Post your tips for beginners or ppl who are struggling.

angiejim0415

I am 5'3, started at 190lbs and am now 172lbs. I've been dieting almost my whole life but it wasn't until 3 months ago I was actually able to see progress.
-start slow: I aimed at .5lbs per week and subtract 50 calories every two weeks, changing too much too fast can cause you to give up quickly
-make small changes: riced cauliflower, diet coke, light butter etc
- don't log your exercise: exercise is meant to be a celebration of what your body can do, not punishment for what you ate. Plus exercise calories can easily be overestimated
- eat dessert- I NEED my sweets. So I portion my cookies out into little baggies, one after lunch and one after dinner.. Knowing thats all I get helps me to slow down and enjoy them (sometimes I have a 3rd one too)
- Set non-weight goals: running a 5k, enrolling in a class, remodeling a room, practicing minimalism or self-care, anything that keeps you busy and excited

chocolate_owl

My tip: read the “Most Helpful Posts” under the General section, and if you have questions after that, ask them. Motivation waxes and wanes. Fitness buddies come and go. But knowledge about how our bodies work and what behaviors bring success can’t be taken away from you. Applying that knowledge is what gets you to your goal.

middlehaitch

angiejim0415 wrote: »

I am 5'3, started at 190lbs and am now 172lbs. I've been dieting almost my whole life but it wasn't until 3 months ago I was actually able to see progress.
-start slow: I aimed at .5lbs per week and subtract 50 calories every two weeks, changing too much too fast can cause you to give up quickly
-make small changes: riced cauliflower, diet coke, light butter etc
- don't log your exercise: exercise is meant to be a celebration of what your body can do, not punishment for what you ate. Plus exercise calories can easily be overestimated
- eat dessert- I NEED my sweets. So I portion my cookies out into little baggies, one after lunch and one after dinner.. Knowing thats all I get helps me to slow down and enjoy them (sometimes I have a 3rd one too)
- Set non-weight goals: running a 5k, enrolling in a class, remodeling a room, practicing minimalism or self-care, anything that keeps you busy and excited

MFP is set up for one to eat back exercise calories.
You are shortchanging your nutrition and performance when you don’t.

Having base cals and exercise cals means one can adjust intake dependant on movement on a daily basis if needed.

If something happens and you can’t do your workout for a week, eating your base cals will keep you on track.

Conversely if you have the oppertunity to workout longer/more intensely you will get the extra cals, still lose at the selected rate, and avoid burn out/poor performance.

MFP is not a TDEE calculator, it is NEAT plus exercise.

Tip for beginners:

Get a food scale and learn how to log and use MFP as designed.
And as @chocolate_owl says, read the stickies.

Cheers, h.

gceinca

I don't log my exercise calories. If I had and I had "eaten" those calories I don't think I would have lost ANY weight. If I took exercise calories into account, I should have lost twice as much weight than I have. I think it is a good strategy to NOT log exercise calories!

callsitlikeiseeit

ive lost 130 pounds.

-buy a food scale. learn how to use it properly and how to log your food properly
-realize that weight fluctuates up and down. you will have weeks of no loss, even if doing everything 'right'.
-losing weight faster does not mean that you will KEEP it off
-you can eat out, eat cookies, drink alcohol and still lose weight
-if you go over your calories (and there will be days you DO), its not the end of the world
-read all the stickies. even if you think they don't apply to you
-move more. you don't have to go to the gym or run in marathons, but find an active activity you enjoy and do it. it can be as simple as taking a short walk after dinner.

angiejim0415

Middlehaitch, I respect your opinion even though we disagree. What works for me may not work for you.
My Fitness Pal actual has an article about eating your exercise calories back.
https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-the-dietitian-should-i-eat-back-my-exercise-calories/