Thank you MFP users

Whit this being the week of Thanks, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you on MFP for all I have learned since being here.

I will try to be brief, though it is not a strong suit of mine. :ohwell:

Before I started MFP I lost a lot of weight. I did it strictly by eating low-carb. I did not exercise (other than taking the stairs at work and parking farther away at the grocery store). I did not count calories. I only ate low carb. Even though my weight loss had drastically slowed the last few Pre-MFP months, I was still convinced I was doing it right. Thinking back, I could easily have been eating 3000+ calories a day during this loss. :noway:

I only joined MFP because 3 of my High School FB friends were on it and it sounded like a nice place for support. A place where I would get to talk to other people losing weight and trying to be healthy. I had already made what I still consider to be the biggest and most important change to my life, I changed my attitude. I decided that I was worth it.

Then I started reading the forums about Calories In/Calories Out, macros, TDEE, BMR. I had questions, but I just kept reading. I read about lifting weights. I read about clean eating and Paleo and why carbs are delicious and also the devil. I found awesome recipes. I read about C25K (had to google that *kitten*). I saw pics of people who weighed more but looked smaller because of toning/muscles. I made new friends. I saw bickering and "my way is better than yours" threads. I even offered up some advice here and there. :blushing:

So in the end this is what I have learned (so far):
* Calories matter whether you are eating Low-carb, High-carb, Paleo, Clean, or EAT ALL THE THINGS!
* How many calories you need is specific to you depending on your current weight, height and activity
* MFP does a poor job of calculating the amount of calories burned on an activity and you should get an HRM
* I learned what an HRM is
* I learned its ok to eat back your exercise calories, but you don't have to, maybe a portion of them (ok this may still be a gray area)
* Lifting weights is important and you don't have to get 'bulky'
* I learned HOW to lift weights. I learned that if you can lift more than 12 in a set, you are probably lifting too light (right?)
* Losing weight alone does not make you healthy and that you NEED to exercise
* I learned that I still HATE to exercise, but much like doing the dishes, once you know you have to do it, you just do
* Muscle and fat weigh the same (a pound is a pound), but muscle takes up less space and looks better
* I learned what TL:DR means so...


TL:DR: Even with the occasional snarky comment, there is a HUGE wealth of information to be had from the people of MFP and I am grateful for what I have learned.