My advice to newbies

vim_n_vigor

1. You know yourself best. What changes can you make?
2. If you truly have binge causing foods, get them away from yourself for a while, not forever, but until you can control those binges.
3. Move. Walk, run, go to the gym, play on the playground. The more overweight you are, the slower you take it at first, but moving helps.
4. You know your personality best. If you are an all or nothing person, do your research and make all the changes you want at one time. If you have a harder time with change, work your way into it. Pick one area to change - maybe adding more fruits and veggies first, and once you are comfortable with that, pick another area to work on.
5. Each person loses weight differently. Some people may gain a little at first, and others can drop 10 pounds very quickly at the beginning. You are only you, no one else. Your path will be different than mine. Comparing us will only frustrate you.
6. Get some friends. There are all different personalities on here. There is bound to be 1 or 2 people at least that you can support and that can support you and keep you accountable.
7. Be honest with yourself.

What is your advice?

sunkisses

Figure out what your issues are (emotionally) and try to take care of them.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/sunkisses/view/working-out-your-inside-closure-why-it-s-your-responsibility-154147

joejccva71

1. You do not talk about Fight Club.
2. Zombies need love too.
3. The grass is never greener on the other side.
4. The world is round.
5. Casinos are the best place to make a living.
6. Hank Williams Jr always knows what to say and when to say it.
7. The Detroit Lions are going to the Super Bowl this year.
8. 272-268 = 10
9. People's feelings CAN in fact be hurt on the internetz.
10. Socks with sandals are really NOT OK. (Brought to you by kennethmgreen...thanks bro)

peteb79

What is your advice?

Never not give up! Even when it seems like the scale is not moving..

IrisGarcia86

DRINK LOTS OF WATER....I lost a lot of weight from just dropping so much soda-pop and switching to WATER. I still have soda-pop every once in a while.

vim_n_vigor

1. You do not talk about Fight Club.
2. Zombies need love too.
3. The grass is never greener on the other side.
4. The world is round.
5. Casinos are the best place to make a living.
6. Hank Williams Jr always knows what to say and when to say it.
7. The Detroit Lions are going to the Super Bowl this year.

If theLions go to the Super Bowl, I will go to work naked the next day!

Qarol

Before you post something on the forums, know that you do not get to dictate what the responses are, if there are any at all. You may not like some of the advice you're given. You may not like that more people didn't respond. Accept that and move on.

CrimsonHellkite

7. Be honest with yourself.

What is your advice?

for the love of god this one! stop lying to yourself! and if you dont do it today cause you say "ill start tomorrow" well wtf are you gonna say tomorrow when u dont do it?

you noobs and best of luck to you!

papa5280

i agree with all of yours...plus here's my $.02

1. When you say "get your binge food away from you", to me that means give it away or throw it away. It hurts me to my core to "waste" any food. So, when I throw away something that I would love to eat, it really means something to me. It's a big commitment.

2. Make the commitment. Don't "try". Don't "give it a shot". Decide that this is what you are doing, and DO IT.

Great quote: "What you are is what you have been. What you'll be is what you do now." I've seen it attributed to the Buddha, but I don't know if that's accurate.

ilookthetype

1. There is Do and Do no, there is no try
2. Don't ever engage in the "Muscle is heavier than Fat" debate, it ends at like 3 in the morning with everyone bald and a few people cry.
3. Don't be hyper sensitive.

CaptainGordo

8. 272-268 = 10

Ha! I remember that. Good times. (long, satisfied sigh)

hbrittingham

I am going to build on the "be honest with yourself"
1) You aren't cheating anyone but yourself if you select the lowest calorie count food match in the database, even if the calories are obviously incorrect.
2)You aren't cheating anyone but yourself if you select the highest calorie burn exercise from the database, even if the calories burned are obviously incorrect.
3) You aren't cheating anyone but yourself if you log housework, walking around at the mall or walking from the car into the store as exercise. We all want to be able to eat more and lose weight, but even though it's good to move around, but if your scale isn't moving and you are logging every single move you make as exercise so you can eat more, you are only cheating yourself.

ahoads

Lions are going to the Superbowl. 4-0, baby!!

savethecat

If you have a moment of weakness don't use it as a reason to relapse. So... you ate a cookie and messed up your calories and sugar for the day? Whatever, don't go on a binge and totally give up all your progress. (However small the amount.) Do some jumping jacks, drink some extra water, and suck it up. Just don't do it the next day and move on.

kennethmgreen

Before you post something on the forums, know that you do not get to dictate what the responses are, if there are any at all. You may not like some of the advice you're given. You may not like that more people didn't respond. Accept that and move on.

This cannot be overstated. Posting something on an Internet forum is not the same as hanging out with your close friends. It is not sitting down to dinner with the family and discussing your feelings. It *can* be like those things, but it rarely is.

Posting on a forum is similar to showing up at a party where you might know two or three people. Everyone might be there for loosely similar interests, but each person may have their own interpretation of what the party is for and their own agenda for being there. When you post, it is like announcing to everyone at the party what you want to say. Some people will ignore you. Some will be catty. Some will be snarky. Some will misunderstand you. Some will judge you. Some will love you. Some will support you unconditionally. Some will agree. Some will disagree. Some may poke fun. Some will cough nervously.

You *might* get the answer you were looking for. Often, that isn't the *correct* answer.

If you are new to MFP, new to the forum, new to online forums in general, think about what you are posting. Actually, do this regardless. Is your agenda clear? Are you wanting advice? Are you giving advice? Are you sharing information? Are you asking for information? Are you opening yourself up, sharing your feelings about something? Are you venting, complaining, whining or bi***ing? Are you being funny?

Any of these are fine. But I think it will help to know where you stand when you put something out there, especially if you get bent out of shape easily. It will help knowing your own agenda BEFORE typing. It will help you craft your message to others who will better understand where you are coming from. It will also help set your own expectations.

Finally, no socks with sandals.

joejccva71

Finally, no socks with sandals.

This is why you are awesome.

Whitneylol

I am going to build on the "be honest with yourself"
1) You aren't cheating anyone but yourself if you select the lowest calorie count food match in the database, even if the calories are obviously incorrect.
2)You aren't cheating anyone but yourself if you select the highest calorie burn exercise from the database, even if the calories burned are obviously incorrect.
3) You aren't cheating anyone but yourself if you log housework, walking around at the mall or walking from the car into the store as exercise. We all want to be able to eat more and lose weight, but even though it's good to move around, but if your scale isn't moving and you are logging every single move you make as exercise so you can eat more, you are only cheating yourself.

YES to #3!!!!!!! Ugh I feel like people log every single move they make. It's so infuriating to me.

elizamc

Be patient with yourself, keep moving and don't give up - you owe it to yourself to take care of you for you!

FairyMiss

.
3. The grass is never greener on the other side.
.

it is however over the septic tank

MikeSEA

Be patient.

If I don't get the results I want right away, I tend to obsess. I'll start recalculating my TDEE using different formulae and compare them. I'll chart my water weight gain on a day-to-day basis and compare it to my sodium intake and strength training schedule. I'll start reconsidering the brand of fish oil supplements I chose. The list of sublime irrationality disguised as rational thought goes on.

Then I tell myself to breath and clean the house.

Contrarian

Try to keep your momentum going. When you stop, it is much harder to start again, so don't stop.

Oh, and if you don't understand how periods work, please ask your mom.

FearAnLoathing

Take it slow faster is not always better.

Sh1tsRainbows

1. You do not talk about Fight Club.
2. Zombies need love too.
3. The grass is never greener on the other side.
4. The world is round.
5. Casinos are the best place to make a living.
6. Hank Williams Jr always knows what to say and when to say it.
7. The Detroit Lions are going to the Super Bowl this year.
8. 272-268 = 10
9. People's feelings CAN in fact be hurt on the internetz.
10. Socks with sandals are really NOT OK. (Brought to you by kennethmgreen...thanks bro)

YES!!!!!!!!!! (especially about the Lions)

shonasteele

GREAT advice! Really knowing yourself and what you are capable of is huge.

I'll add one of my own that is a game-changer once you embrace it...

It's not how many times you fall, it's how many times you get back up. Don't let a slip up, a lazy day or a binge ruin your day or your week, just shake it off and keep going. example: My mantra the past three days is Fudge Happens. Literally, ROLO FLAVOURED FUDGE. Like, twice a day. But I ate lots of veggies and didn't binge on EVERYTHING, just the fudge, so I'll survive! In the past, I would have figured that my day was "shot", so why not just eat a pizza for supper. Or if I knew I was going out for supper in the evening, I'd just eat crap the entire rest of the day because it was going to be "shot" anyway. I've slowly accepted that it's not a pass/fail grading system, that it actually matters how MUCH you fail by, so just cuz you're going to go over your calories is NOT a reason to go over them by 4,000!

lannlynn

NEVER give up!! There WILL be ups and downs. It happens, realize it and more on.

_Khaleesi_

I am going to build on the "be honest with yourself"
1) You aren't cheating anyone but yourself if you select the lowest calorie count food match in the database, even if the calories are obviously incorrect.
2)You aren't cheating anyone but yourself if you select the highest calorie burn exercise from the database, even if the calories burned are obviously incorrect.
3) You aren't cheating anyone but yourself if you log housework, walking around at the mall or walking from the car into the store as exercise. We all want to be able to eat more and lose weight, but even though it's good to move around, but if your scale isn't moving and you are logging every single move you make as exercise so you can eat more, you are only cheating yourself.

YES to #3!!!!!!! Ugh I feel like people log every single move they make. It's so infuriating to me.

I agree to an extent. House work, parking lot walks, etc is over doing it. Those are likely going to be included in your estimated daily energy expenditure. But walking around the mall for 2 hours when you never go to the mall? That's actually walking exercise outside of the norm. THAT is something I would count.

Edit:: Also... Newbies... please use the search function! It's hip! It's stylish! It works!

koosdel

OxyClean is great for removing goose poop stains.

HMonsterX

1) You do not have to stop eating the things you like, and you do not have to eat rabbit food to lose weight! Make very small changes, especially at first, that way it will seem far less daunting.

2) Educate yourself. Learn what is in your food. See how many calories the things you like have in. Treat your daily calorie allowance as your currency.

3) There is no quick fix. At least, not one that doesn't require a scalpel or anything unnatural inserted into your body.

4) Don't exercise for the sake of burning calories. Find someone you enjoy, and do it. That way you're burning calories as a by-product of doing something you want to do anyway!

5) Never make a topic about the following:

Should i skip breakfast?

How much water should i drink?

Should i eat my exercise calories?

Is peanut butter ok?

zomg i heard xxx causes cancer!


...think that's about it.


Oh, and make sure you have sufficient thick skin to post on forums

Lizzy_Sunflower

1) be kind to yourself. change takes time, and we are not perfect beings
2) educate yourself. there is a lot of knowledge to be had for those who look

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

Namaste1983

TAKE EVERYTHING PEOPLE SAY WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. THEN LOOK AT YOUR SODIUM INTAKE....
NEVER GIVE UP BECAUSE YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU REALIZE
SOME PEOPLE FEEL THE NEED TO TEAR OTHERS DOWN, IGNORE THEM
IF YOU FEEL DISCOURAGED DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP (AT LEAST FROM ME)
DRINK YOUR WATER, GET YOUR SLEEP, AND WORKOUT
DEVELOP THICK SKIN FOR THE FORUMS
PLAY WITH YOUR DIET, INTRODUCE NEW FRUITS AND VEGGIES
THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT IN ANY DIET
TAKE A COLLEGE NUTRITION CLASS BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING DRASTIC WITH YOUR BODY
READ AND WATCH DOCUMENTARIES ON NUTRITION
HAVE FUN AND MAKE LOTS OF FRIENDS!
P.S. I'M SARAH AND I USE CAPS LOCK ALL DAY

Tropicalgirl3

Such great advice in all these responses. Also if you are not really active I would recommend getting a pedometer. It's a great way to see just how many steps you take a day and then increasing. Wear it for a couple of your "normal" days and see what your average is. Then make a goal of increasing it every week until you are at least 10,000 steps per day average. This really helped me get started moving.