10 things I've learned in 10 days at MFP

AnnaPixie

ok, have logged on for 10 full days now so thought I'd share some things I've learnt from being here:

1. The more you exercise, the more you can eat!

2. When you are restricted to 1200 calories, an extra 300 - 500 calorie burn makes a BIG difference! That's like an extra 40% differnce!! So basically, whereas I used to exercise 3 days per week and think that was a good effort, I now am motiviated to exercise 5 or 6 days per week. I just love seeing that calorie deficit go up :smooched:

3. KFC is LOADED with SALT!!! No wonder it is so bloating! Never knew that before :ohwell:

4. I CAN have some chocolate if I really fancy it. I just need to choose how much! I never enjoyed a 2finger kit kat so much! lol :bigsmile:

5. You learn a LOT by reading the forum posts and comments. Knowledge is power! :happy:

6. You learn that everyone has an opinion, and not one option is right or wrong. Different things work for different people!!

7. There are many ways to manipulate your calorie intake so that you incorporate foods that you enjoy; it doesnt have to be all celery and tuna! Run through what you're eating that day, and then add and subtract to suit. But always make sure you are eating lots of fruit n veg, no point loading up on carbs cos that just makes you more hungry!

8. Having a support network is very motivating. I feel accountable to my virtual MFP friends.

9. Seeing so many success stories are sooooo inspirational. If they can do it, SO CAN I!!!

10. Losing weight means being honest with yourself (no point thinking that one biscuit/ice cream/glass of wine doesnt count!), patient and consistent! This all take time and effort!! Those scales do NOT move easily. We are here for months, not weeks!


Anyone got any lessons to add??

kennedar

I love it! This is my third day here, and everything that you said is completely what i am learning!! We can do it!

BlueEyedMomma88

Great tips :-)

Jacole18

Wow! what a great post! I too have learned all those things and more. One thing I've learned is I am more in tune with my body now. If I have a high sodium meal or day, I now notice just how dehydrated I get, where as before I never noticed because I was always dehydrated! But my fav is your #1 lesson....the more you exercise, the more room you have to eat! I love that! Well, congrats on your journey and keep it up!

TeamLeela

I think you covered all the bases. If I think of one, I'll be sure to add it.

princesspurple

Fantastic post!

Joyjmb

**If it goes in your mouth, write it down!!**

I've written down EVERYTHING I've eaten in the last 2 weeks. It has been so liberating. I want to make better choices because of it and even if I've had little slips, after I've acknowledged it on the diary, it loses its power to guilt me.

justahorsen

I've learned that drinking lots of water really helps.....I keep a thermal cup of ice water on my desk all day, it is HUGE and my co-workers laugh at me because I refill it 3 or 4 times a day....(I ALWAYS drink more water than the 8 glasses)

FemininGuns

I like your #1 - this is a great post.

Another thing I've learned is when I have daily contact with something that supports what I'm doing - I stick with it longer and don't get off track. That's why I LOVE MFP!

LongMom

Great post! I great reminder for those of us who have been around of what MFP has done for us

CombatVet_Armywife

Great post! Good to see others learning new things along the way too...I can't believe what this site has taught me already.
Good luck & Keep learning! :happy:

TabiHerbalifeCoach

I learned even though 1200 in the min and a lot of us like to start there it isn't always the best place often it throws people into a plateau cause its to much of a chock on the body. Also when "eating back" your exercise calories some of your daily allowence is already in them so its never good to eat ALL of them back 25-50% is a good rule and is more important the less your baseline calories intake is (ie at 1200 calories i NEEDED to eat back my work out calories, at 1500-1600 I dont NEED to eat them back, but can if i'm more hungry or want a treat)

NoelleLou

SO true! I feel accounable to my MFP friends as well.. And when I dont want to work out- I think abt how hard everyone else is woking- And I want to work JUST as hard! Congrats! U will do WONDERFUL on you journey!

TeamLeela

I've learned that:

Nothing comes easy when you're dealing with weight loss.

There is no magic pill or fad diet that gives long term results.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you have to watch what you eat and exercise- the two work hand-in-hand.

JennaGermain

That's the frustrating thing for me. I can motivate myself to exercise if I think of it as earning a snack, but not if it doesn't affect how much I can eat, but then my Mom scolded me and said "If you eat back your exercise calories then what's the point?" and I get discouraged from bothering to exercise.

Anyway, an add'l thing I've learned is that sometimes what I take as hunger is really just heartburn (yes, I know, my Mom's pointed out to me that "how could anyone confuse heartburn with hunger, they are completely different" but I did.) Now I try to have an antacid when I have those feelings and then wait & see if it goes away or not before deciding to soothe it with food.

AnnaPixie

**If it goes in your mouth, write it down!!**

I've written down EVERYTHING I've eaten in the last 2 weeks. It has been so liberating. I want to make better choices because of it and even if I've had little slips, after I've acknowledged it on the diary, it loses its power to guilt me.

That's a really good point :flowerforyou:

And also, I think if you write something unhealthy down, like my KFC for example, I thought to myself "was it worth it"? All that sodium and calories for 3 or 4 days of bloat?? Nah, not really!! I will make better choices next time :drinker:

AnnaPixie

I've learned that drinking lots of water really helps.....I keep a thermal cup of ice water on my desk all day, it is HUGE and my co-workers laugh at me because I refill it 3 or 4 times a day....(I ALWAYS drink more water than the 8 glasses)

Yes! and I think that counter on the food page is really handy for that. It reminds me everytime I log my food, I should drink another glass of water :happy:

AnnaPixie

I like your #1 - this is a great post.

Another thing I've learned is when I have daily contact with something that supports what I'm doing - I stick with it longer and don't get off track. That's why I LOVE MFP!

Thank you :flowerforyou:

And I agree, I dont like letting my friends down so you all keep me going :flowerforyou:

AnnaPixie

I learned even though 1200 in the min and a lot of us like to start there it isn't always the best place often it throws people into a plateau cause its to much of a chock on the body. Also when "eating back" your exercise calories some of your daily allowence is already in them so its never good to eat ALL of them back 25-50% is a good rule and is more important the less your baseline calories intake is (ie at 1200 calories i NEEDED to eat back my work out calories, at 1500-1600 I dont NEED to eat them back, but can if i'm more hungry or want a treat)

Yeah, I have the added burden of being 4'11" tall (or short!! :laugh: ) so MFP calculates me at losing 0.8lbs per week at 1200 cals (as it doent go under that magic 1200). It's tough not even getting into the calculations for a pound!! :laugh: So I just up my exercise and eat a bit more. And, as you say, never eat back all of them. I'd feel that was a bit self defeating. It's just nice to know they are there the more exercise I do. And hopefully I CAN lose over 1lb a week if I increase that deficit by burning. We shall see :flowerforyou:

Thanks for your help :flowerforyou:

AnnaPixie

SO true! I feel accounable to my MFP friends as well.. And when I dont want to work out- I think abt how hard everyone else is woking- And I want to work JUST as hard! Congrats! U will do WONDERFUL on you journey!

Absolutely!! And they want to work just as hard as you!! So its self perpetuating really. Brilliant idea whoever thought this community up, isn't it?? :bigsmile:

AnnaPixie

I've learned that:

Nothing comes easy when you're dealing with weight loss.

There is no magic pill or fad diet that gives long term results.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you have to watch what you eat and exercise- the two work hand-in-hand.

Totally agree!! So often I've 'played' at losing weight. You know, you cut down here and there, do a bit more exercise and then go boozing all weekend? :laugh: Now I feel I need to be here for the long haul and make bigger sacrifices. Not sure what the future holds, but right now its working for me.

It's definitely not easy!! But its do-able!! :flowerforyou:

AnnaPixie

That's the frustrating thing for me. I can motivate myself to exercise if I think of it as earning a snack, but not if it doesn't affect how much I can eat, but then my Mom scolded me and said "If you eat back your exercise calories then what's the point?" and I get discouraged from bothering to exercise.

How about eating back half of them? That's what a lot of people do on here.

Also, exercise has a great effect on your mindset. It can become as addictive as food!! Lots of feel-good chemicals get released and after a while, you actually enjoy it :bigsmile:

I think exercise is good for you physically, mentally AND calorifically. You have to see the broad picture and think ahead at how much good its doing you now and in the future.

:flowerforyou:

annecolorgreen

I've learned that sometimes you don't screw up as bad as you think you have .

I went to our state fair and thought I really blew the day. I wrote it all down...and only ended up going over my calories by 200 for the day!! Normally, I would have felt guilty forever, but it gave me the freedom to enjoy myself without guilt.

On a side note: a friend of mine has lost like 250 lbs and he has written down EVERY bite that has gone in his mouth. He can tell you what he ate a year ago on this day. Pretty amazing.

~~anne

Mindful_Trent

I'd add that I've learned over the year I've been here that many people don't understand how MFP really works. The big things are:

1) Adding exercise goals in the goals screen does NOT impact your calorie goals - it's just something to shoot for and shows up on your exercise log to compare with your actual exercise. Exercise only impacts your calorie goal when you actually log it for real.

2) As is suggested by #1, MFP calculates your deficit BEFORE exercise, therefore *most* people should be eating back exercise calories to maintain a safe deficit. (Which is considered no more than 1000 cal deficit per day.)

3)There are always exceptions!

4) If you're at 1200 calories/day by MFP, there's a chance your deficit is NOT what it needs to be to lose your target weight (especially if your target is 2 lbs/week). This is because MFP won't automatically give you a calorie goal less than 1200/day. You may be one of the exceptions in #3 above... This is why it's important for people who are given 1200 cals/day by MFP to know what their estimated deficit is before exercise - you may NEED to burn exercise calories without eating them back to reach your (healthy) deficit goals.

animatedbecca

Great post! Thanks!!

sherrywoody1

Excellent post Anna! I've learn a lot by just reading it. The support system is One of the things I value the most and I am so elevated by everyone's success. In fact I took everyone's advise yesterday and I am implementing it today. I feel like I am going to succeed!

xquiz8

Love this post! I've learned that a supportive group can make all the difference. :flowerforyou:

I've learned that if I bite it, I write it. I need to see the list of foods I've chosen to eat in order for it to register in my brain and make.

I've also learned that I have no excuse for making bad food choices - that's on me - and that a little planning ahead can mean the difference between a satisfying and nutritious lunch/dinner and a mad dash for fast food.

It's inspiring and motivating to see how many people here are working hard and are succeeding because they are determined. I want to be one of those people.

I've learned about the hundred push-up challenge, and that I want to make the effort to become physically fit, because I like being able to say "I can do x amount of push-ups".

ktbug1186

great post!! I so know how it feels to be restricted to only 1200 calories, since im only 4'll haha Thanks for the post!

AnnaPixie

Thanks everyone. I look forward to learning some more lessons as we move along.

Together, we can do this!! :bigsmile:

KerryB1977

AWESOME post! :bigsmile: Thanks so much!!:flowerforyou:

andrewsa

Looks good!

Things I've learned:

-You bite it, you write it!
-If I fail to plan, I plan to fail -I basically plan my day of food, leaving room for a few snack decisions here and there. I also keep a business card sized paper in my wallet with "treats" and their calorie count (ie: ice coffee, lattes, cookies etc.) Then if I'm out with friends, I can have something I like but still stick within my goals for the day!
-Exercise is important! (If I know i'm having a big meal, I make sure I get exercise in that day to help compensate for the extra cals, or drinks!!)