MFP...Friend or Foe?

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ExplorinLauren
ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm so confused by all of this :( Back in the day... all you had to do was eat 1200 cals a day, and you would lose weight. Now... all I hear is eat above this, but below this... do this, not that... UGGHHH. I'm kind of frustrated, not to mention..completely confused!!! Idk if MFP is a blessing or a torture! lol ... Everyone says, eat 20% below TDEE, but I have a VERY hard time convincing myself that I can eat 1900-2000 calories a day (which is 20% below my TDEE) and still lose weight!? Very frustrating!!! Don't get me wrong, I love MFP... I've spent the last 4 months getting my DIET under control, so I can learn to eat better, eat cleaner, and make real changes to my lifestyle... but now that I'm getting down to the real nitty-gritty... I'm finding it very hard to find out what is real and what is bs... I worked realllllllllllly hard to get here... and I want to make sure I'm doing the right things, to get where I need to go. Ultimately, that means happier, healthier and skinnier :)
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Replies

  • RunAlyndaRun
    RunAlyndaRun Posts: 162 Member
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    People, myself included, love to give advice! We can all go into paralysis for all of the advice floating around. I'd say (see, I told you I love to give advice! LOL) that if something has been working for you, you have energy, feel good then keep doing it! Not everything works for everyone. I think people get a bit cocky or over confident at times when they've been intensely successful at something or had an aha moment then they want to "share" that with the world. Usually it is a good thing, but other times can drive people BATTY!

    Good luck!
  • Melanie_RS
    Melanie_RS Posts: 417 Member
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    make smart friends that know what they are doing and align with your eating style. TDEE, paleo, whatever....

    1200 calories is pretty 80's.
  • Peta22
    Peta22 Posts: 377 Member
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    Hmmm.. I can relate to the confusion! And the 'preaching' about eating this and that or doing this and that has been wearing me down. I'm starting to find myself feeling very aggrevated by my own 'need' to keep up with all my MFP friends in the clean eating and exersizing stakes - to the point that I start feeling down and want to binge eat!

    I think its all about the individual and what works for you. Maybe we all need to spend more time focusing inside ourselves and less time worrying about what the rest of the world is doing!
  • ExplorinLauren
    ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member
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    People, myself included, love to give advice! We can all go into paralysis for all of the advice floating around. I'd say (see, I told you I love to give advice! LOL) that if something has been working for you, you have energy, feel good then keep doing it! Not everything works for everyone. I think people get a bit cocky or over confident at times when they've been intensely successful at something or had an aha moment then they want to "share" that with the world. Usually it is a good thing, but other times can drive people BATTY!

    Good luck!


    Fully agree! I feel there is an abundance of great advice, and people are always willing to give it :) lol But Idk what is actually good advice, and what is just "something that worked for them" . I do try to follow the rule ' if its working for me.. follow it... I feel pretty good, I'm doing what I THINK is right... sigh.. but who knows?! .. lol...Thanks :)
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
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    do what works for you.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    I am not very bright and so I get confused easily which is why I just eat if I feel hungry and workout as much as possible. I try to eat clean per MY DEFINITION. I try to keep my tushy moving. I try to keep my calories near what MFP recommended but don't cry if I go over or under since it usually balances out.

    I haven't weighed myself in 1.5 months but my pants are feeling loose. I am happy
  • ExplorinLauren
    ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member
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    make smart friends that know what they are doing and align with your eating style. TDEE, paleo, whatever....

    1200 calories is pretty 80's.

    I agree, I feel like 1200 cals a day is outdated. I just don't know if I wanna go a full 2000 cals., its hard to convince myself that is ok! I try to make good friends... I will NEVER do Paleo.. way too far in left field for me. lol I need dairy... lol but I see what you are saying.... :) Thanks for the input :smile:
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
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    1200 calories is pretty 80's.

    If I had a signature I'd steal that :)

    Yeh, people respond differently to nutrition, MFP is my friend because it allows me to experiment and track, not because it provides and kind of prescriptive guidelines.
  • Jessika_Lynnn
    Jessika_Lynnn Posts: 14
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    I am not very bright and so I get confused easily which is why I just eat if I feel hungry and workout as much as possible. I try to eat clean per MY DEFINITION. I try to keep my tushy moving. I try to keep my calories near what MFP recommended but don't cry if I go over or under since it usually balances out.

    I haven't weighed myself in 1.5 months but my pants are feeling loose. I am happy

    I think this is awesome. In other words, don't think about it too much, or let a few calories get to you. If you feel good about YOURSELF, that's all that really matters (:
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
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    I agree, I feel like 1200 cals a day is outdated. I just don't know if I wanna go a full 2000 cals., its hard to convince myself that is ok! I try to make good friends... I will NEVER do Paleo.. way too far in left field for me. lol I need dairy... lol but I see what you are saying.... :) Thanks for the input :smile:

    Pretty much the reason I will never be strict Paleo, I love my cheese and tolerate it well.
  • SkinnySonia79
    SkinnySonia79 Posts: 11 Member
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    The program is designed for long term weight loss...not a get skinny quick kind of thing. That's why the calories are so generous! Eat yourself skinny and you will have long term success. I have a long way to go but I'm confident this will work :)
  • Hezzietiger1
    Hezzietiger1 Posts: 1,256 Member
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    I lost 50 lbs eating 1200 calories then hit a plateau. I changed my macros around and lost 10 more. Then hit a plateau. Now, I'm keeping my macros switched and increasing my calories... we'll see what happens. U find what works and you do what works. If it stops working, change it. If it's not broken, why fix it. Everyone has their opinions and philosophies but ultimately it's your body and you know what is going on with it. Currently I'm at 1500 cals, keeping my protein above 120, carbs below 75 (no grains, breads, pastas, etc) and filling in the rest with fats... it's called primal. On heavy training days, I might add a few more calories and I add some more carbs. 20% below my tdee would be 2200.. no freakin way i'm gonna eat that much.. even on a complete cheat day. Maybe one day I will.. like when I've hit my goal. LOL
  • SkinnySonia79
    SkinnySonia79 Posts: 11 Member
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    Perfect! I love your comments :)
  • Hezzietiger1
    Hezzietiger1 Posts: 1,256 Member
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    make smart friends that know what they are doing and align with your eating style. TDEE, paleo, whatever....

    1200 calories is pretty 80's.

    I agree, I feel like 1200 cals a day is outdated. I just don't know if I wanna go a full 2000 cals., its hard to convince myself that is ok! I try to make good friends... I will NEVER do Paleo.. way too far in left field for me. lol I need dairy... lol but I see what you are saying.... :) Thanks for the input :smile:

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-succeed-with-the-primal-blueprint/#axzz22utKtyUn

    My advice... Try this... :) It's what i do..

    I love dairy too.
  • amyn73
    amyn73 Posts: 241 Member
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    Good discussion! I was just talking about this with my sister. She and I are both adopting healthier lifestyles...she went 1600 calories in food and at least 2600 calories in exercise. This makes sense to me. Ive been doing less in calories but my running has gotten difficult. Duh! I have no energy. So I am going to 1600 calories and if I dont lose I will re assess
  • ExplorinLauren
    ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member
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    I am not very bright and so I get confused easily which is why I just eat if I feel hungry and workout as much as possible. I try to eat clean per MY DEFINITION. I try to keep my tushy moving. I try to keep my calories near what MFP recommended but don't cry if I go over or under since it usually balances out.

    I haven't weighed myself in 1.5 months but my pants are feeling loose. I am happy

    Fully agree! I try to eat clean also... by MY DEFINITION! Great advice .. thanks :)
  • ExplorinLauren
    ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member
    Options
    make smart friends that know what they are doing and align with your eating style. TDEE, paleo, whatever....

    1200 calories is pretty 80's.

    I agree, I feel like 1200 cals a day is outdated. I just don't know if I wanna go a full 2000 cals., its hard to convince myself that is ok! I try to make good friends... I will NEVER do Paleo.. way too far in left field for me. lol I need dairy... lol but I see what you are saying.... :) Thanks for the input :smile:

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-succeed-with-the-primal-blueprint/#axzz22utKtyUn

    My advice... Try this... :) It's what i do..

    I love dairy too.


    I'll be honest with you... I only skimmed over this when I had a second while my babies were having lunch.. but I saw the whole "carb" idea... and then went through my diary, the last 4-5 days, I've stayed between 50-75 carbs...and honestly, I've had the biggest loss (weight wise) over this weekend... Def looking forward to reading more of this when I have the time...Thanks for the read :)
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
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    Why not just fill out your profile correctly, log everything honestly, follow the MFP numbers, and stop worrying about all that other stuff?

    Seems to work for me :happy:
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
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    but I have a VERY hard time convincing myself that I can eat 1900-2000 calories a day (which is 20% below my TDEE) and still lose weight!?

    Raise your calories a little bit each week (300ish calories) until you reach 1900 or until you start gaining weight. I had to do it because my body was so messed up from my eating habits. 900 calories a day was an amazing goal, now I'm up to 1500ish.
  • lambing05
    lambing05 Posts: 34
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    listen to your body. Do whats work for you.

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