Hello, I need help...

faydec3

Hey everyone Finally I've made up my mind to get rid of some weight and I need help. I know through years of trying that I can't and won't do it alone. I just turned 50 in December and I want to get rid of 120 lbs. I would love to get off of all of these meds for high blood pressure and cholesterol problems. Everyone of my doctors scream Lose Weight!!!! So I'm finally trying it out. My job just started a Biggest Loser competition and I'm registered. I feel really excited about it not necessarily to win the cash but to lose some weight and in the long run, WIN. I work the midnight shift, so my eating and working out is different, but workable. I just want to keep this excitement going for the long haul.

marlyme113

Hi Fay, I don't know I can help, but I am here the same as you. I'm 53. I got sick 6 years ago and managed to gain 150 pounds. Not my proudest moment. I don't have a profile and you can see, I've lost only one pound. Actually, I was down 23, but I got frustrated by how fat and immobile I have gotten and regained all but one pound. So, I'm starting over, today. And that's the thing to remember while you have spark and incentive, it really is about doing good one day at a time. For me, it's also about avoiding fast food. Friday, I took a long hard look at the last 90 days on mfp. 95% of the time, I would eat under my calorie limits. But, the minute I let McDonalds or Jimmy Johns or Chicken Express in, my weight soared. So, I'm taking the next 90 days to see if I can go without fast food. That's the other bit of advice, figure out for yourself what works for yourself. It's never the same for everyone and it's never calories in/calories out. If it was, everyone would be thin. It's about finding yourself and what you can and will achieve is not the same as any other person. That's my two cents. Good health!!

trogalicious

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. If you ask a question on the forum, give as much information as you can ("yes, I have a food scale and weigh my food" is worlds better than "I eat a palm full of miscellaneous boiled chicken parts..sometimes.")
17. Be honest with yourself and honest with us.
18. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

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

...and here's another approach.

Block off 6 weeks. log EXACTLY what you eat for those six weeks, weigh at the beginning, weight at the end. If you've lost, you're eating under your TDEE. If you haven't lost, congrats.. you found your TDEE, if you've gained... then you're above TDEE.

From there, look at how much you lost or gained and you have a rough estimate of how to shift your intake to balance it out.

Online calculators are great, but they're just estimates. They give you decent ideas for starting points. From there, it's on you to fine tune it.

fdagasdgfasdgsda

1. Buy yourself a food scale and measure everything that goes into your mouth to the gram and track it.
- Find how many calories you are eating normally.
2. Calculate your body's maintenance calorie requirements and slowly adjust yourself to that level and adjust by 100 - 200 calories each week if you don't see a difference.
3. Try to eat as clean as possible. You can lose weight eating Mcdonalds as long as your under maintenance calories but why would you want to put junk into your body?. Junk in =/= Gold out. It may be hard to organize meals ahead of time but you can choose a free day to say slow cook a batch of 10 chicken breasts and shred them and store for different meals during the week!

Take it slow and try to learn your body and how it responds to different levels of fats, protein and carbs. Good luck on the weight loss challenge!

ehample

I wholeheartedly agree with everything however I highly recommend at least one visit with a qualified professional nutritionist. The information I got from mine led me here and set me on the right path. I can tell the days I am functioning in too large a calorie deficit because of the headache. Generally I will take a day or two off from working out, review the charts in my diary to see where I am deficient and make adjustments. Good advice though.