New and determind

mearsy88
mearsy88 Posts: 87 Member
in Introduce Yourself
So I have been on and off MFP for a while now, and this time I am going to do it and now I know how I can stick with it!

Every time I start something like this I think I MUST STOP eating chocolate, cake, take out etc and I start eating salads for lunch, and snack on fruit, which I can tell you get very boring.
Also every time I start MFP I try and stick to around 1200-1300 calories, because I'm in that mind set that I want to lose weight so fewer calories=bigger weight loss.

I have just read a post about someone who couldn't eat their 1200 calories and the comments I was reading has taught me a few things. I am now going to stick to my calorie goal of 1820, just go back to things I was eating (within reason), but not as much and watch portion sizes etc. the more I think about it 1820 calories is a lot less to what I have been eating in the past to make me overweight, and I'm more likely to stick with it.

I do struggle with eating lots of carbs. Would like to keep that down. But if anyone has any tips I would love to hear them. I have a lot of weight to lose and I am determined this time. I love going in the success stories and seeing all the pictures posted. It gives me motivation.

:-)

Replies

  • JulsiePie
    JulsiePie Posts: 166 Member
    Hey! I started about 4 weeks ago and I came into it with the mentality that nothing was off limits and if I wanted more food, I'd have to move my butt and get exercise calories.

    26 days in, and I really love how it's going for me :). I rarely eat less than 1500 calories a day and never less than the 1450 MFP gives me. I now know that pizza is good but having two slices is not nearly as filling as having a chicken breast with salad and a baked potatoe lol. My choices are getting better, and I'm happier and losing weight!

    Stick with it, you'll be happy you did :)
  • mearsy88
    mearsy88 Posts: 87 Member
    How much have you lost so far? Yeh it's trying to find a healthy balance but making sure you still do have that treat otherwise you just ain't going to stick with it.
  • JulsiePie
    JulsiePie Posts: 166 Member
    16 pounds so far - well...15.6 lol
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Sounds like you are in a good frame of mind and have a plan. I think not going to an extreme and starting by just cutting down on what you are eating makes a lot of sense. Logging helps a ton with seeing how it is working and where improvements can be made pretty easily too.

    I still have a long way to go, but am finding the MFP approach pretty reasonable and fun so far, which doesn't mean I don't struggle on occasion with old habits. My biggest problem before deciding to make changes was too much take out when I get busy, and using food for emotional purposes, so just focusing on eating not to self-soothe, but only at meal times (I like the basic three, but I think having set snacks work for lots of people too, it's just not my thing) and cooking for most meals has made a big difference. You don't have to cut carbs, but I personally have found some cutting (I do about 30% carbs) helpful. Mostly I just watch serving size and find that I stay full on fewer calories if I sub additional non-starchy vegetables for the carb serving or half of it at many meals. And keeping sweets as a occasional treat.

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