Planning out your day

retromomof2

Hello,
I am new to this community, I have yet to introduce myself, but I am trying to get started on this since a friend shared MFP with me this am. I have been doing WW for a while and have not had much success other than maintaining my weight where I am not happy. note: WW is NOT to blame, I know it works but maybe i just need a change.

I was wondering if those of you who have been using MfP would share what works for you in planning your days/weeks out? Do you look mostly at calories? Do you look at Calories and fat and carbs, What works for you?


Thank you in advance.
Retromomof2

SarahWrittenThin

I pay attention to calories, carbs and sodium the most. I generally plan out my day the night before but it doesn't always unfold that way and I adjust as I go.

AnneGenevieveS

I only really pay attention to calories.

I do not eat out at restaurant/fast food hardly ever, and I do not eat a lot of fat, so that is not really a problem for me where I need to pay attention to it. I just watch my calories. The second biggest thing for me is exercise. That will help you immensely with the weight loss and then you get to eat more too!

Remi79

I pay attention to Calories and Sodium. I drink a lot of water as well

humglum

I look mostly at calories and sodium. I try to get my fat level up (it is usually pretty low, about half what it should be). My protein is usually over. I plan my days in advance when I work but when I'm off I just sort of take it meal by meal.

So the short answer is: calories.

wonnder1

Calories and exercise. More so exercise.

The problem I had with WW is that exercise wasn't really a focus for them.

Helena4

Hey, and welcome!

Exactly the questions I wanted to know when I started!

Best to watch - calories,fats for obvious reasons along with sodium, carbs and sugar as these are the things that make you retain the fats and water - leading to bloating and lack of weight loss! Protein and fibre aren't a big deal - if anything, MFP doesn't have the daily goal for this high enough!

LOG EVERYTHING and be honest with yourself. Also, making your diary public will really help you make food choices because everyone can see what you are eating!

Avoid eating out unless the restaurant provides nutritional values for food either on their menus or websites (look before you go!)

and most of all.....drink 8+ cups of water a day - can't stress how much this has helped my weightloss, gets all of the toxins out of the body too and freshesses you

Oh and - get the exercise in!!

Good Luck & any questions - everyone is very very friendly/helpful - WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! :flowerforyou:

retromomof2

Thank you for all of your input. I think just starting and seeing what happens from here is all I can do. Just live and learn I what my body needs. I can tell that I am going to like this board.

thanks again.

SeasideOasis

WELCOME!! :flowerforyou:

First, I had to reign in my calorie intake. All at once, trying to watch everything was causing me to fail too frequently. As I started experimenting with more foods and finding what combinations work, I have since been looking at my carbs, fat, protein, and sodium. Am I perfect? Absolutely not! Honestly, Im less diligent than I want to be, but Im making more and more progress with changing over to a healthy lifestyle. I was a wings, pizza, and beer kind of girl before. Now I prefer my dry heat cooked salmon and steamed veggies! That alone is a success.

Second, as for planning out my meals, I certainly do try. If I cook at home (which I am trying to do more of), I usually stick to a high protein and veggies diet. I have LOTS of fish in the house (fish in general is GREAT for your Omega-3s), pork tenderloin, and chicken. I also add in "good carbs" such a brown rice versus white rice, wheat thin bagels instead of giant ones, and other wheat products. I love food. In order for me to stick with it, it is also important to me to find what substitutes I can have that dont make me feel like Im losing my enjoyment of food and cooking!

Welcome to MFP again and I hope you have GREAT success!

lloydrt

plan ahead, figure you what you are going to eat and then go from there. It works . If youre going out, figure you do more exercise to be safe and then plan what to eat......I just did, Im going out tonite and pulled their menu up online, as well as figuring out how many calories are in wine ,.....So this way no regrets tomorrow.......Best wishes, Lloyd

hey, now I got to stay focused once I start drinking, lol......its hard....

milaxx

I try and plan everything. I plan my meals, I plan my snacks. I look at the whole picture. calories, sodium, sugar and fat. i want to eat healthy not just diet. I take one day (well evening really) to prep for the week. it makes it easier to grab and go. I stock my car with snacks which helps me resist the temptation go to a fast food place. I bought several to go cups so I never have an excuse not to have water or some nutritious beverage with me. I read labels and try to keep my food as natural as possible.

joolzsd

I focus on calories, fiber, and sodium the most. MFP has the default values for fiber and protein way too low, so I have customized mine (I'm at 45% carb, 30% fat and 25% protein right now, with 35g fiber). I also drink 11-12 cups of water a day and exercise at least 90 min a week.

bizco

Tops things that helped me reach my weight goal:

1. Digital Food Scale - an absolute must! Food label "per serving" information is usually way off. For example, label says one serving is 1/2 cup or 40grams. When you weigh a leveled 1/2 measuring cup, it actally weighs 50+ grams. This really adds up!

2. Heart Rate Monitor - the only way to accurately log calories burned from exercise.
3. Drink a minimum of 64oz. of water daily and aim to drink half your body weight. Ex. weight=150, drink 75oz. of water.
4. Eat 3-5 servings of vegetables per day.
5. Eat at least 25g of fiber every day.
6. Reduce sodium intake to 2,000mg or less per day. Sometimes I go over, but if I do I just drink more water the next few days.
7. I stopped eating processed food almost entirely. Read the ingredients.
8. Eat a little dark chocolate every day.
9. Weigh (measure liquids) and log EVERYTHING you eat and drink; including those things you use to cook (olive oil, butter, etc.)

Beyond that, I don't plan my meals. I always have lots of good stuff on hand to choose from and then I wing it.
I concentrate on total calories and try to come as close as possible to a 50/25/25% split. (carbs, fat, protein). If I'm over on protein, that's fine. But I try very hard not to exceed 50% of total calories from carbs. Most of my carbs come from fruit, vegetables, old-fashioned oatmeal and beans. No white sugar, flour, bread or pasta.

You can change your food goals by going to My Home>>Goals>>Change Goals>>Custom. Save your changes. I highly recommend increasing your protein from MFP's default of 15%, increasing fiber to at least 25g, and lower the sodium. Good luck!