Advice please from those who have been successful sor far

tamrod2

Hello, I was wondering how many of you who have had success with MFP, basically just go by calories in calories out and have had weight loss success. Do you eat what you want as long as you stay within your calorie allotment? Do you eat back your exercise calories? Do you eat all of your calorie's a day or have a lot left over? I have been on program a month and first 2 weeks lost, last 2..nothing and I have a lot of weight to lose. Very frustrating. I also don't eat breads, pasta, rice. Basically stay away from processed carbs:mad:

Energizer06

Hello, I was wondering how many of you who have had success with MFP, basically just go by calories in calories out and have had weight loss success. Do you eat what you want as long as you stay within your calorie allotment? Do you eat back your exercise calories? Do you eat all of your calorie's a day or have a lot left over? I have been on program a month and first 2 weeks lost, last 2..nothing and I have a lot of weight to lose. Very frustrating. I also don't eat breads, pasta, rice. Basically stay away from processed carbs:mad:

This: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/943139-weight-loss-cheat-sheet-ipoarm

kazzsjourney

Ive lost 188 pounds. Initially I was able to lose weight simply by eating within the calorie range. Altho I didnt eat much processed foods. After the weight not moving for 9 months or so...i now stay under calories and watch my macros...i do fit some chocolate in most days

aberc

I didn't want to do the whole "eat whatever you want" route because when I eat whatever I want, I eat a lot of it..
I opted for the healthy lifestyle switch, which I STRONGLY recommend! It'll get you healthy and FIT, not just skinny. And it will KEEP you fit!

Have your "want" meals once a week, but stick to the good, healthy stuff the other 6 days.

squeakyfish

I'm not sure I'm a success at this point. I'm only down 23 pounds, but my weight loss has been fairly steady right from the start (over the last 3 months). I don't worry about most stuff very much - mostly because I don't want to obsess anymore about what I eat.

I eat within my calorie goal (95% time), I eat back most of my exercise calories (because I'd be super-cranky if I didn't eat 1500-2000 day) and I don't do diet food. I eat the same way I did before MFP, I just eat less of it....and I don't drink nearly as much wine as I used to. Now, I will have a glass or two on Fri and Sat only. I think my diet is pretty healthy in that I don't eat many processed foods. I really like to cook and my food tastes better than what's in a box. We eat a fair amount of veggies, meat, seafood, and dairy, and try to keep most carbs of the complex whole grain or whole wheat kind, although we do eat regular pasta from time to time. I attempt to keep my sat fat low, but that's for other health reasons, unrelated to losing weight.

My success comes primarily from not drinking (and not snacking because of drinking) and exercising harder than I did previously. (Before I walked long distances, now I like to take gym classes which seem to burn more, faster)

I have about 30 more to go and I'm sure that as I get closer my progress will slow down, but I'm not going to tinker with what's working well for me. For the first time in my life, I'm losing weight in a healthy way (mentally and physically).

likitisplit

I eat my calories, all of my cardio calories, all of my breastfeeding calories and whatever resistance training calories I feel like. I try to hit my micronutrients (Iron, Calcium, Potassium, etc), so that drives me toward healthy choices but, as long as I'm not going too far over on my cholesterol and getting the bulk of my nutrients and hitting my calorie goals, I eat whatever I want.

msindependent79

I have been on here for just over a year now and have lost 55 lbs. I try to stay under by calories allotted but not by too much because your body needs fuel to burn and if you are not providing it then it will break down muscle to get it. I am trying to gain muscle not lose it to hunger. I made an entire lifestyle change. Finding new and healthy recipes to feed my family and snacks that are not only filling but satisfying. Now while I say this I also have had my splurges. I don't think avoiding all the foods you love is the best way to go either. If you are going to eat something that you know is higher in calories try to pair it with something lower in calories so you won't eat as much of it. Such as pairing pasta with a salad full of veggies. Eating the salad first will help you eat less of the higher calories pasta. Also I think if you are counting calories then you should eat back your calories because if not your body could become deficit which may cause you to lose more weight at first but you will eventually gain it back. A book that really helped me is Jillian Michaels Slim for Life and I use most of her DVDs for working out. Please feel free to add me!! I still have about 50lbs to lose and believe the track is a marathon and not a sprint. Good Luck!!

dangerousdumpling

What has helped me be successful this time has a lot to do with the link posted above by Energizer06. I've found that I can eat more than 1200 calories and still lose weight. I've been using the TDEE - 20% method and have been adjusting it slightly to work for me. Right now I'm about 30-40 pounds from my goal weight and eating between 1600-1700 calories. I'm losing a pound every 7-9 days. I've done the 1200 calorie thing before and it's a tough way to go because I had to go to bed hungry and be so careful about what I ate. With my current caloric intake I can eat a treat or a meal that I actually want to eat several times a week. For the most part I try to make healthy choices but I do have treats.

If you like the idea of eating more and still losing give TDEE - 20% a chance. It makes weight loss very doable for long periods of time. Based on your ticker you could probably subtract 25% for a while at first.

twinketta

It is calories in and calories out..for me anyway! I eat back most of my exercise calories and I keep my diary.

A couple of months back I thought I had it all under control and didn`t keep my diary for a few weeks and put a couple of lbs back on, so am back with the whole diary thing.

I think you can eat what you want if you keep within your calorie limits, but I also think it is better to make healthy choices if possible.

for instance eating a few pieces of chocolate that are in you cals for the day.....why not eat lots of healthy stuff and just have 1 piece of choccie (am just giving an example for some one that likes choccie)

If you enjoy an alcoholic drink at the end of the day then think of what you can do to make it less cals and last longer?

olDave

I only concern myself with calories. I eat the foods I enjoy and track them all. My goal is one pound/week. It's been 13 weeks and I have lost 15 pounds. I only weigh on Sunday mornings. Some weeks I didn't lose a pound and some weeks I lost two pounds. I exercise by riding my bike at least 30 minutes a day (on average) and almost always eat back the exercise calories.

Good luck.

tamrod2

Thank you, what are macros?

Francl27

So far it's working but it slowed down a lot after the first few weeks. I haven't gone over once either (well, except yesterday, but I had to guesstimate the calories in the dessert I had for my birthday so I probably overestimated and was probably still under goal).

I eat pretty much everything I want, but stay under my calories, and I try to stay under my fat macro as well (so my reflux stays away). I avoid the very unhealthy stuff though, like burgers, sodas or fries, heck even juice, as it's mostly empty calories. I have a small ice cream cone or some frozen yogurt instead of a bowl of ice cream. I've mostly switched to low fat cheese unless I have calories and fat left at the end of the day. I'll have one piece of chocolate or a 100 calories bar instead of a whole bar of milk chocolate, I'll have a taco salad instead of a hard taco etc etc. Protein bars are my friend now (as long as they have a lot of fiber too).

And I work out, which I never used to do. My big advice really (I've lost 21 lbs in 3 months on this site, but I still have 47 to go at least) is to not be discouraged when you hit a plateau. Some weeks I just don't move, or gain a lb, then I lose 2 in 2 weeks... it's like a roller coaster. Extremely frustrating at times. You wonder if you're going to lose again. Just don't give up.

And don't let yourself starve. Eat back those exercise calories.

tamrod2

Thanks guys for your input:flowerforyou: