Introduce Yourself

Hello everyone. Saw this site on a t.v. show and decided to give it a try. It has been interesting. The food tracker alone has been very instructive.

Hi, welcome to you, (and the latest batch of other newbies out there too!) to THE best site on the web! :flowerforyou:
Between the easy to use food counter (which by the way is SUCH an eye opener!) and all the wonderfully supportive members, you WILL be able to lose the weight that you want to, AND, it'll "almost" be easy doing it!
I recommend logging ALL your foods BEFORE you have them, rather than later, as it tends to lead to better food choices. (not to mention you'll know if you've got enough numbers left to have a night time snack, like I ALWAYS try to do!) Some people also like to weigh and measure some things, such as meats, rather than just estimating and possibly being WAY off! :noway:
Don't go making the mistake that if you have LOTS of numbers left at the end of the day that you'll lose even faster, because that DOESN'T happen. Feel free to read any info about the site in the "help" section at the top of the home page. And also under "Community", then "Weight Loss and Healthy Living", then "general diet and weight loss help", and then check out the first few threads. They'll REALLY help you understand how MFP works.
Before coming here, I had tried just about EVERYTHING out there, including hypnosis, TWICE, and nothing really worked until MFP!
Just the word "diet" would make me cringe and set me up for failure. :grumble: It meant depriving myself of all the "good stuff" out there, and as a result, I'd only last just so long, (maybe a few weeks if I was lucky!) and then I'd "cave" and go right back to eating all those "goodies" again! :embarrassed: But, MFP ISN'T a "diet". :noway: It's a "lifestyle change". (When I first read that, I said "Ya, SURE it is!", thinking that it WAS just another diet. :grumble: But, it wasn't! :noway:)
The main reason that I've managed to lose most of the weight that I wanted to is because I HAVE been able to eat "real/good" foods. :bigsmile: (Not Slim Fast or any other easy, quick, fad "wacko" diets!:noway: ) Through MFP I learned that I just needed to "work for it", through exercise, and watching my numbers (MOST of the time! ) As long as I do that, I CAN occasionally have stuff like Chinese food, a double cheeseburger, pizza, and even homemade ice-cream!
As far as exercise goes, it doesn't always have to be awful. :noway: For my exercise, I walk almost every day, (weather permitting! ) I also dance to a fast oldies CD that my husband made up of all my favorite old songs. (Like "Love Shack", Wild, Wild West", "Mony, Mony", "Footloose", and "Gloria") :happy:
It's free, (unlike a gym!:grumble: ) fun, and I can even watch tv at the same time, so I never get bored! :happy:
I also have Wii Fit, and jog to that, which is a lot of fun, and easy too!
So, to make a LONG story short, make good food choices, eat in moderation, get some exercise, and you WILL lose the weight that you want to!
MFP REALLY, REALLY, DOES work! :happy: Give it a chance, and it WILL work for you too!

A site that will help you figure out the numbers in homemade recipes.
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

A few sites that calculates how many calories burned for tons of different activities.
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

Hello and welcome, this is such a great site :flowerforyou:

Welcome to MFP areyouready4me, and good luck on your goals.

Bren...I have been on MFP for a while now and at times struggle...your response to areyouready was great...Lots of good advise that I can use too. Thanks

Thanks Corrie. I know what I write to welcome the newbies is wicked long, but I do it because I sooooooo want everyone to know that MFP REALLY, REALLY, DOES work!
I actually lost all the weight that I wanted to, but then wasn't nearly as dedicated as I had been for like the last 2 months. But, I'm back, and watching my numbers and getting in my dancing and walking, and the 10 or so pounds I'd gained are coming off again!
I haven't been on the boards much, just put in my foods and exercise, but I was thrilled to see that MFP was named on the Today show! Now maybe LOTS AND LOTS of newbies will come to MFP and become "losers" like the rest of us! :laugh: