MFP (My First Post) My tips and tricks

I started MFP on January 5th because my wife bought me a Nike golf shirt I had wanted and it didnt fit. 3XL. I've gone too far. At first I started by simply not eating unless I was hungry; very hungry. I had no idea what was going into my body and needed some way to track it. When I started looking for calorie trackers, I stumbled here and haven't missed a day since. I want to make this post to answer some of the questions I had when I started. Oppinions are like, well you know. Everyone has one. Some work and some do not. These suggestions and things I have found may not work for your body type/metabolisim. The only way to find out if certain things work is try them for a week and step on the scale. Let's do some of the most asked first.

1.) Do I realy need to eat all my calories every day?
This answer is a very hard one. The short answer is no. If your not hungry, don't eat. The problem is that when we get started we have a tendancy to go overboard. Your mind convinces you that the way to loose weight fast is to eat less. Sounds simple right? The simeple fact, for me, is that it works very well to a point. And this is a very big point. I lost 4 pounds a week for a while staying well under my daily calorie count. The problem started after a month or so when I wasnt loosing any more weight. There is nothing more frustrating than borderline starving yourself and not loosing a pound. Very frustrating. You dont have to eat all of your calories, but if you go too far under, it will catch up with you and test your mental fortitude.

2.) Do I realy need to eat all my exercise calories?
No. Eat more if you are hungry, eat less if you arent. Again this is a mind game thing to a point. Eventually you will figure out what works. I loose more when I dont eat my exercise calories, but you should not go under your daily goal while exercising. You will definately be starving yourself at that point and you will feel the difference. Dizzy, lethargic and a lack of energy. My daily goal is currently 1500. If I exercise 700 calories and don't eat my 1500, it's bad.

3.) Should I exercise? If so, how often?
Yes. Often. You want to loose weight as fast as possible but do it in a way that you can keep it off. Here is the trick. Finding something you like to do and make it easy to get started. I bought a WII Fit and used that for a while along with the elliptical. If you can afford an exercise machine, get one and put it in your house. Craigs list is full of people that had big plans that fell by the wayside and want to get rid of that thing that keeps reminding them of their failed new year resolution. Put it somewhere you can watch TV or the computer while using it. Exercise is hardest when you are staring at a clock. If you keep your mind occupied it makes the time go much faster. I hate gyms and it seems very counterproductive to spend more time getting ready and driving to the gym then you are going to spend working out. If you dont have to leave the comfort of your house, you will do it more regularly. Tell me I'm wrong....
I am a huge fan of golf and took up the sport last year. I rode in a golf cart. Not this year. I bought a membership and walk at least 4 days a week now. An average 9 hole round is equilivant to about 2.5 miles. Up and down hills pulling a cart. Very good exercise. I have walked over 200 miles this year in my 80+ rounds and it hasn't felt like exercise once. Find something you like to do and do it.

4.) What should I eat?
Everything. Yes I said everything. All diets usualy have one thing in common, they restrict what you can eat. Carbs, glutten, sugar, fat, dairy. It seems that when you are on one of these diets, the only thing you realy want is what your not supposed to have. On Atkins? I want a piece of bread. Low Fat? A cheeseburger sounds great. Eat whatever you want. Bowl of ice cream? Why not. Pizza? Absolutely. The reason that MFP works is it holds you accountable to yourself and what you put in your mouth. You can have everything, just in moderation. And learning how to eat is one of the biggest things I had a struggle with.

5.) How much water should I drink?
Alot. Simply put, if your pee is yellow your not drinking enough water. Find things that are zero calorie and low sodium. Unsweetened tea is my favorite. Besides the fact it is zero calories it also has beneficial minerals/flavenoids. Green tea with flavorings is easy to find and fast to make. I put 6-7 tea bags in my coffee pot which makes enough to make a gallon pitcher. Take a to-go cup with me everywhere.

There are some other things that are personal preference that have helped me along.

1.) A food scale is almost a necessity. No one, and I mean no one, can accurately guess the weights and measurements of every food. Get a cheap scale and use it all the time. Your friends and family may give you a hard time about measuring your food, but they probably gave you a ribbing about "carrying a few extra pounds" as well. Pick your poison...

2.) Keep an accurate journal down to every bite. As I mentioned before, being accountable to yourself is the only way this works. Taking a "bite" of a candy bar and not putting it in MFP is cheating. Cheating yourself.

3.) Sometimes you have to put in things that arent exactly in the journal. I like mexican food and my local resturant does not have nutrition information. And I am not the guy that presses the issue to make them post it. That is a good way to get your food spit in. Just saying.... Anyway, when you have to guess, be honest but not overly so. Dont find the highest calorie item and assume that is the right one. Conversely, dont pick the lowest and call it good. Go somewhere in the middle or when you get home try to calculate it by creating a new recepie.

4.) Creating a recepie. I wish I would have thought of this when I started, but this is how you do it accurately and figure calories per serving. Input all ingredients into the app (create new recepie) for the entire dish. Weigh the pan/container that the meal will be served/cooked in before you prepare it. Save that weight. When the dish is prepared, put the entire contents back on the scale and set the number of servings to the number of ounces the dish weighs, minus the original weight of the container. This will tell you how many calories are in each ounce of the food you have prepared.

5.) The weigh in. I do it once a week. It is exciting to peek and see if its working, but for me its better to see the total net gain at the end of the week. Your weight will fluctuate during time of day and what you have consumed. I weigh in every Monday morning. Get out of bed, use the facilities, strip down and step on. On Sunday I try to eat meals early. I dont want to be cramming my face with a midnight snack when I have to weigh in a few hours. I feel it gives my body time to digest and I am not holding extra weight. I tried cutting back on water after a certain time, but that did not change my weigh in. Just made me thirsty.

All of these things are just suggestions. Things that have worked and some things that have not. Find what works for you and do it. Be accountable to yourself. Good Luck!

P.S. I need a New golf shirt. Size XL.

Brilliant post - have referred a newbie friend to it so she starts on the right track.

Thanks for taking the time to put all that information together in such a user-friendly, non-threatening way.:drinker: