Newbie

fayelein

Hey, I'm new to myfitnesspal.

Started calorie counting on Saturday and so far it's going really well. If anything i'm eating too few calories (about 900 a day) so I do need to work on that after first weigh in this Saturday to make sure I'm getting all the nutrients I need. My idea is 1000-1200 a day for it to be healthy.

Any general advice and tips?

I'm currently obsessed with looking at the calorie content of food and looking online for advice. Were you guys like this when you first started?

My aim is to loose around 80lbs in around 8-9 months which is 2-2.5lbs loss a week.

Thanks for any help and support

fayelein

Also I have read a "cheat meal" once per week helps keep your metabolism going.

Do any of you do this and does it help?

savvynurse

I eat all my allotted calories....I don't always eat ALL my exercise calories however I eat some of them too. When I end up UNDER my cal goal I am usually under only about 150 or so cals. If I don't eat them then I feel as if I am depriving myself.
I too am always looking at cals and figuring out what I can and CAN'T eat. I usually log all my food the night before that way I know how much wiggle room I have for the day. And if I know I am REALLY close to going over I make for certain I work out. For me the best motivator for working out is being able to snack around if I want to.:smokin:

fayelein

Thank you! Haven't thought about planning and logging the food beforehand - definitely going to try that!

valz2000

I always to try to make a basic menu the day before so I know what I am putting in my body. I am also a big fan of a splurge meal once a week, not necessarily because of the metabolism thing but almost as a reminder to myself that I am not starving myself. I use it as a reminder that I am doing this to make myself healthier and lead a healthier life.

havi7

Welcome Fay!

This is a great site to help be accountable and to gain support when you need it. Feel free to add me if you're looking for support.

What's worked for me as far as dieting has been eating 5 meals of 3-500 calories. The reasoning behind it (and this is from stuff I read, not me) is that it will keep your metabolism going throughout the day. In addition, I've been using an awesome meal replacement shake that has a lot of great nutrients in it so that I'm not depriving my body of what it needs. With this and an exercise program I've lost 17 pounds now.

Good luck!

cookingcriolla

Faye, first of all welcome to MFP. I'm sure you're going to love it, tons of support and great tools. Whenever I eat less than 1200 calories I get a message that your body can go into starvation mode and store fat or something like that. I try to eat all my daily allotment but don't always eat the calories earned from exercise.

I am still looking at calories, and I think that's a good thing because a lot of us are not aware of how many calories are in the foods we eat. What is really scary are the calories when we eat out! Ouch!!! really scary.

Good luck to you on your weight loss journey. Feel free to friend me if you'd like.

ZebraHead

The biggest quick win is to make all your own meals. No packaged/processed foods. No fast food.

Plan your meals and shop for them that week.

Got a treat that you can't have in the house? Get rid of it and don't buy any more.

Watch the amount of breads you have in your diet.

Keep some 'Go to' meals in supply that you can pull together quickly on nights when you don't have a planned meal.

Drink your water...