My biggest Struggle

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LauraElizabeth1982
LauraElizabeth1982 Posts: 42 Member
in Motivation and Support
My biggest Struggle is keeping track of everything I eat. Portions, Measuring adding it all to my food journal. It all becomes daunting after awhile. And to lose weight and be healthy its not just about Calories and fat, its everything Sodium, sugar etc. Sodium is the worst it goes buy so quickly before Ive even used up half my calories for the day. And i am Not a salt adder to my foods I never add salt at all its just most foods these days have a lot in them.

and then this confuses me How come on here MFP the calories you burn are added to your food intake for the day. I thought if you want to lose weight you try to burn the calories you eat and not eat the calories you burn?????

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  • Sunitagt
    Sunitagt Posts: 486 Member
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    If it's too much to handle, just start with worrying about your calories. Unless your doctor told you that you need to watch your sodium just remove it from being tracked in your diary for now and add it in later. Small, sustainable changes to start will work best, then start adding in more stuff as you feel comfortable doing the first thing. If you jump in head first with all these things it may get easy to get burnt out on it.

    So start with tracking. Get a food scale that does different units and has a 'tare' function. it is a million times easier to look at a label and figure out how many grams a serving is, and pour that into a bowl or plate, stopping when you reach the serving size, than it is to count out pieces or use measuring cups and spoons and whatnot. And a million times easier to just hit 'tare' and keep adding the ingredients or whatever into the bowl.

    So just start by worrying about calories. Calories in and calories out is how weight loss happens. Just worry about hitting your calorie target first, and get comfortable with that. Then when you are you can worry about macros (fat, protein and carbs) and mircros (such as sodium). I don't even track sodium. I do once in a while, just to check on it, but as long as I'm around 2000 - 3500 it's fine with me. I've never had any medical reasons to watch it, so I don't worry about it.

    MFP has set up your deficit, if you set it up to lose 2 lbs a week, you are eating 1000 less calories each day than it would take to maintain your weight at your current activity level. So when you get in extra activity, you get to add that in to your available calories for the day.
  • JourneyingJessica
    JourneyingJessica Posts: 261 Member
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    Oh honey. Take a deep breath.

    I can give you my theory on this. Keep it easy.

    Unless you have some underlying medical issue put aside everything except total calories. Pick one goal: Staying under your calories for the day.

    When i first started at 278lbs i didn't even realize just HOW out of proportion my food was. Hubby & i could easy eat a whole box of pasta at dinner. That's FOUR servings and 800 calories. No wonder i gained weight.

    All i did to lose the first 50lbs was weigh or measure my food and stay under calories for the week. Some days i went over the daily goal so next day i was a little under. It balanced out. And no i didn't really exercise (yes not advisable but i didn't move well and needed to focus on one thing first).

    There will be posts on macros and how you HAVE to do certain things. And yes they're things that can be done. But start with something easy. Stay within your calorie goals. To do that weigh & measure your food. To be honest for me i weigh calorie dense food like meats nuts & cheeses, use measuring cups for rest and guess on things like lettuce onions and other fresh veggies. Keep the measuring cups & food scale on the counter. Makes it easier.

    You can ALWAYS add watching sodium, macros, etc to your plan later on. For now just Stay under your calorie goal. If it seems to hard, (eg you're hungry) set your weight loss to 1 or 0.5lb per week and focus on learning healthy portion sizes. Just reading the calorie info on many processed foods may help you make better choices (i know it does for me). For me i still don't watch most things. I try to stay away from transfats, watch cholesterol & saturated fat. But you know what? Generally I'm pretty much on target or under just based on the better eating choices i make to stay under my calorie goal.

    The way MFP is set up you're supposed to eat back your exercise calories. Some people do, some don't. For me, i tend to eat them if i need them, if not then cool.

    If you overwhelm yourself to point you get frustrated and want to stop you're doing yourself no favors.
  • BUMPSTEAD
    BUMPSTEAD Posts: 17 Member
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    I don't eat my calories back some people do. MFP suggest if you stay on or alittle under your calories for the day you will lose weight. Tweek it to work for you work with it week by week . I know journaling everyday is alot but it kind of keeps you on track. I journal in a book because sometimes i forget. But some people prep so they know what they will eat during the entire day and can do their food journal all at once. I'm working on doing that. Stick with it, make changes to make thing work better for you. :)
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    The best explanation of why MFP tells you to eat your exercise calories is here:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

    It also explains an alternate method based on Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE. My exercise amount varies dramatically from week to week, so I use MFP's method.
  • djxil
    djxil Posts: 357
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    Logging showed me what I was putting in my body and forced me to eat better. Logging kept me honest and still does. I am kinda crazy though, I love the details, I love looking at the nutritional details and seeing where I was for the day.
  • Naturely
    Naturely Posts: 14 Member
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    First and foremost breathe! :smile:

    Very soon, MFP will know the foods and meals you like, simplifying the logging process. As far as the details track what is most comfortable to you, calories is a good way to start. The rest seems to follow naturaly. Before long you will become more aware of carbs, proteins and fat. Overtime, you may even find yourself tracking other details.

    As far, as eating what you burn or burning what you eat, it too will balance out and you will find what works for you. Please don't stress too much over it. Be proud of yourself for working out.

    As for salt, when you are ready just try to be aware. Choose foods with less sodium ( hint: package foods are generally high in sodium). The payoff is less water retention and bloating.

    The tracking can sometimes feel overwhelming. Just remember, knowledge is power. Learning about your eating habitats will give you the information you need to make the choices that are right for you.

    Try to have fun, sweetheart. You are going to see some very important changes in your life and you have every reason to be proud of yourself and happy with the commitment you are making. :love:

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