Tips for Newbies
Elizabeth_C34
Posts: 6,376 Member
I've been here on MFP since December of 2010. My weight loss journey has been a lot of up and down (two major weight slipups), but I wanted to post a few tips for the new people to MFP on how to make the best of this journey.
1. If you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight. Pure weight loss is all about creating a caloric deficit, meaning that your intake must be less than what your body burns by just existing and by exercise. You do not need diet pills, quick fixes, cleanses, or anything of the sort to lose weight.
2. There is more to being healthy than pure weight loss. While for most of us, this is how we measure our success, remember that regular exercise, becoming more active, and eating nutritious food that provides your body with vitamins, nutrients, and fuel is really important also. This doesn't always equate to pounds lost on the scale. Remember to give yourself credit for more than the numbers on the scale.
3. The scale is not your friend. While we measure our success by the scale, your weight will fluctuate up to 8-10 lbs depending on your salt intake, hormonal cycle, and gender. Men will typically fluctuate a few pounds while women can fluctuate 5-10 lbs simply from water retention. If you are sticking to your plan and working hard, do not sweat it if you gain a few pounds on the scale. DO NOT LET THE SCALE TAKE YOUR MOTIVATION AWAY!
4. Measure your body! Take your measurements when you start this journey and keep doing this on a monthly basis (more often if you wish). MFP allows you to keep track of them via the "Check-in" button on your home page. If you are doing a lot of resistence training, you may be retaining water in your muscles but losing fat resulting in no loss on the scale but a loss in inches instead.
5. Do not be afraid to eat your exercise calories back. This is hard to explain, but essentially, your body needs calories to get by. You need to eat to fuel yourself. Starvation does not do you any good. MFP already calculates a deficit for you based on your BMR combined with your lifestyle (Sedentary. LIghtly Active, Active) that includes eating all of your exercise calories back. This means that you will still lose weight if you eat them all back. Some of you may find that not eating them back or eating only part of them back works better for you, which is fine, but for those of you who need to eat more, do not be afraid to do so.
6. Do not eliminate foods you enjoy. You have to learn to take responsibility for your eating and to control it. Eat what you like within moderation.
7. Measure your food. Count out the chips in a serving if you want them. Measure absolutely everything you eat. Yes, this will take some getting used to, but accuracy in your food intake is critical to making this work. Get a digital food scale. They can be found for under $30 and are worth every penny.
8. Do not ever give up. You will make mistakes. You will have days that you go way over your calories. You will have days when you give into eating poorly and not exercising. DO NOT GIVE UP. Do not let a mistake end your journey.
9. If you have medical issues (thyroid, diabetes, cardiac, lung, etc. issues), please talk to your doctor about this before you do anything especially exercise related. If you have a disability, you can STILL lose weight, but you may have to modify what you do. Take your doctor's advice over everyone else's.
10. Set realistic goals for yourself. You should expect to lose no more than 1-2 lbs per week. If you lose more, that is okay, but do not let yourself get down if you don't lose anything in a week. (see above points). Use BMI calculator for a ROUGH estimate of what a healthy weight range is for your height. Remember, however, that every body is different, so set your goal according to what you see as your ideal size.
11. My #1 rule for newbies is this: Forgive yourself. You HAVE to forgive yourself for letting your body go. Do not beat yourself up over it. Just use it to fuel your new goals. Always keep your eye on the prize and just keep moving towards it.
I'm sure there are things others can add, but this worked very well for me. Anyone can do this even if you don't have a lot of money. It takes a lot of work, dedication, and patience, but it's worth every single moment.
1. If you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight. Pure weight loss is all about creating a caloric deficit, meaning that your intake must be less than what your body burns by just existing and by exercise. You do not need diet pills, quick fixes, cleanses, or anything of the sort to lose weight.
2. There is more to being healthy than pure weight loss. While for most of us, this is how we measure our success, remember that regular exercise, becoming more active, and eating nutritious food that provides your body with vitamins, nutrients, and fuel is really important also. This doesn't always equate to pounds lost on the scale. Remember to give yourself credit for more than the numbers on the scale.
3. The scale is not your friend. While we measure our success by the scale, your weight will fluctuate up to 8-10 lbs depending on your salt intake, hormonal cycle, and gender. Men will typically fluctuate a few pounds while women can fluctuate 5-10 lbs simply from water retention. If you are sticking to your plan and working hard, do not sweat it if you gain a few pounds on the scale. DO NOT LET THE SCALE TAKE YOUR MOTIVATION AWAY!
4. Measure your body! Take your measurements when you start this journey and keep doing this on a monthly basis (more often if you wish). MFP allows you to keep track of them via the "Check-in" button on your home page. If you are doing a lot of resistence training, you may be retaining water in your muscles but losing fat resulting in no loss on the scale but a loss in inches instead.
5. Do not be afraid to eat your exercise calories back. This is hard to explain, but essentially, your body needs calories to get by. You need to eat to fuel yourself. Starvation does not do you any good. MFP already calculates a deficit for you based on your BMR combined with your lifestyle (Sedentary. LIghtly Active, Active) that includes eating all of your exercise calories back. This means that you will still lose weight if you eat them all back. Some of you may find that not eating them back or eating only part of them back works better for you, which is fine, but for those of you who need to eat more, do not be afraid to do so.
6. Do not eliminate foods you enjoy. You have to learn to take responsibility for your eating and to control it. Eat what you like within moderation.
7. Measure your food. Count out the chips in a serving if you want them. Measure absolutely everything you eat. Yes, this will take some getting used to, but accuracy in your food intake is critical to making this work. Get a digital food scale. They can be found for under $30 and are worth every penny.
8. Do not ever give up. You will make mistakes. You will have days that you go way over your calories. You will have days when you give into eating poorly and not exercising. DO NOT GIVE UP. Do not let a mistake end your journey.
9. If you have medical issues (thyroid, diabetes, cardiac, lung, etc. issues), please talk to your doctor about this before you do anything especially exercise related. If you have a disability, you can STILL lose weight, but you may have to modify what you do. Take your doctor's advice over everyone else's.
10. Set realistic goals for yourself. You should expect to lose no more than 1-2 lbs per week. If you lose more, that is okay, but do not let yourself get down if you don't lose anything in a week. (see above points). Use BMI calculator for a ROUGH estimate of what a healthy weight range is for your height. Remember, however, that every body is different, so set your goal according to what you see as your ideal size.
11. My #1 rule for newbies is this: Forgive yourself. You HAVE to forgive yourself for letting your body go. Do not beat yourself up over it. Just use it to fuel your new goals. Always keep your eye on the prize and just keep moving towards it.
I'm sure there are things others can add, but this worked very well for me. Anyone can do this even if you don't have a lot of money. It takes a lot of work, dedication, and patience, but it's worth every single moment.
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Replies
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Great post. I wish I knew all of this when I started, especially taking measurements AND taking before photos. I can only wish that I did that now.0
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Great post. I wish I knew all of this when I started, especially taking measurements AND taking before photos. I can only wish that I did that now.
I have one before photo because I avoided the camera like the plague when I was at my heaviest!0 -
Elizabeth how long did it take you to lose your 24 pounds? I just started AGAIN and I want to lose 30...0
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Elizabeth how long did it take you to lose your 24 pounds? I just started AGAIN and I want to lose 30...
About a year. I've actually lost 32 total (lost 8 lbs before MFP). I had two slipups where I fell of the wagon and let myself go again and gained a few lbs back last year. It's important just to stick to it and keep pushing even if you screw up!0 -
yeah that is what I do.. gain lose gain lose, but like I tell myself.. if I never lost look where I would be..
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yeah that is what I do.. gain lose gain lose, but like I tell myself.. if I never lost look where I would be..
Once you lose this time, make it a priority to keep it off. Take your time and work hard. Don't let it come back.0 -
ty I will..." I hope"0
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Great post, Elizabeth.0
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ty I will..." I hope"
I have faith. You can do it 0 -
Great post, Elizabeth.
Thank you. Glad you found it helpful.0 -
Great post, thanks.
I'm still nervous about eating my exercise calories back so I am getting a HRM to try and get some accurate input.
Here's to the long journey ahead0 -
Great post! I agree with all of it!
Thanks for sharing!0 -
You are so right about the measurements! When the scales don't move, the tape measure does! Hard work shows one way or another! I just joined MFP this month and I lost 10 lbs in the first two weeks (water weight I'm sure)...nothing since but inches have come off. That's kept me motivated. I know more weight will come off eventually.0
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Awesome post! I have been on here awhile with lots of ups and downs. The scale hasn't changed in the last few weeks and I needed to read this to put everything back in perspective so thank you!!0
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Great post and great wording-- it's really a good skill to be able to come across as supportive while giving advice.0
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You are so right about the measurements! When the scales don't move, the tape measure does! Hard work shows one way or another! I just joined MFP this month and I lost 10 lbs in the first two weeks (water weight I'm sure)...nothing since but inches have come off. That's kept me motivated. I know more weight will come off eventually.
When I first started, I got so upset when the scale didn't move. It took me almost 8 months to realize the scale is an a-hole and the tape measure is my best friend.0 -
Awesome post! I have been on here awhile with lots of ups and downs. The scale hasn't changed in the last few weeks and I needed to read this to put everything back in perspective so thank you!!
Awesome! I'm so glad you found this helpful! 0 -
Great post and great wording-- it's really a good skill to be able to come across as supportive while giving advice.
Thank you! I wanted this to be friendly and accessible for those just starting out. I wish I had known this stuff when I got started.0 -
bump for those who didn't see this earlier.0
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Like a few others said, I would have loved to see this when I first joined. I'm not exactly a newbie, but I still appreciate that you posted it, especially since I was here for 6 months before I finally realized WHY it is important to eat back exercise calories!
So I definitely hope new people can see this and have it help them! And yes, you are so right about the measurements...I may not always realize it, but when I measure my calves and see the muscle in them that I've never had before? Yeah...that's awesome. Scale be damned, measurements rule. :glasses: 0 -
Thank you
! 0 -
Elizabeth, you're awesome. This is important stuff so I'm gonna come back in a couple days and bump it because people should see it.
I figured out the other day that I have gained and lost the same 3 pounds for the last 3 months (I've been doing this for 6 months, losing 17 in the first three months). However, during this 3 month period in which I've "plateaued" if all I cared about was the scale, I've shrunk more inches, losing about a size and a half (tens to tight twelves then to 8's sometimes 6's now). I've gotten where I can squat press my body weight. I can climb a freakin rock wall, now. I can do so much stuff, and my body is looking better. I think most of these non-scale improvments have happened during this time that the scale has NOT moved. So, beginners, please take note of other indicators of your starting point. Pick some pants that fit well now and pants you wish did. Notice when that changes. take measurements. Take horrifying before pictures. And don't give up. Find stuff you enjoy and go hard at it.0 -
Another tip to add, ties in with #10. Weight loss is NOT linear. Your body doesn't understand the concept of days or weeks, it doesn't care if you pick a specific day to be "weigh-in day." You always have to think in terms of averages, trends and the big picture. If you lose 8 pounds one week, and then nothing the next 3, you're still averaging 2 pounds a week.
Also, a lot of people say to keep changing things up, just keep in mind, it takes about 6 weeks to see any results from activity. So change things up when they lose effectiveness, but if it's only been 3 days, that's just silly.0 -
Another tip to add, ties in with #10. Weight loss is NOT linear. Your body doesn't understand the concept of days or weeks, it doesn't care if you pick a specific day to be "weigh-in day." You always have to think in terms of averages, trends and the big picture. If you lose 8 pounds one week, and then nothing the next 3, you're still averaging 2 pounds a week.
Also, a lot of people say to keep changing things up, just keep in mind, it takes about 6 weeks to see any results from activity. So change things up when they lose effectiveness, but if it's only been 3 days, that's just silly.
EXCELLENT points to make.0 -
Not really a newbie, but thank you for this post! Sometimes I have to remind myself of the "DO NOT LET THE SCALE TAKE YOUR MOTIVATION AWAY!" after a bad week like last week. lol Funny how even though you're doing all the right things, your body will sometimes take a minute to catch up. Seeing the number on the scale stand still or even go up is kind of frustrating, but feeling better is what it's all about in the end anyway, not the number! 0
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Thank you so much for this post, Elizabeth! I thank you from the bottom of my noob-heart.
~Jess0 -
This is really great, thank you. I was having a bad day today and reading this helped. I'm going to print it out and read it often!!0
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Bump to the MAX! :drinker:0
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As a newbie, thank you for sharing your wise words! I lost on WW before and found many of these points to be true!0
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Great post! 0
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