I’m new and I need help

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donaldjohnson4961
donaldjohnson4961 Posts: 2 Member
in Getting Started
Today was my first day logging meals and I went way over my daily 2000 calorie goal

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  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,866 Member
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    It gets easier. I promise.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,913 Member
    edited June 14
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    lol. No big surprise there. Did you graduate school your first day, right after you were assigned a desk? Nope. Thought not.

    Relax. It’s a learning process. You’ve got to learn to weigh your food, log it accurately, discover substitutes, which foods aren’t worth the calories.

    My suggestion: scroll your diary back a few days and log what you eat on a typical day. Not only will it help you learn to practice logging, but it gives you a starting point.

    Or for me, more like a “startling” point.

    I was utterly shocked to find I was usually in the 10-12,000 calorie per day range. Yeah, I know. Talk about wake up call!

    My next suggestion would be, invest in a good quality fitness tracker that will sync with MFP. That will record steps, and any exercise you log.

    My lightbulb moment in the whole weight loss process was learning calories in versus calories out- i.e. that a three mile walk didn’t burn off a whole pack of Double Stuff Oreos. In fact, it didn’t even burn off a two cookie serving. That taught me the “cost” of calories, and made me determined to find better choices.

    I still eat snacks (looking at you, 600 calorie Lazy Acres big *kitten* chocolate chip cookie!) but try to fit them within my daily goal.

    Don’t fret over one day. My goodness, you’ll be in a constant state of fret if you do!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,130 Member
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    The other thing might be that 2000 is really too low for your life situation.

    If that is you in the picture, you look male and pretty fit and like you don't have a lot of weight to lose.

    Are you working? How tall are you?

    I hope you didn't choose, "Lose two pounds per week," and "Sedentary." The Sedentary setting is too low for anyone who leaves the house on a regular basis for school or any kind of a job. Slower weight loss is better unless you're obese.

    Get your settings right and you get more calories. Also, on this site, exercise is accounted separately, so on days you exercise, you need to enter it into the "Exercise" section and eat more.

    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals



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