New Here

Carakkm

Hi All

I have joined this site yesterday and it is great! Not managed to have a proper look around the boards, so I thought this would be the best place to start.

I filled in my food diary yesterday and can't believe I went over my calories. It certainly highlights what I need to change. I know I have to make better choices and plan ahead and I am hoping I can do that with tracking everything I eat. I have tried writing it down before but sort of tailed off after a couple of days.

I want to try and lose 2 1/2 stone but I am setting mini targets as I go so it doesn't look too big a task.

Look forward to getting to know you all.

Carakkm.

BrenNew

Hi All

I have joined this site yesterday and it is great! Not managed to have a proper look around the boards, so I thought this would be the best place to start.

I filled in my food diary yesterday and can't believe I went over my calories. It certainly highlights what I need to change. I know I have to make better choices and plan ahead and I am hoping I can do that with tracking everything I eat. I have tried writing it down before but sort of tailed off after a couple of days.

I want to try and lose 2 1/2 stone but I am setting mini targets as I go so it doesn't look too big a task.

Look forward to getting to know you all.

Carakkm.

Hi Carakkm, and welcome to THE best site on the web! :flowerforyou:
Between the easy to use food counter (which by the way is SUCH an eye opener!) and all the wonderfully supportive members, you WILL be able to lose the weight that you want to, AND, it'll "almost" be easy doing it!
I recommend logging ALL your foods BEFORE you have them, rather than later, as it tends to lead to better food choices. (not to mention you'll know if you've got enough numbers left to have a night time snack, like I ALWAYS try to do!) Some people also like to weigh and measure some things, such as meats, rather than just estimating and possibly being WAY off! :noway:
Don't go making the mistake that if you have LOTS of numbers left at the end of the day that you'll lose even faster, because that DOESN'T happen. Feel free to read any info about the site in the "help" section at the top of the home page. And also under "Community", then "Weight Loss and Healthy Living", then "general diet and weight loss help", and then check out the first few threads. They'll REALLY help you understand how MFP works.
Before coming here, I had tried just about EVERYTHING out there, including hypnosis, TWICE, and nothing really worked until MFP!
Just the word "diet" would make me cringe and set me up for failure. :grumble: It meant depriving myself of all the "good stuff" out there, and as a result, I'd only last just so long, (maybe a few weeks if I was lucky!) and then I'd "cave" and go right back to eating all those "goodies" again! :embarrassed: But, MFP ISN'T a "diet". :noway: It's a "lifestyle change". (When I first read that, I said "Ya, SURE it is!", thinking that it WAS just another diet. :grumble: But, it wasn't! :noway:)
The main reason that I've managed to lose the weight that I wanted to is because I HAVE been able to eat "real/good" foods. :bigsmile: (Not Slim Fast or any other easy, quick, fad "wacko" diets!:noway: ) Through MFP I learned that I just needed to "work for it", through exercise, and watching my numbers (MOST of the time! ) As long as I do that, I CAN occasionally have stuff like Chinese food, a double cheeseburger, pizza, and even homemade ice-cream!
As far as exercise goes, it doesn't always have to be awful. :noway: For my exercise, I walk almost every day, (weather permitting! ) I also dance to a fast oldies CD that my husband made up of all my favorite old songs. (Like "Love Shack", Wild, Wild West", "Mony, Mony", "Footloose", and "Gloria") :happy:
It's free, (unlike a gym!:grumble: ) fun, and I can even watch tv at the same time, so I never get bored! :happy:
I also have Wii Fit, and jog to that, which is a lot of fun, and easy too!
So, to make a LONG story short, make good food choices, eat in moderation, get some exercise, and you WILL lose the weight that you want to!
MFP REALLY, REALLY, DOES work! :happy: Give it a chance, and it WILL work for you too!

Holton

You will find that if you are consistent in logging your food intake, and stay close to your daily allowance, you WILL lose weight. I think most of us were just totally unaware how many calories we were feeding ourselves everyday! Good luck on your journey!

kwardklinck

I agree with planning ahead. I also try to have the most calories at lunch, slightly fewer calories at breakfast, and the least amount of calories at night. I log every food before I eat it so I can make adjustments if need be. I would also say eat all of the calories it tells you to, including the exercise calories. I hit a plateau at about 6 pounds from my goal and actually increased my cals and I'm losing steadily again. Now I'm only 3 pounds from my goal. This is much closer than I've been on my own in about 10 years.

kwardklinck

I was also going to say that I do love that I can eat real food. I ate 2 pieces of pizza hut pizza at lunch yesterday and was still under my calorie goal. I also lost .6 of a pound in one day. It's all about balance and about working off those calories if you really want to eat something.