Starting out

juliekolb4164
juliekolb4164 Posts: 1 Member
in Introduce Yourself

Hi. I'm Julie. I'm new to the group and trying to get in better shape. I'm mid-50s and have high cholesterol to lower, so any tips are appreciated. Thanks!

Replies

  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 10,521 Member
    edited October 27
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10950921/starting-out

    hi Julie. Welcome to MFP.

    I started here at age 56, obese and sedentary.

    My first tip is ; give yourself grace. You cannot expect perfection, reaching calorie goals every single day, grabbing a good you didn’t want or intend to grab. Give yourself the grace and time to learn this app and create habits.

    It took me months, so my second tip is: stick to it. You’re not going to lose 30 pounds in a month, or two, or possibly even six. The weight crept up on us, and it creeps down likewise, in a very frustrating, zig-zaggy fashion.

    Third type: buy a good scale You’ll be shocked how small a serving is. Good news though, you do get used to it.

    Fourth tip: log religiously. Be accurate and above all, be honest. Log everything. Those four or five potato chips, or that cookie or granola bar you thought was healthy may not seem like much in the moment, but over the course of a week, add up to hundreds of calories.

    fifth tip: create habits you’ll keep There is no end goal Once you reach goal, it’s a conscious effort to remain there

    Finally, invest in a fitness tracker. Want another shock? I was gobsmacked when I realized how effort it took to burn off a single 2-cookie serving of Oreos. That was my lightbulb moment.


    Yeah, I was exercising but I was far out-eating my exercise.

    You have a great resource here with this community. Tough love and love-love go hand in hand here. I started at a size 22W, obese and extraordinarily sedentary, and have maintained here at a 4 for years.

    All the stuff about “oh, you can’t lose because you are pre/post menopausal” is bull *kitten*. We’ve slowed down and begun eating more in our dotage. Simple as that.

    And there is no “falling off the wagon”. The wagon is always ready when you are. I enjoyed five giant bakery chocolate chip cookies yesterday and went over 1400 calories for the day. Oh the shock! I was up 3 1/2 pounds this morning. Did the world end? Was that three and a half pounds of cookies I ate? Not hardly. It’s just a temporary (and super enjoyable/ I deliberately went back for #2-5!) carb /water jump.

    After all this time, logging and data, I know myself well enough to know that’s a drop in the bucket. I’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.

    Learn thyself.

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