Give me your best tips on making mfp work for me!

Lots of good tips on this thread already.

Tomorrow is Day #13 for me. I think what has helped me so far is:
1) logging in every time I eat a meal, so that I always am aware of how many calories I have left over.
2) getting in some exercise as often as possible, which allows more calories to be eaten!
3) skimming/reading a message board thread here and there - reminds me that others are on the same journey as me!

I'd give you my opinion, but some (not staff or anyone affiliated with MFP) MFP professional nutritionist with there very own profile on this site will end up quoting me and saying, "You say your new to weight lose and counting calories but you act like a professional", when in the same quote there using to quote me, I say "Disclaimer, I am not a professional nutritionist, I am new to weight lose and counting calories, but this is my opinion"........

I'm so sick of all these "professional MFP users" and how they belittle other peoples opinions. It almost seems to me that there jealous that the "OP" (something I learned last night), didn't just ask them directly what they should do, or not do. if the OP asked for feedback from ONLY professionals, it would be a different story.

I am truly happy for those with extreme weight lose and have learned the good things to do, and the not so good things to do in eating foods and exercising. I will add though, you look really lame when full of yourself when the same advice/opinion you give matches everyones else in the thread, just worded differently.

Can't we all just get along, and give our own unprofessional opinion, when someone is asking you for it?

So sorry I used your thread to vent this, I just seem to see it a lot, and I'm not talking about constructive debating between two different views, I'm talking about all the belittling i see when your answer doesn't match theirs.


Edit: I'm not saying at all that anything I described in this comment, is going on in this thread, I haven't even read it yet, to be perfectly honest with you.

.

SQUAT.

then do it again.

I follow what MFP tells me, and I don't follow the links or programs to other peoples' ideas and rules and calculators. I assume anything between goal calories and maintenance calories is a good place to be in. I lift weights anyway, but I try to ensure that I do on days I have a surplus. I'd much rather lift than do cardio, so that's the overall focus of my fitness-doing what I am most likely to do.

Also, if you are following MFP's program, including eating your exercise calories, before immediately upping your calories if you are maintaining, evaluate:

Do the exercise calorie estimates seem way too good to be true? Are you relying on MFP's database or your machine? Try docking 20-50% off those numbers if you aren't losing.

Are you tracking everything for real? Are you measuring or weighing your food rather than eyeballing it?

I also have to log at the beginning of the day or the night before. Not only can I eat a lot more than I think I am without realizing it, I tend to forget foods when I log at the end of the day.

I focus on getting healthy fats and protein and let carbs fall where they will. Other than having my exact friends list because of how wonderful they are, I think those are all my tips. :flowerforyou:

First of all, congratulations for making a healthy choice, and for reaching out to the MFP community for support.
I started my weight loss journey in May, and discovered MFP in June. I would not be as successful as I've been without the wisdom and support I have found on this site.

There are two very valuable tools I discovered here. One was a link to a BBC documentary that really helped me understand losing weight. The second was a post by a MFP member, redlion45. His articulate, often humourous approach has helped me immeasurably. I am including both the link and a copy of his post. The only thing I would like to add is find food you love to eat. I am enjoying my food more now than when I was gaining the weight.

Good luck and feel free to add me.



Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods


BBC Documentary

http://www.thegreatplanet.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-losing-weight-bbc-documentary/


August 2012 post from redlion45

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I checked my logbook today, and I have been attempting to improve
my health and fitness for 200 days now. I have lost 51 lbs from my highest weight and 45 since joining MFP. Admittedly others have had more impressive weight loss journeys than I have, but I think this still qualifies as a "success story." I have read more confusing nutrition articles, run more miles, lifted more weights and produced more sweat in the last 6+ months than I ever thought possible. Seems like a long time ago.

I am not a doctor, a nutritionist, or a personal trainer and I don’t play one on TV, but along the way I have spoken with all three at some length, and I have learned a few things I thought I could share that might help someone walking this same path.

Weight loss really is simple, but the catch is that it is damn hard to do in a Big Mac world.

Here is what I have learned along the way:

1. The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday - I borrowed this saying from my MFP pal Brutesquad (who borrowed it from the Navy Seals), but it sums it all up better than anything else I can think of. If you became obese, you will fight the “battle of the bulge” for the rest of your life. Apparently the most recent science from Yale and Cornell supports this phenomena - - one that most of us have experienced first-hand. Even if you reach your “ideal” weight after much effort, and hold it there for years; your body remembers that it was once heavy and wants to get back to that nice comfy place where they serve jelly doughnuts. You will always need to consume less calories than someone who is the same size as you, but who spent their entire life at the “ideal weight.” So, as many have said before, this must be a lifestyle change, not a temporary change. Diets are great to get you started, but no “diet tricks” will ever work for maintaining your weight. If you “diet” and then go back to your old method of eating, then you will just gain it all right back. You have to keep hammering away at the fat enemy every day for the rest of your life. You can whine about how unfair this all is, or you can accept it and get to work.

2. Eat Less and Move More - That is the only answer to the weight problem. Now, tomorrow and 50 years from now, if you want to weigh less you have to do both of these things. I don’t care whether you go paleo, Atkins, low calorie, low fat, vegan, or whatever floats your boat. I don't care if you run, swim, lift, bike, or zumba. If it means you eat less than you burn every day, go with it. One approach may work better for you than another, and you can adjust things up and down as needed for your body situation, goals and metabolism, but this unforgiving rule of physics is one you cannot escape. You have to burn more calories than you take in to lose weight. And, you have to burn just as many calories as you take in to stay at that weight; every week from now until you are pushing up daisies. Anybody who tells you different and promises a “miracle” fix is lying.

3. Do Something You Like - You need to, for the most part, enjoy your fitness journey, or at least not hate it. If you hate your exercise routine, and it feels like torture every day, you will fail. Willpower alone can only take you so far. Once you figure out what you have to do (to meet Rule #2) and find exercises you enjoy (or at least can tolerate), you can go on cruise control and just go out and get it done every day. I know; you don’t like exercise, right? So find the ones you hate the least and do them until you learn to like them! You will enjoy them more than the diabetes/stroke/heart attack which are behind Door #2.

4. Do The (Hard) Work - I hate to break it to you, but you have got to work hard to make body changes. There is no fitness system, pill, or gizmo that will ever give you a flat stomach, a firm butt, or the physique you want. If you think there is, you will be continually disappointed and poorer for it. What “hard” means will vary from person to person, but you have to challenge your body and fitness level if you want them to change. Depending on your fitness level, a 5 minute brisk walk may be “hard.” Do it anyway if you want results. If you don’t want results, why are you reading this?

5. Eat some damn breakfast - I know its early - just do it. Your body will thank you.

6. Drink a bunch of water - Seriously! Keep drinking it every day. Drink ½ your body weight in ounces or as much as you can stand, whichever comes first. It helps. It also keeps you away from soda and sugared drinks which is HUGE for cutting calories.

7. Don't allow yourself to get HUNGRY - Eat something (preferably something healthy) at least every four hours unless you are sleeping. That “I could eat a horse” feeling will lead to trouble – metabolically speaking.

8. Eat Stuff That Used to Be Alive - I am not an “All Natural Organic Everything” type of guy, but I get the argument. If all you eat is a bunch of chemicals, why are you surprised that you feel lousy? I never read a food label before this year, but when I started doing it – wow, what an eye opener (both from a calorie and an ingredient standpoint). I don’t care what the carb/protein/fat mix is as long as you are hitting your nutrient and calorie goals, and you feel good, but the stuff that used to be a part of nature had better be the foundation of each meal. Everybody eats processed foods from time to time, but try to keep them to a minimum. They tend to offer less fiber, less nutritional value, and are less satiating. Thus, you eat more which is how we all got here. Most of the natural stuff is packed with fiber. Fiber's effect is the opposite of snack foods’. When you have fiber in your stomach, food takes longer to enter the bloodstream, and your blood-sugar level stays steady. You stay sane and your body works efficiently to burn calories - it's win-win.

9. Make a Plan - If you haven’t thought about how you will get your workouts in, or how you will meet, but not exceed, your calorie goals, don’t be surprised when you fail. Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail. How you do it is up to you, but you better make a plan and stick to it. Figure out your BMR, your TDEE, and adjust your Plan as needed. Find a goal and make your plan to reach it. I don't care if its a target weight, a little pink bikini, or a marathon finish. Write it down, and work at reaching that goal. Wing it, and you might as well say “Goodbye diet - hello diabetes.”

10. Don’t Quit - If you fall off the horse, you get back on. It’s as simple as that. Life will put obstacles in your path, and you will fail from time to time. Just don’t quit. You, and your loved ones, are worth the effort. Mine certainly are. Yours are too, aren't they?

Remember, the only easy day was yesterday. (Sorry, I don't make the rules - I've just gotta live with them the same as everyone else.) I didn't think any of this stuff up, I just learned it the hard way.

Got it? Great, now go get to work! You got this!

Message Ends.........

Best advice – keep it simple.

1) eat at a reasonable calorie deficit. You can work this out 2 ways:

a) use MFP's targets:

Set yourself at a realistic activity level. Sedentary means just that - not doing anything. I have a desk job and am a lazy bish outside the gym and I am at least lightly active. If you have kids, have an active job etc you will be higher. Note, this does not include exercise.

Select a reasonable weight loss goal. Generally a good recommendation is 1lb a week. If you have a lot to lose you can set it at 2lb a week, if only 10lb or so, set it at 1/2lb a week

Eat at least some of your exercise calories back. By not doing so you are increasing your deficit that you already have set up. I say only to eat some as these are estimates and may be over-stated.

b) Calculate your TDEE using a site such as http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and take a reasonable deficit – 20% off TDEE (the levels you will maintain at) is generally a good starting point, but should be decreased the nearer you get to goal. Note: 20% is roughly a 1lb a week. Be careful of whether these include exercise calories or not. If they do, you should not eat your exercise calories back as you will be double counting if you do. You can customize your goals to ‘force’ this number.

Note that these are estimates based on ‘averages’ so tweak accordingly based on the results you are seeing. Also, make sure you give it enough time before tweaking as water weight, especially with women can skew your results.

2) Get your macros right. MFP is set very low for fats and protein so either plan to go over these or change the percentages manually.

General recommendations are:
- Protein (minimum): 1g of protein per lb of LBM if you exercise and about 0.8g if you do not.
- Fat (minimum): 0.35g per lb of total body weight
- The rest can fall where you wish.

The settings in MFP only go in 5% increments. If you want to over-ride these settings, remember, protein and carbs have 4 cals per gram and fat has 9 cals. You can calculate the correct percentages by using these numbers.

3) Foods to eat: keep it simple. Unless you have a medical condition or a prone to binge eating or have trigger food, there is no reason to give up any food you like. Just fit it into your calorie target and macros. Make sure you get fruits, veggies and a mix of healthy fats – after that, eat what you want.

4) Log everything. Make sure you weigh/measure everything you eat/drink. Also, going back to see what you could have swapped out to get a more balanced or satiating day is very useful. If you go over one day for example, see what you ate and what gave you the least ‘bang for your calorie buck’ so to speak.

5) For body composition and other benefits, I highly recommend strength training. It does not have to be anything complicated. A full body workout 3 times a week is ideal. With regard to cardio – do it if you like it and/or are training for an event/sport and/or want to cardiovascular improvement and/or want to eat more. Otherwise, it is not necessary for weight loss. I hate it so do not do it – but it does have a lot of benefits.

6) Get rest. Make sure you do not overdo it with the exercise and try to get enough sleep.

7) Do not let water weight fluctuations discourage you – our weight can vary quite a few pounds due to it. It can be impacted by sodium intake, fluid intake, how many carbohydrates eaten recently, monthly cycle, muscle repair from strength training and a host of other things. Do not obsess over the scale – take measurements and pictures.


TL;DR
1) Eat to a reasonable deficit, comprising of a good amount of nutritionally beneficial foods but eat treats if you wish. Log everything accurately.
2) Hit your macros
3) Strength train (and do cardio if you wish)
4) Rest
5) Do not obsess over the scale
6) Stick to the plan and be patient


Ooops - just realized that I added yet another wall of text.

Bumping to tag Sarauk2sf's post. Thank you Sara

log EVERYTHING

establish your TDEE

set SMALL goals

stay persistent

have patience

Because of this, I decided to cut my current goal in half. Seeing a number of 67 pounds to lost and fitbit telling me when I would have that lost by [September of 2013] scared me, so I just changed it to 40 pounds to loss instead. Thanks for the inspiration!

What is more, the number on the scale isn't everything, measure yourself once a month, calculate you bf%, if its going down, as well as the number on the scale, you are doing great. If the number on the scale doesn't budge, but you bf is going down, then you are still doing great!

1. I have read many times that you can manually change your macro goals on MFP how do you do that?

2. What has worked for me on MFP has been the accountability that comes with sharing your diary with people. I share with friends, and my MFP pals are not douchey or critical but just knowing that they will see my bad day makes me want todo better. I am doing this for me but failing personally is so much easier than failing publicly.

3. I log everything. I have even started logging 0 calorie stuff just to see it in my log. I also measure everything so it's correct logging.

4. Reading food diaries for ideas or inspiration helps. I mean it gets boring to eat the same old stuff so looking at food diaries gives me new ideas for what to eat.

MFP is a great tool if you actually use it. Good luck on your journey here .

3- Don't trust EVERYTHING just because someone wrote it

So true!

Ditto log everything - you only "cheat" yourself if you don't log it, and by logging you can see what are better choices
Log ahead - plan what you will eat, tweak it, and change it as you go along
Learn what suits you, make small changes
Try new foods
Read nutrition panels on foods - don't believe the hype, read the detail!
Buy some small digital kitchen scales, weigh everything - don't guess
Check the nutrition content of foods on the database - some are WAY wrong!
Get some exercise every day even if just a short walk, look for opportunities to get moving.
Set small goals - think about the eat an elephant concept (How do you eat an elephant? In small bites)
Plan to lose weight gradually - none of the 30 lb in three weeks :noway:
Measure yourself, take some photos - you might not like what you see but it will be a help when you do lose weight to see how far you have come

Good luck :flowerforyou:

3- Don't trust EVERYTHING just because someone wrote it

So true!

unless I wrote it