Calorie Deficit

cherno471

Day two using my fitness pal love this app so far 👏 😄 im trying out a calorie deficit restrictive diet anyone out there have any ideas? I could really use the motivation.. Thanks!

try2again

Keep it simple. Have you filled out your profile and goals and received a calorie goal from MFP? Start logging and try to meet that goal (and hopefully you've chosen a nice, reasonable rate of loss based on the amount of weight you have to lose). Many find that focusing on their protein, fat, and fiber amounts helps them achieve their calorie goal without becoming overly hungry and frustrated. Do you have specific dietary goals you hope to achieve- more servings of fresh fruits & veggies, less red meat, etc? Great... slowly work at incorporating some of those changes, as opposed to trying to completely overhaul your diet overnight, which often leads to burning out quickly. Don't make any changes you're not willing to live with forever, because you will have to. That's about it.

try2again

Invaluable sources of info and advice from experienced users:

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

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-health-fitness-and-diet-must-reads#latest

KevHex

Hi, welcome to MFP. Here is a link that helped me, hopefully you can reach it as it is part of a group, but I think it is for public viewing.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819925/the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

steveko89

In my opinion, the most successful users take a very long-term sustainable approach. Make it not about hitting the calorie and macro targets at use, take a week or two of exhaustively logging how you eat normally and then assess where you can make easy and sustainable changes to food selection and/or portion sizing. For me there was some really low-hanging fruit like having fewer oreos, swap out mayo in favor of spicy mustard on sandwiches, and reassess my go-to "healthy" order at subway.

shanesemathis

Long time myfitnesspal member here. I have successfully lost about 50lbs using this app in the past. I honestly think success here just takes navigating meeting your caloric deficit goal everyday. That can be done by substituting certain foods/condiments for lower calorie options, buying a food scale to help you measure your food more easily, staying on top of logging your food as you eat them so that you don’t get off track for the day (or, some people plan their meals for each day so that they stay on track - that method is a bit too high maintenance for me), and eating back at least some of the calories that you burn through exercise. I see some people saying that they don’t eat back the calories that they burn through exercise, but I did eat mine back and was very successful anyway. I cannot imagine not being able to eat a little more on days that I exercise. Caloric deficit can be challenging and I want to still enjoy my life and food, so I allow myself to eat some of the calories that I’ve burned. Lastly, my heart rate monitor was my best friend on my journey. You can take it walking, running, swimming (if it is waterproof), to the gym, or wherever) and it will let you know how many calories you’ve burned during your workout. This really helped me track my calories in vs. calories out. Anyway, if you have anymore questions, feel free to let me know 🙂

springlering62

I’ve lost 40%+ of my starting body weight.

Calculate your calorie “allowance” using MFP.

For context, then sit down and enter what you would have eaten in a normal day. It’s an eye opener.

My allowance was (blush) about 15% of what I’d been scarfing down on a daily basis. So pretty much any reduction in calories would have kickstarted my weight loss.

I read these boards like crazy, learning what were diet myths, absorbing information, learning new foods and substitutions.

You’re not going to be perfect your first month, your six month, or for me, my 32cd month. There’s going to be those days when you just say ugh! And muscle your way through to the next one. And believe it or not, there may be a few days when you just don’t feel like (or can’t) make your calories.

One thing I was grateful to learn from the boards early on, was to expect my weight to fluctuate. So the first time my weight went up three or four pounds overnight, it was disappointing, but not a shock. I didn’t throw in the towel.

It’s all Calories In/Calories Out. Apple cider vinegar, green tea, some supplement your friend is hawking at a party, some “crazy trick” you saw online, none of that is going to work.

You can invest time and effort in special diets like keto, low carb, intermittent fasting or whatever, but it’s ultimately simple CICO.

I still eat some foods I love, have found many new ones I love even more, have learned substitutions to save precious calories, have learned that (for me) protein and hot drinks are my personal magic bullets for satiation.

You’re going to learn a lot about yourself and your body on this path- some good, some irritating, some downright unpleasant, some maddeningly illogically frustrating. Don’t do this for four or eight weeks and say “oh this isn’t working”. Commit to it long enough to begin to understand how to tweak and adjust.

Read. These. Boards.