My first day

kittymama8

Hi Everyone -
My name's Amy and this is my first day and the first time ever on this site. I filled out my profile, set my goals and now I'm a little lost. Not sure what to do next.... help please

jriehl08

At the top of the screen you see the food tab and exercise tab. Those will be your friend. Click them and just work your way around. I log my food as I eat it or pre-log it if I make my meal ahead of time. When logging food you can either just add the calories or add the exact food your eating and most times it will already have all the info loaded already. I personally like to keep breakfast and lunch small so I can have a nice dinner. I hope this helps you out.

Good luck with your goals.

AnotherTryLiz

Welcome Amy! My first day too, expect I have done this every year for many years. I loose weight feel great and stop watching what I eat. My advice is to read the message boards and gain inspiration. Track what you eat, how much water you drink and how much you exercise. It all adds up in the end and you will see a weight lose.

tatertotfishstick

welcome! Just sump right in. Log your meals and exercise and make new friends. The "community" tab is great for ideas to great MFP success.

jriehl08

Oh yeah I also wanted to say if you would like to add me go ahead

nczuczu

HI Amy,
I've been on MFP (My Fitness Pal) for 3 weeks now. It is really quite simple. There is quite an extensive database for your food/exercise tracking. Especially to start, enter everything you eat! It will be both eye-opening and will keep you on track. I have found that by frequenting the community forums, I have gained insight and inspiration. Many people have their food diary's open, so if you find someone who is successful, see of they have an open food diary and see what they eat daily. You'll see what they are doing and learn from them. In the beginning (as if I'm some expert or something), don't worry about anything but the calories. You'll figure out what works best for you and for your body. The thing I've learned is you have to keep at it and continue tracking. This is my 2nd time around with MFP; the first time only lasted a few weeks because once I got home at night I didn't track food and I wasn't exercising. This time, I have the app on my phone and my Kindle Fire and so I can track my food at home too. I have also joined a gym and so have added that to my routine. Good luck and keep with it!

nawtical

I started a new life style of eating 4 months ago where I have just tried to cut out all the "white stuff" from my diet. Things like sugar, flour, starches like potatoes, breads and such as well as starchy vegetables. I have lost 24 lbs. without even exercising. It has been great! New special meals just making sure i have protein before anything else. Then limit the carbs to keep my blood sugar down.
I can eat out but I just make sure I don't get the bun with my burger and dressings on the side of my salad things like that and it has done the trick. I also have a protein shake in the morning of at least 50 grams of protein to start my day. I also have protein bars on hand in case I get a hankering for something when I am out and about. this has been working for me and I dont feel starved.

concordancia

Amy, you will get a lot of advice. Start with the simplest to jump in and get moving, there will be plenty of time to learn as you go.

Some people will tell you you have to do a whole lot of math based on awkward acronyms. You do not *have* to do that. It won't hurt, but it may be overwhelming and you will likely find that you come up with numbers very similar to what MFP gives you. Only do it if you like math.

Just spend this week logging everything you eat and all of your exercise. Come back next week for one more tip.