new to lingo

gieshagirl

I have never been active....walking is new for me but i do at least a mile a day rapid pace. i have a sedentary job. My goal is to get healthy and fit. i have no idea how to do this. i am 5"5" and 178lb. i tried jogging with my walking....was on mobic for knee joint pain for 2 weeks. I have done low calorie diets in the past with mixed results. my doctor suggested 800-1000 cal. a day with 1 mile walk then build speed before more time. this doesnt seem to be working either. i got some advice from some great people yesterday and some links....the terminology ....uhhh...im kinda lost here. i am a very literal person..i like to preplan meals/activities and snacks. i quite literally dont know what to start with as far as food. i am doing 1200 calories starting today after reading stuff on this site. im terrible with figuring out what to eat!! i have been doing whole wheat light bread with over easy egg with 1 link of turkey sausage and a cup of skim milk.....i walk in the mornings. please help! i dont want this to get any further out of hand and me get frustrated and quit this. thank you in advance!!:embarassed:

WBB55

What's your question exactly? People are here to help. Try reading this, and see if it starts to answer some questions:

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

gieshagirl

what is MFP? is a calorie deficit necessary to lose weight? how many reps of a cardio do i need to start with? should i focus on more protein or low carbs or sugar free? how do you make menus for a week with the few options that i can see (and/or will eat)

kducky22

what is MFP? is a calorie deficit necessary to lose weight? how many reps of a cardio do i need to start with? should i focus on more protein or low carbs or sugar free? how do you make menus for a week with the few options that i can see (and/or will eat)

MFP = My Fitness Pal (this awesome site )
is a calorie deficit necessary to lose weight? Absolutely! you have to burn more throughout the day than you eat in order for your body to use up it's fat -- an in turn you loosing it
how many reps of a cardio do i need to start with? Whatever you think you can do. I'd look up a couple "Couch to 5k" to get started if you've never really gone out running before. This is a great program for beginners.
should i focus on more protein or low carbs or sugar free? This is completely up to you! Personally, I don't really worry to much about any of those and focus more on the total amount of calories I'm eating
how do you make menus for a week with the few options that i can see (and/or will eat) -- Start looking up recipes online including the food you like to eat. Yes, this takes time, but really helps to expand your options

Good Luck! Feel free to "add" me if you want :flowerforyou:

McCluskey1128

It's very simple. Eat fewer calories than burn per day. There must be a calorie deficit to lose weight. So, if you stay at or right around 1,200, you should not have a problem losing weight. Walking burns additional calories so you can eat those back (walking a mile will burn right around 90 calories).

My food advice to you is simple also - Eat lots of lean chicken breast and fish and more veggies than you ever thought you can handle. Veggies are low in calories and high in fiber, which will keep you full. Chicken breast is essentially pure protein so that will alleviate your hunger as well.

Don't kid yourself either. Count every calorie! That healthy salad you just slathered in fatty, high calorie dressing counts as calories. Those count!!

Losing weight is hard but it's not rocket science. Just eat healthy, track your calories, ask questions, and move around a little more. If you're on a phone call, pace around your office or cubicle, take the stairs, park far away at the grocery store to force you to walk. It's little things that will make a big difference.

Good luck!!

dlionsmane

First congratulations on the 12 pounds lost so far. If that is since January 2014 I would say you are on the right track! :flowerforyou:

(I assume that you are at 1200 because you entered Sedentary as you lifestyle and 2 pounds as your goal when setting up your profile) Now you don't have a real lot to lose, so 2 pounds per week may be too aggressive. You may want to change that to 1 pound. I would also like to know if you are eating back your exercise calories?

The Macros (Carbs, Protein and Fat) calculations given by MFP (this site) are a good starting point. If you realign your goals at any point (not JUST interested in weight loss- meaning you want to build or maintain muscle) then you may want to change your macros. Otherwise there is no need to eliminate or reduce anything (carb/sugar/fat) if you have no medical reason to do so, focus on balanced nutrition.

Read the guide to sexypants link provided already and if you have more specific questions you will get better responses if you open your diary.

MicheleWE

MFP just stands for My Fitness Pal. Yes, you need a calorie deficit to lose weight. You don't have to jump right in at 1200 calories, many people still lose weight on a higher calorie intake. Example-I am 5'5" and 158 lbs and I lose on a 1600 calorie daily intake. It is different for everyone and depends on many factors so you may have to experiment to find the right place for you. If you use the link that was posted earlier it will lead you to a place that you can figure out your TDEE-total daily energy expenditure. TDEE is the total amount of calories you burn in a day based on a configuration from your height, weight, age, activity level. Theoretically your TDEE is how much you can eat in a day with out gaining or losing weight. To lose it is recommended that you subtract anywhere from 5-20% off, the more you can eat and still lose the better. Example: my TDEE is 2250 calories, to create a 20% deficit I can eat at 1800 and I should lose weight (based on the calculations). Now, my experience is that 1800 is still to high for me to lose on a consistent basis, so I have tried out different levels for a month or so and found if I eat around 1600 then I lose. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/#projectedweightloss Here is a link to a TDEE calculator.

As far as what you eat, that really is up to you. No one thing works for everyone, except for eating at a deficit. Make sure you include foods you like. Losing weight doesn't have to be a punishment. Here are a few tips: eating fruits and vegetables give you a lot of bang for their buck. They are low in calories, so you can eat more of them to create that feeling of fullness and they are full of vitamins and fiber. I try to add vegetables to every meal. Protein is king at keeping you satisfied, make sure you eat protein with every meal. Not only does protein keep you full but it helps your muscle from being burned up as you lose weight (and you want to keep as much of your muscle as you can because that helps your metabolism burn faster and give your body a nice shape, among many other benefits). Foods that have higher protein are meat, chicken, fish, beans, dairy, nuts, but other foods have protein as well. You'll have to research to find the exact answer but you'll want to eat somewhere in the neighborhood of .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. For me, since I regularly train with weights I aim for a minimum of 120 grams of protein a day, but usually eat more.

You can eat carbs, fat and you can have sugar-however the calorie count for these foods tend to be higher, so you have to eat less of them (not as fulfilling) to meet your calorie goals.

Get yourself a food scale, and measuring cups and spoons so that you can weigh (the best option) and measure your foods to eat appropriate portions.

Again, you can eat whatever you want with MODERATION. The other night I had meatloaf, mash potatoes, and cabbage. The meatloaf was made with a few lighter ingredients to lower the overall calorie count. I had one serving, with a 1/2 cup mashed potatoes and 2 cups of cooked cabbage (I like it). Your breakfast sounds like a good start for your day. Plan your meals with a protein, try to add in fruit or vegetables and then add in the amount of carbs that will take you to the calorie level you want for that meal. If you splurge at one meal you may have to take it easy at another meal to reach your calorie goals. I generally try to plan each of my meals for about 400 calories or so and then use my remaining calories on snacks throughout the day.

As far as exercise, walking is great. Since you are just getting started stick with it. It is recommended for health to exercise 30 mins per day. Exercise itself will not usually net big results as far as losing weight but it helps your body be healthy and it gets you moving so you burn more calories. When I originally lost 85 lbs my main exercise was walking about an hour 4-5 days per week. Most importantly just get moving, your heart will love you for it.

I hope this helped a little. Good luck.