Newbie needing help with where to get started with MFP

Oddsocks15
Oddsocks15 Posts: 27 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Joined MFP a while ago, but have never done anything with it :blushing:

My son just asked for a cuddle with his "big Mummy"... which has given me the incentive to lose weight

Where do I get started... when should I do first weigh-in? Logging food and exercise seems overwhelming

I am 41 with 3 kids and don't have the money or time to go the gym or classes... so am firstly looking to use my exercise bike and exercise DVDs

Would love any buddies for support :smile:

Thanks

Replies

  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
    The first thing I would do is make a commitment to accurately log everything I eat for two weeks. It will open your eyes. I would try plain old walking 30 60 minutes a day 3x a week. No need to go all gung ho and get burnt out in a few months. Baby steps.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Welcome!

    Here is some great reading material to set you down the easy path

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/817188-iifym
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    Welcome!

    Here is some great reading material to set you down the easy path

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/817188-iifym
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    yes.
    read these.
    everything you need to know is in there.
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    Good information provided by Taso42.

    Walking is good to start. Most of the fitness DVD's can be found on You Tube save buying them. I am currently doing the 30 day shred with Jillian Michaels on You Tube and this takes just 20 minutes a day and has 3 levels each for 10 days.

    Add me if you like :smile:
  • Oddsocks15
    Oddsocks15 Posts: 27 Member
    Thanks guys... is there way of logging the foods that you eat most days? I usually have the same thing for breakfast (might change though once I see how many calories I am eating though!)
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    Thanks guys... is there way of logging the foods that you eat most days? I usually have the same thing for breakfast (might change though once I see how many calories I am eating though!)

    Yes, under each meal you will see somewhere you can click and you have several choices. i.e. copy meal etc. Think this only works when using website though I just looked and it doesn't seem to work on mobile site though.

    On both website and mobile site, as you enter foods is does give you a list of things that you have added recently that you can choose which does cut down the time somewhat.
  • dukslayer4051
    dukslayer4051 Posts: 66 Member
    i have lost alot of weight, my daughter told me if i didnt lose my chunky monkey...i would have to sleep in a tree. kids...

    im telling you, and this is important, listen to your body, nobody knows it like you do. dont over do it... it took me 10 yrs to put this weight on and i know i cant get rid of it over night, dont get discouraged. if you have a bad day, its fine we all do. tomorrow is a new day. dont make a huge cut in calories. start by figuring out what you eat now...so you know what your maintenance calories are. then cut by 200 cals...if you dont get the result you are looking for cut by 200 more. dont cut more than 500 though. if you feel like ur hungry all the time drink some water. you should drink 1 ounce per lb per day...im guessing that might be more than 8-8oz cups...for me its about 1.5 gallons... again, dont go drink 2 gallons of water at one time listen to your body. there is no overnight pill or supplement, exercise, nutrition, CONSISTANCY, AND TIME. nutrition is king, it is probably the most important part of all of this. i cant stress how important it is to give your body time to make changes. the people around you will see changes before you do. but give it enough time to work

    if you havent been doing exercise in a while start slow, and dont hurt yourself...it will help you do it again and again and again. it will help you in the long run to do a program that you can maintain.

    good luck
  • LMick1986
    LMick1986 Posts: 431
    Make your first goal something very achievable.....that you WILL log EVERYTHING for at least several days. You'll see just how much you really and honestly consume. That will get you in that mindset of REALLY wanting this and being honest with yourself. It looks like people have already given you tons of reading material, so I won't do that. I'll just say, continue to set small goals. Don't overwhelm yourself with big stuff. Make small changes over time. And finally, you don't need money for a silly gym. Make your home a gym. I hate cold, so there is no way I'm heading out the door to run outside. Sooooo, all I need is YouTube or the internet (which I'm assuming you have) and a little bit of space. Check out FitnessBlender.com and BenderFitness. I know they sound similar, but they are two totally different sites. FitnessBlender will even break down each workout and give you an approximate calorie burn. BenderFitness is a girl named Melissa who is also a member to this site. She uploads her workout every day for you to do with her (and most of them are fairly short, which I love). I'm loving it all so far! I wish you so much luck!!
  • batewellb
    batewellb Posts: 20
    Hi! I'm Bruce and welcome to MFP. You can add me if you like. If you have a computer you can youtube just about anything related to exercise and do it for free.(Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, Zumba, Billy Blanks, etc.) Dancing and walking doesn't require any equipment.
  • DeborahBatewell
    DeborahBatewell Posts: 147 Member
    Welcome to MFP. I'm Debbie and I would love to have you as a friend. Good Luck
  • Oddsocks15
    Oddsocks15 Posts: 27 Member
    Really appreciate everyones helpful tips... Kids going to bed soon will have chance to read through them and figure out where to start :smile:

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