From Weightloss to Fitness the MFP way!

FiercelyBeautiful · August 2012

How many of you joined MFP expecting for it to help you lose weight or just a simple means to track your calories? How many of you joined MFP knowing some about how to lose weight but have been enlightened beyond your wildest expectations at what you have learned since being here? My goal has never been to be "skinny" persay but I had a one track mind, to lose weight. However, now my goal isnt just to lose weight it is to be a healthy person and that means learning a lot about words like macros, BMR, TDEE, strength training, whey protein, confidence, emotional processing and more. I should have known because of the name but what this site has done for me is to open the door to the possibilities of not only looking more like the person I was created to be on the outside, but being healthy on the inside. I never would have guessed that I would use my education as a therapist to become a health and welness coach. I have become so passionate about health, fitness, and overall well-being that I have decided to switch my vocational focus toward these areas. This is success to me because I was one of those people who believed that I would always be fat and unhappy. I have just been so blessed and I had to share! It isnt just MFP, there are a number of other things that have happened to contribute to this decision before and after joining the site but it has had an invaluable impact!

How has this journey changed you?

Meraid · August 2012

I'll keep it short, but thanks to this site I've also learned so much more to being fit and healthy and I'm using that knowledge to help my friends with their weight loss journeys. I came in thinking eating less is best, and you had to eat below your BMR to lose weight. But I found out that there's something more than just BMR, there's TDEE... and everything just kind of opened up. Weight loss doesn't seem so impossible when you understand how it happens. It's not limiting yourself and forever eating a salad. It's so much more.

jamesg32 · August 2012

I use the site as my primary means of tracking meals and snacks. I also like the way it grabs my calories burned from "fitbit.com" which tracks by calories burned from step counts, walks and runs.

A weight loss study conducted by Kaiser Permanente on over 2000 participants found that keeping a food diary was the single most significant factor that contributed to weight loss more than all other factors.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/kpdo-kps062308.php

FiercelyBeautiful · August 2012

I use the site as my primary means of tracking meals and snacks. I also like the way it grabs my calories burned from "fitbit.com" which tracks by calories burned from step counts, walks and runs.

A weight loss study conducted by Kaiser Permanente on over 2000 participants found that keeping a food diary was the single most significant factor that contributed to weight loss more than all other factors.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/kpdo-kps062308.php

I believe that is totally true, I lost my first 45lbs by just tracking my food in a notebook, without exercise, or any of the knowledge I have now about health. I found though that my body stopped responding to that way of doing things and that is how I ended up here.

jamesg32 · August 2012

That is very helpful information. Thanks

cutiepie2628 · August 2012

This journey has changed me because It has made me deal with things that I avoided. The pounds coming off is the easy part but I had to get right mentally, which was and still is very hard. I learned that I deal with pain by stuffing my face. Hell I even found out that I stuff my face when Im happy. Im also learning how to take one day at a time ..::happy:

FiercelyBeautiful · August 2012

This journey has changed me because It has made me deal with things that I avoided. The pounds coming off is the easy part but I had to get right mentally, which was and still is very hard. I learned that I deal with pain by stuffing my face. Hell I even found out that I stuff my face when Im happy. Im also learning how to take one day at a time ..::happy:

That is something so many people dont realize, they think if they just lose weight all will be right in the world but until they shed that mental fat as I call it, they wont find that much changes at all. Being overweight causes scars that must be dealt with and it doesnt happen overnight! xoxo

FiercelyBeautiful · August 2012

Bump for daytime crew...

LeellenMack · August 2012

I would agree. Learning about BMR and TDEE has helped me think about the numbers differently, I now see my goal calories as where I want to be and if I go over, unless I go over my TDEE, I no longer panic. If I go over my goal calories by 300/400, that will not mean I will gain 4lbs of fat ( I would need to eat 14,000 calories over TDEE

). This site has helped me relax and not beat myself up so much.

I will add that at first I read a lot of conflicting facts here and had to drill down to what would work for me. So study what is here and then research what attracts you and you will find your balance.

FiercelyBeautiful · August 2012

I would agree. Learning about BMR and TDEE has helped me think about the numbers differently, I now see my goal calories as where I want to be and if I go over, unless I go over my TDEE, I no longer panic. If I go over my goal calories by 300/400, that will not mean I will gain 4lbs of fat ( I would need to eat 14,000 calories over TDEE ). This site has helped me relax and not beat myself up so much.

I will add that at first I read a lot of conflicting facts here and had to drill down to what would work for me. So study what is here and then research what attracts you and you will find your balance.

Totally agree! There is a LOT of misinformation and OPINIONS presented as fact but what its done is make me think, research, and find the truth for myself. I am still learning but I am thourally enjoying the process!

fitfunk · August 2012

I would agree. Learning about BMR and TDEE has helped me think about the numbers differently, I now see my goal calories as where I want to be and if I go over, unless I go over my TDEE, I no longer panic. If I go over my goal calories by 300/400, that will not mean I will gain 4lbs of fat ( I would need to eat 14,000 calories over TDEE ). This site has helped me relax and not beat myself up so much.

I will add that at first I read a lot of conflicting facts here and had to drill down to what would work for me. So study what is here and then research what attracts you and you will find your balance.

Totally agree. I've been working on my fitness for ages and have only recently hit upon TDEE & BMR and it just makes so much sense. When I reviewed my historic food logs, I discovered I was eating way below my net BMR and nothing was happening. Finally feel I'm on the right track.

acm130 · August 2012

Love this thread, my motto when I started w/ MFP was "healthy, happy and fulfilled" but even as a health care provider w/ a pretty big knowledge base r/t fitness/nutrition etc I have learned so much. I started out approaching this as a race to an arbitrary numeric success (who else started out with the lose 2 lbs per week/1200 kcal formula) but as I really started to focus on nurturing my body, increasing my strength and endurance and emphasizing feeling well a really meaningful transformation occurred. While I understood the concepts of "life style change versus diet" and wholeheartedly agreed the former was better, it was still just semantics. I feel like my belief system has changed and that's made all the difference.

From Weightloss to Fitness the MFP way!

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