New and confused

StaceyDonnaD

Hey there, I am new and I have lots of questions. I have been over weight my entire adult life, I don't consider myself an over eater at meal time, I generally don't eat 2 helpings but I am going to scale back my portion size . I eat the normal 3 or 4 times a day and I am a semi healthy eater. My problem is snacking close to supper and in the evening. Also, I have been sick for the last year, I put on about 50 lbs, my inability to do much of anything really held me back. Now that I am on the road to recovery and have gotten the ok from my Dr. and I am now able to light exercise, which right now is only a 15 min walk daily. I always get confused with counting calories, watching fat, carbs are they good or bad etc. Is there a balance of the 3 if something is higher in calories but is low in fat, is that ok? I'd really like help in deciphering what is good, what is not and what snacks are ok to eat. I am looking forward to reading your replys and also the other posts in the areas. Wishing us all luck! -Stacey

erickirb

The big things to avoid are "white" carbs (rice, flour, sugar, etc), trans-fats, processed foods, and high levels of sodium.

gadzu

Keep it simple: Burn more calories than you eat. You do that, and you'll lose weight.

biggahoona

What works for me, and I find to be a pretty easy way to lose weight is to simply keep in mind the less processed and the less ingredients, the better. Fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, seeds. I kind of don't even count calories as much when I eat this way. I have been logging my food to keep myself accountable. I have to really really want that peanut butter panic ice cream if I'm going to have to log it. Y'now what I mean?

I read the Eat to Live book and it made a lot of sense to me. I think a plant based diet is the way to go. I'm not going to have it totally rule my life, if there's a time when I want to eat some chicken or fish, I'm going to do so. Right now I don't.

The other thing I've found is that the longer I eat this way, the less I crave junk. So the peanut butter panic is actually not as tempting as it once was. Yippee!

I'm wishing you the best in your weight loss!

searbear1980

I have used the automated choices for MFP so far and have lost a good amount of weight. Low sodium, and staying in my calorie range. Friend me if you like. Good Luck!

lottanorde

I agree with above. Keep it simple, use the calorie calculator on this site and stick to that, you can still eat most things as long as you log it and eat less than you burn

abcerc

I am new here too (I'm on day 3), so I can't tell you from experience what works for me (yet)! However, I can tell you that my mom is a diabetic, and I went to classes with her regarding nutrition. The thing that stuck out the most was regarding carbs. The instructor said that a lot of fat free, low fat, "diet foods" are loaded with carbs- and that you are most times better off with eating smaller portions of the real thing- and just choosing healthier alternatives vs. specific fat free items. I have noticed as I've grocery shopped, that this is the case for most things. My mom has been following a diabetic diet counting carbs- no more than 60 carbs per meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and no more than 15 carbs per snack (2 snacks a day). She has been doing this for the past year, and averaged a 1 pound loss per week. Of course, she has several additional health issues, so she wasn't able to exercise much at all- but was still able to get the weight off by watching her carbs. She is at a point now where she isn't loosing weight (and doesn't really need to now), but could easily adjust to a lower calorie count if she wanted to. It's nothing very scientific- and I'm trying my best to stay with the recommended calorie/ carb/ protein recommendations on this site, but I truly think carb intake has a lot to do with weight loss. I hope that helps!

azlady7

A lot has to do with how your body and preferences work. My body needs higher protein, therefore I eat more meat (lean cuts and more chicken and fish than red meat). I am significantly overweight so i want to avoid diabetes and high cholesterol that means low sugar, very little starchy or processed grains and more of the whole grains. I have discovered that K.I.S.S. works well for me...keep it simple stupid. Eat healthy unprocessed foods, exercise regularly, log what I eat and eat back my cals. Dont be so strict that its impossible to stick with it and find your love for activity. Its good for you to be moving and keeps you occupied from eating good luck!

FabOma08

Balance is really the basic rule! Everybody's needs are different though. My suggestion is fill in the info here. Height, weight, activity level. It'll give you a daily goal. Then start searching for foods you normally eat. Create a couple of imaginary days with your typical eating. You can always delete things. This will give you an idea of how to plan things. I strongly suggest to start off with you search for anything you're planning to eat before you do. Since your activity has to be low right now, I'd suggest changing your calorie goals by lowering your carbs and increasing your protein.(Mine is set at 40/35/25 C/P/F) As far as good vs bad carbs: focus on whole or multi-grains.

MissVV

Hello and welcome! I know it can be a confusing muddle of nutritional advice out there, but some simple things are good to aim for -

As far as carbs go, try to choose brown instead of white (brown rice, brown pasta, brown bread etc) you start to get a taste for it after a while, it is packed full of fibre which helps you feel full for longer and is really good for helping food travel smoothly though your digestive tract.
Stay away from processed/premade food as much as possible, especially the microwavable ones- they are FULL of salt, sugar and "bad fats" (by bad I mean trans fats and saturated fats in chips, fried food etc, by "good" I mean avocados, uncooked extra virgin olive oil and oily fish etc)
Sugar is also one to watch out for as it causes huge energy peaks and crashes, leaves you feeling unsatisfied and makes you gain fat.
Salt is also important to cut down on, again you will get used to the taste and won't rely on it so much once you start to cut it out.

This is a great place to be to make a change - tons of inspiring people who have shifted hundred of pounds- if they can do it, you can too! Try to stay positive and take pleasure in being good to your body - it's the only one you get so look after it. It honestly does get easier, you start feeling more energised and as your exercise increases you actually want to do more.
Best of luck with your journey, do ask if you are unsure of anything.

mom23nuts

I read a great quote once that said "Foods that are good for you go BAD and foods that are bad for you stay GOOD until the end of time"

Avoid the prepackaged stuff with all the extra sodium and additives and if you can't do much in the way of exercise get some adjustable weights that you can use while watching tv and do arm exercises or chest exercises.

Eat at regular intervals 3 meals and 2 snacks or 3 if need be and drink water

one thing I learned from a nutritionalist is divide your plate up at each meal 50% is greens and salads 25% is other veggies and the last 25% is your protein and it will all balance out

you can use your palm of your hand to determine how big and how thick your protein should be if you don't want to measure every meal and 2 hand scooped together is about how much salad/green veggies or more you could load up on

good luck with things here we are here to help!