Intro

DoeJoe2061
DoeJoe2061 Posts: 1 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello all! My name is Brandon and I'm new-ish to this app and weight loss journey. I tried once before but couldn't figure out how macronutrients worked. I gave up. This is my umpteenth time trying to lose this weight. I am about 230 lbs and trying to get back down to about 175-185. I know this is about to be a long and arduous journey, but I'm hoping with some support from you all, I will be able to reach that goal.

Replies

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,313 Member
    Welcome. My suggestion, don't worry about macros. Yes, they can assist in feeling full allowing you to stick to your calorie goal easier, but weight loss is about calories. Concentrate on them. Measure (ideally with a digital kitchen scale) all the food you eat, and log it carefully making sure the database entry you are using matches what you are logging in terms of nutritional values (especially calories at the start).
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 33,784 Member
    Yup, calories are the key to weight loss. Work on that as first priority. Feeling full on those calories - which is individual - will be helpful, and you can experiment a bit to figure that out.

    IMO, I don't think it needs to be a long and arduous journey, necessarily. It may take a while, but taking your time can make it less arduous (and more likely to give you insight into new habits that will help you stay at a healthy weight long term, which for most people is more challenging than the initial loss).

    For myself, I decided I wasn't going to do anything to lose weight that I wasn't willing to continue long term to stay at a healthy weight, except for a sensibly moderate calorie deficit to cause gradual weight loss. For me, that's worked out pretty well so far. (I'm in year 8 of maintaining a healthy weight after around 30 years pre-loss of overweight/obesity.) YMMV.

    Once you get calorie level and satiation dialed in, there's plenty of time to tweak your eating to get better nutrition, if that's among your goals. As long as you aren't starting with a diagnosed health condition that requires a special diet, or diagnosed nutrient deficiencies, you can take some time to work out the nutrition side of things (including macros). Humans are adaptive omnivores. We didn't evolve in conditions of ideal nutrition, but our ancestors obviously lived long enough to breed! You'll be fine while you work this stuff out.

    Best wishes!

    P.S. If you do have a relevant diagnosed health condition or deficiency, ask your doctor for a referral to a registered dietitian with applicable expertise. That will help you dial in calories and the special nutritional needs a bit more quickly.
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,488 Member
    I agree with the 2 people above. Concentrate on calories, not macros.
    If you're the kind of person who likes graphs and charts, make a chart of the macros you eat naturally and how hungry you are the next day. After you have a month or so of info, look at the days you were least hungry and the macros for early that day and the day before. That may be helpful to YOU. Everyone's different. If you're not that kind of person, don't worry. Just don't do it. You do your thing.

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