Calling out for some help

elliebean
elliebean Posts: 2
in Motivation and Support
Hi All,

I've had the myfitnesspal app for a while but not really been using it properly, but today I had a real wake-up call when I weighed myself and found that I was 11 stone 6.7 pounds (or nearly 161lb, if you work in just pounds!). For my small frame this is me edging closer than I've ever been to obesity, and I feel really worried about my health, the way I feel, and the way I look. I've not used the forums on here before, I thought maybe some of you might have some advice for me? I've been trying to lose weight since about april, but have only been gaining more slowly. Since January this year I have gone from a healthy 9 stone 2 pounds (128lb) up to my current heaviest weight ever. I don't know what I am doing wrong.

Any advice will be much appreciated,

Thank you,

Ellie

Replies

  • BeeRobin
    BeeRobin Posts: 160 Member
    Hello,

    Have you written down or tracked through here your food intake each day? Logging in and faithfully recording what you are eating may provide you with some insight in where your food choices may be off the rails a bit.
  • healthynotthin
    healthynotthin Posts: 223 Member
    Welcome to intensive food tracking, love! My best advice would be get outside! I often don't like the idea of exercise but I know that as soon as I'm out there it feels great - if you track accurately you'll feel much better about yourself and don't even need to do the math to lose weight - MFP does it all. Best of luck to you in your journey, and don't forget, just go outside for an hour walk! It makes you feel great to just be outside and you're getting fit in the process :)
  • dsimmons107
    dsimmons107 Posts: 387 Member
    Get you a good exercise routine first. Keep in mind that you will change it at some point. You will want to increase the intensity as you get fitter. Track everything you eat. It is about your health. you can do it. Sometimes it seems like you are not going forward when you are just moving a lot slower than you want. So do not give up.
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    I did a similar thing when I was 25, I'd crept on half a stone after uni to 10 stone then on my masters I got up to over 11 and a half stone in less than a year, this was from stress and poverty I was eating cheap takeout for most meals for a year. Hopefully since you're tackling it so soon instead of just maintaining for a while like I did, I hope it will come off a little quicker for you.

    Feel free to add me I do pretty well during the week (although I fail a bit at weekends hence why my weight loss is slow but at least it's coming off)

    Also use the calculators to figure out your BMR (what you body burns per day just so your organs function, ie if you were in a coma not moving) and TDEE (what you burn to maintain your current weight based on your daily activities) and eat somewhere inbetween those 2 figures to lose weight, also drink lots of water and try to cut out as much processed food as possible. xxx Oh and if you can workout, but in my opinion it's 80% diet 20% exercise to lose weight.
  • mgreenham
    mgreenham Posts: 40 Member
    A couple things I have found since using this app...

    1) It only works if you are HONEST with yourself... If you calorie budget is say: 1,400 calories a day. When entering your food in your diary you can manipulate it even subconsciously to show fewer than you really consumed... Don't do it... If you have a bad day, be honest put it ALL down in the diary.. I mean all the calories. Then in the notes at the bottom of the diary recommit yourself to the plan... old yourself accountable.. It's not the end of the world.. climb back on the horse and start riding again.

    2) Be careful of the calories burned that are automatically added when you choose your activity in the Exercise diary... For me the numbers were almost double what the machine, and other websites say I would have burned... resist the urge to take a higher number of burned calories... Always take the lowest.

    3) Read some of the posts of others on the board. What I have found helpful is finding someone who has lost a good amount of weight then looking at their profile and reading about why they are doing it... Surprisingly most of us feel the same way... It's very empowering to read the story of someone who last a good bit of weight, only to find out they were JUST LIKE YOU! which means you can do it too.

    4) Try to find someone to do it with you... The app tells you that having a partner you are 3x more likely to hit your targets.
  • elliebean
    elliebean Posts: 2
    Thanks, it's nice to have some replies. I will start tracking everything - I think when you eat a pretty healthy diet it is easy to think you can ignore little extras, so I will see if that helps. I work long hours, so that makes getting sufficient exercise hard. I'm working on changing that, because I know it will give me a boost.

    Thanks again, I know there are loads of people using this site in the same situation as me and hope that we can all do this!

    Ellie

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