not sure where to start.

stormyxpony

Hello.

I would love help losing weight. I weigh 190-195ish pounds and I'm 5ft 1 inch. The thing is is that into I can get into a new angncy the YMCA is out for me. I also have a bad habit of eating at night. Help??

cmriverside

Log all your food. It is the single best thing for you to do every day. Then look at your Food Diary and learn from it.

A great thread here covering the basics is this one:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

MelissaPhippsFeagins

I am not a gym member and lost 40lbs since June of last year. Am now working out the kinks of keeping it off. :happy: I started by adding a 30 minute walk daily and eating at whatever calorie level MFP says will lose 1lb/week. The trick to eating at night is to keep a few calories in your pocket for when you get there. Keep 100 calorie packs of popcorn, or 100 calorie containers of yogurt (you can buy those frozen - feels like a cheat, but it isn't because you planned it) or grape tomatoes or blueberries to snack on with those calories. Today I have 123 left and am still full from dinner, but before I go to sleep, I'll have 1/2 c of blueberries and a coffee with half and half. And when I run I out of calories I find something to do besides watch tv until the desire to eat passes. Read a book, do cross stitch, anything that requires two hands and that you wouldn't want to spill food on works. Most importantly, just don't stop trying!!!! fiddle until you find the food plan that works for you and an exercise that you love to do and will continue doing for the rest of your life. Good luck!!!

stormyxpony

Thank You guys!!!!

GEMMA_2014

I eat at night. It does not matter when we eat as long as we stay within the calorie limit. I eat 8 small meals a day. So I eat day and night and I have lost 123 lbs. I eat when I want and what I want with portion control. You have to find out when and what you like to eat and give yourself permission to eat it. Deprivation causes you to binge.

GEMMA_2014

I am working on losing my last 30 lbs. that is why the ticker says 12 lbs lost.

Sunshine2plus2

Hello! I have never been to a gym. I work out at home! You can do this!!

SugaryLynx

Read the sexy pants link!! Calorie deficit is all you need to lose weight. Exercise for fitness. That can be anything, jogging in place, body resistance exercises, work out dvds, video games! ♡ sometimes, I eat 500-1000 calories at night, depending on the day. Timing of when you eat is purely individual. How you feel and perform throughout the day is key to how you should personally space your intake. Good luck! You've got this

eso2012

Ignore the "sign up for a gym" thing. That is not the only way to work out. In fact, I have far better results nowadays than when I was a gym rat.

I suggest
(1) Log everything! MFP is great in that way. YOu will really begin to learn about calories intake, portion size etc.
(2) find some form of exercise YOU LIKE. Don't worry about the science, the trend, or whatever. Just explore and find something that get you excited. I recommend googling, surf youtube, etc. Freebies aplenty.

I was 134 when I started and now 110-115. I went from someone who ate waaaaaaay over healthy portions to someone who knows a lot about calories and portion size. Most important, I started working out in my 40s and now people come to me for advice. I do advanced Pilates, high intensity interval training, all sorts of fun stuff including carios, body weight, hand weights, TRX, balls...you name it.

What I have learned is that you HAVE TO ENJOY it. Seriously.

Night time eating. Depends on how serious. I have binge-eating disorder which I thought was good but now resurfaced. You may want to check out the MFP group on that topic. Night time "normal" eating is not the same. So it is hard to advise you if I did not know if you have a disorder or just a bad habit.

1two3four

Hello.

I would love help losing weight. I weigh 190-195ish pounds and I'm 5ft 1 inch. The thing is is that into I can get into a new angncy the YMCA is out for me. I also have a bad habit of eating at night. Help??

Hi

Welcome! You're in the right place if to lose weight and MFP makes it easier, for sure.

Planning my meals and snacks in advance has helped me the most. If I add all of the food I am going to eat to my diary to count my calories ensures I can't mess up, as long as I don't eat extra things that I didn't plan for.

It doesn't matter if you eat food at night as long as you're counting the calories in the food you are eating (if you're sleep walking, that could be a problem!)

If you move around a little more and you eat a little less you'll find you can lose weight!

Good luck to you!

tribe216

We are about the same weight and height, so I can relate! My advice to you is start by logging everything you eat for a week or so and you will start to see patterns probably after a few days, of good habits and bad. Also, incorporate a good breakfast into your daily routine if you haven't already. Personally, if I eat an egg and either turkey sausage or couple slices of bacon in the morning, the high protein helps to curb my sugar cravings for a good part of the day, especially in the afternoon. When you start to eat more balanced during the day, your night cravings will most likely go away.

I have done Weight Watchers for a while and I found these help me stay on track: make small changes, learn about correct portion sizes, plan your meals ahead of time and portion out food as much as you can... it eventually comes together and gets easier to figure out a good diet that works for you. If you try to just cut everything out and never enjoy what you like to eat, you will not stick with it. Don't think of it as a diet, it's a lifestyle change.

If you are starting a new workout AND changing your diet, I would focus on one first then add in the other after you get a handle on that. Trying to workout and eat right all at once sometimes can be overwhelming and the chance of success goes down. Focus on what you eat for a few weeks and give yourself small goals, like 5%-10% of your weight. Once you hit that, you will feel good and will be ready to start a workout, even walking 30 minutes a day makes a huge difference. It's a slow process, but you will get there, just have patience, educate yourself, and keep pushing forward, even through the hard times!

Oh... one last thing. I'd stay away from frozen meals. I find they hinder my weight loss if I eat them regularly.

Good luck!

auntiebabs

The good news is you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be better.

++Track for a week or two before worrying about losing. This way you'll see where you really stand odds are it is different than where you thought you were, which is actually good news...

++Be scrupulously honest... you can lie to your friends, you can lie in your diary, you can lie to yourself, but YOUR BODY KNOWS EVERYTHING YOU EAT. So you might as well be honest in your diary (keep it private if you like) but you need that info because you can't get where you are going if your are not honest about where you are right now.

++See where you can make small changes on things that aren't so important to you.
(Don't even think of taking chocolate out of my diet!!!)
--Reducing quantities
--Swapping out things instead of eliminating them.

++Focus on what you should eat not what your shouldn't.
Eating your nutritious foods first. Your body will be more satisfied and have less cravings.

++Small sustainable changes.
If you completely revamp your diet, it's way easy to revert to old ways in times of stress. (and who doesn't have stress?)
If you make a series of small changes, food still offers you some sense of comfort, sort of a comfort continuum, and after a while the first small changes will seem comforting in themselves. Also rather than having to think about everything all the time. You only have to think about a 2 or 3 new things to focus on.

++Rather than being uberstrict with the target MFP set for me. (I swear this saved my life.) I was happier once I gave myself a range:

ROCK BOTTOM: 1200 cal
TARGET: MFP Calories for lose 1 lb a week (when that hit 1200 I changed to lose 1/2 lb per week)
TOP OF RANGE: Maintain Calories for my GOAL Weight.

---

(SAFETY VALVE: Maintain Calories for CURRENT Weight - remember to keep updating this number as you lose)

---

++Only worry about it 1 lb at a time.
Forget I *NEED* to lose 20, 30, 50, 100 lbs. I'm only worried about 1 lb the next one. I'll worry about the others later.
Once I found ways to lessen the stress, I found it way easier to focus on the process and let the results follow. (It's what worked for me some people need the stress to get them motivated. Me I get scared and overwhelmed and don't see the big goal as achievable. )

++Think of losing weight like the stock market. Yes, there will be fluctuations but as long as the overall trend is the the right direction don't worry

Food is not the enemy. You need nutrition to fuel your body and make it strong.

Most vitamins are fat soluable... so remember to include plant and fish based fats (HAPPY FATS) so you can access the nutrients in your food.

All of your foods fall into 1 or more of 3 macro nutrient categories
FATS • CARBS • PROTIENS ... I personally think it's unwise to severely restrict any one of these categories.
Instead of eliminating or limiting quantity focus on the quality...

HAPPY FATS (Plant and fish bases)
COMPLEX CARBS (un or minimally processed)
LEAN PROTEINS

Oddly enough, on my journey here I've reduced guilt over food.
I have the occasional treat and I fully enjoy it with no guilt involved.
The thing is since I'm not eating crap all the time, now the occasional treat is just that a TREAT it's special and I enjoy it so much more than when I was unconsciously shovel junk food into my face.

eso2012

Oh, totally second the "super small goal" approach as mentioned by others! And don't aim for changes overnight. That's why New Year Resolutions don't work IMO. 1 Jan, new diet, all "good" food, work out 2 hours a day....that's insane. Small changes, enjoy the progress, that's the key.

I am still learning about myself though I had celebrated many milestones. It is a journey that is very unique.