Just starting out on this journey...

chelseaisabella

Hey all,

I'm a newbie.

My Mum recommended this to me as she has been using it recently and managed to lose a lot of weight through the tracking app and support she has received.

I have recently graduated and whilst at university I piled on the pounds. All 22 of them.

In a daily battle with my clothes, I try to tell myself that my size is natural and normal and that looks aren't everything. This is all very true, but I am actually outside of my normal weight allowances for a girl at 5'8". Therefore, it is time for me to cut the calories.

I'm really worried I won't be very good at counting my calories and that I will never lose weight though. I'm back home in a big family with a lot of food in the house that screams 'eat me' but it will definitely make me fat. As a graduate, I have no money to buy any diet food. My plan is just to cut the calories to 1,200 a day as MFP said.

I will probably start doing some workouts too.

Anybody want to be my friend? Would love the motivation from other people to keep going and to see how well they are doing too.

4legsRbetterthan2

I can be your friend- I sent you a request

I am about 25, I have alot more weight than you to lose, and I am a beginner runner.

Just start logging stuff if you are worried about doing it and don't stress. Think of starting out as educational and not a diet yet, you will figure out what works for you and what foods are worth it and which ones are not. It has taken me about a year to get to where I know how to diet right for me to be able to keep it up and keep it off, but I would rather go at my own pace and in a way that works for me and will last me in the long run.

Good Luck! I am sure you will do fine

QuietBloom

Welcome! Congrats on grad school! Feel free to add me. I'm a pretty good cheerleader. :happy:

itsfruitcake

Hellooo and welcome! I'm just reposting something from another user re: the 1200 calories. (In summary: 1200 is way too little for most people and not sustainable, check out the calculator here and adjust your daily allowance accordingly: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/) Read it and you'll probably be a lot happier in the long run

give this in a lot of noobie threads for people that show up here and want to lose weight.:

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines.
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Since you're restarting.. you've been here before. "I fell off of the cart" etc... right? Take the tips, links, and info above and make the cart more manageable.

JaneAero

Hi there,

1. I will not bring home chocolate and sweets for you

2. I will serve you smaller meals

3. I will make sure youre dinners are calorie counted, low fat and healthier

4. you can share my secret stash of diet snacks

love Mum xxx ))