huge difference.

    Good luck.

    And ignore the Instagrammers. *shudder*

    Seriously, the New Years Diet Miracle radio ads have already begun here- when they can buy space between all the political ads. Jan 5 can’t come a moment too soon.

    Sorry just scrolling on my phone and accidentally hit disagree. I absolutely do not disagree. In fact 100% agree with both comments. —> good news. I figured out how to change my selection from disagree to like .

    I advocate:
    this is a journey not a destination
    This is a lifestyle not a diet
    Make one small sustainable change at a time. Once that change no longer feels like a change, make another small change.
    Track what eat
    Track your weight and measurements
    See how things change

    Examples of small changes:
    If you drink soda pop, swap that out for Sparling water with lime or lemon slices in it.
    If you like potato chips, swap that out for an apple
    If you like white rice, swap that out for brown rice.

    Little by little a little adds up to a lot.

    Merry Christmas.

    ^^this

    If you're feeling overwhelmed, this is a great place to start. Small changes in the beginning add up over time. Another thing you can do is keep your current diet, but try eating smaller portions. If you're used to having 3 or 4 slices of pizza, try eating just 2 and adding steamed broccoli or something on the side instead of the additional slices. If you eat a lot of rice, try eating about half that amount and eat extra veggies instead, or bulk up your rice/pasta dishes with them. Greek yogurt is high in protein, lower calorie, and you'd be amazed all of the ways you can use it. Start small, weigh your food, and track everything!
  • panda4153
    panda4153 Posts: 417 Member
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    Welcome!! Just here to reiterate to not over complicate it. Losing weight is simple, eat less then you burn, use MFP to log your food and stay in your calories and you will lose...Now when I say simple I don’t mean easy, it’s just not complicated. It is hard work that requires consistency. It’s also slow going, when you are doing it right you won’t see drastic drops in the scale and you will see fluctuations. Just keep eating less then you burn, use a food scale for accuracy in your calorie counting. Build some good habits into your day, abs you will be successful!! You can absolutely do this!!
  • SNL813
    SNL813 Posts: 3 Member
    edited December 2020
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    Hi there. Where can I find a meal plan for the suggested macros? Do you really have to build your own and hunt and peck through recipies to find out if they fit your macros? I must be over thinking this.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
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    SNL813 wrote: »
    Hi there. Where can I find a meal plan for the suggested macros? Do you really have to build your own and hunt and peck through recipies to find out if they fit your macros? I must be over thinking this.

    I think you are overcomplicating somewhat. As others have been saying, log what you eat and look for changes you can make to cut cals or improve your diet.

    The macros aren't important for weight loss, they are simply one reasonable option of many, and most people likely have reasonable macros already. If you find yours are way out of whack (much lower protein or some such), it's likely much easier and more sustainable to then look at the foods you are eating that you could eat more of or meals you could cut some fat and carbs from or whatever it is vs trying to follow some new meal plan. (And similarly you will be able to see where you can cut cals if you need to or add in more vegetables or whatever you might want to do to make your diet healthier, if that's also a goal.)
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
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    SNL813 wrote: »
    Hi there. Where can I find a meal plan for the suggested macros? Do you really have to build your own and hunt and peck through recipies to find out if they fit your macros? I must be over thinking this.

    Start by just eating fewer calories. That's all. Once you get the hang of it then you can focus on macros. Just don't over focus. "Try" to get more protein but don't feel like you're failing if you don't hit the numbers every day. Little things will add up.

    Good luck.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
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    My recommendation to new members is simply track your food for a month. Be religious about it -- no "cheat" days. This is honestly about replacing bad habits with better ones. Research has shown that if you just concentrate on one change at a time and make it a habit over 30 to 40 days, you'll have over an 80% chance of success. Add in just one more thing (much less two, like cutting calories and exercising), your chance of success drops below 40%. Much less if you add in two things.

    So just start by logging everything you put into your mouth and creating recipes on here for things you eat every week. Once logging becomes a habit, in around a month, add in one more thing -- like cutting out the calorie bombs and replacing them with something else. Then, after you have those two things down, add in movement or exercise.

    Just have one thing that's an absolute must -- logging -- for your first month. Anything else is gravy but don't worry about it. Just make sure the logging always gets done.

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