Lead me to believe. :noway:

jofjltncb6

::throws confetti:: Yay for an OP that has a question, seeks information, listens to said information, considers it, and is appropriate and thankful in response!

You win MFP, OP!!! Yay!


(I am not in the least bit sarcastic, just so glad to see a thread go well for once--oh, and totally go with SideSteel on this one).

Seriously, this is very refreshing...and OP, your willingness to spend the time to try to figure this out on your own and then to listen to the responses so far in this thread will serve you remarkably well in your efforts. Still, be careful not to get buried in the minutiae*. Listen to what SideSteel said because I think that's mostly what you need to do from this point.

So anyhow, welcome to MFP and best of luck.



* "Don't sweat the petty things...or pet the sweaty things."



ETA: What I believe is most important when first beginning is that you diligently record everything...every bite, every exercise, record it all. Down the road, this data will be very useful for you to make the necessary tweaks to your diet and exercise habits. If you're losing too slowly or too quickly, you'll have a much better idea what to adjust. Without good data, it makes knowing what to tweak that much more of a guess (and there's already enough guesswork in this process).

natalie412

Pretty much what everyone has said. Just focus on meeting your calorie goals. You will naturally probably start making some more healthy choices as you realize that some foods just aren't worth the calorie expenditure every day. After I was counting calories for a long time, then I started to play around with changing macros etc, but don't worry about that now!

T1mH

- Calories are currency. Aim for the target, or work for more.

Ohhh, I like this one. I hope you don't mind if I add it to my collection.

This has been my favorite quote- "I'm not on a diet because diets don't work. This is a lifestyle change."

Weight loss is 100% diet. eat less than you use and you will lose weight. I'm not discounting exercise because exercise is huge but you can exercise hours a day and still gain weight and I'm not talking about the muscle is heavier than fat weight. "Weight loss thru diet will make you look good with clothes on, weight loss with diet and exercise will make you look good with your clothes off." (another of my favorite quotes) Also you'll find it's mostly agreed on that people that lose weight with diet and exercise have better statistics at keeping it off vs. those that lose it all with diet.

For me as soon as I started eating healthier I craved more healthy food. As soon as I cut back on the junk and started eating more fresh foods, food started to taste better. I'm no where near a strict whole food or fresh food diet but I have greatly cut back on processed food and I'm loving it. For me many snacks between meals keeps me from ever being hungry. Not being hungry has been the key for me to keep my calories under control. I also admit I occasionally exercise to eat. I try not to eat all my exercise calories but as you said it's currency and I like to spend it. I do like to eat.

jetscreaminagain

Hey you asked what an OP is. That's you, the original poster. or your first post in the thread.

Also helpful when you're new: NSV is a NonScale Victory. Pay attention to those for when the scale sucks.

BMR is Basal Metabolic Rate (what you burn in a coma) and TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure or BMR plus all your moving around and exercising and being awake calorie burns. Dont' worry about that right now, just for nomenclature.

IIFYM is If It Fits Your Macros. Don't worry about that either other than feel free to eat the ice cream and try to balance it out so you have good protein, fat and carb numbers. You can figure out what's good after a while, when you're new just get used to the mechanics of logging and setting up your life so you can eat well and move more.

If I think of anything else, I'll share.