New and determind

mearsy88

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.

:-)

JulsiePie

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

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

16 pounds so far - well...15.6 lol

lemurcat12

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.