Took the First Step

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tink319
tink319 Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
Just started with this program this morning.... was going to return to weight watchers but after reading the posts online from so many committed members, I thought I would try this first . WW has always been a successful program for me because of the point system is so simple to follow ... i hope this is just as easy.... I am a creature of habit and tend to make the same meals throughout the week/month and WW kept the meals and their calories, etc. to memory and I hope this program has the ability to do that too.

If anyone has any suggestions to make this program easy to follow please share... I am a little lost right now.

Thank you and I applaud all of you for making such a commitment to changing your life.

Replies

  • Bells5001
    Bells5001 Posts: 75 Member
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    I too used WW…this is just like the on-line version but is free! Also you can have friends from all over the world for support. Just log for you food every day…try to stay under 100 carbs (you can see that in the nutrition breakdown), exercise and bye bye blubber :-)

    Good luck!
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
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    Understand how many calories you actually burn in a day and understand an appropriate calorie deficit to be in. A lot of times, we get really gung-ho at the beginning and eat way less than we normally do only to get burnt out later and fall off the wagon. A more sustainable approach would be creating less of a deficit, losing at a little slower rate but also maintain more muscle while losing weight and also still enjoying foods we love in moderation.
  • tink319
    tink319 Posts: 2
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    Shutupandlift....
    your suggestions "sound" helpful but would not begin to know how many calories I burn in a day or calorie deficit etc.... how would I find this out in a simple easy to understand way? Thank you so much....

    Bells.... thank you for your reply.... the effort is always there, the program needs to be easy for me to follow....
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
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    Shutupandlift....
    your suggestions "sound" helpful but would not begin to know how many calories I burn in a day or calorie deficit etc.... how would I find this out in a simple easy to understand way? Thank you so much....

    Bells.... thank you for your reply.... the effort is always there, the program needs to be easy for me to follow....

    This can be a long read and a little overwhelming for a new user, but this information is so helpful and I wish it had all been in one location when I first started here. It would have saved a lot of headaches!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message!
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
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    MFP makes setting your calorie goals pretty simple. You enter in your basic information (height, weight, age, goal, activity level) and how quickly you want to lose weight. Then it figures out what your basic calorie target should be. The biggest mistake people seem to make is the weekly weight loss goal. They get aggressive and set it to 2lbs per week when they only have a few pounds to lose. The other mistake is over estimating activity level. Be honest, and don't count your workouts in your activity level. Log your exercise and you will get extra calories to eat on the days you exercise.
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
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    MFP makes setting your calorie goals pretty simple. You enter in your basic information (height, weight, age, goal, activity level) and how quickly you want to lose weight. Then it figures out what your basic calorie target should be. The biggest mistake people seem to make is the weekly weight loss goal. They get aggressive and set it to 2lbs per week when they only have a few pounds to lose. The other mistake is over estimating activity level. Be honest, and don't count your workouts in your activity level. Log your exercise and you will get extra calories to eat on the days you exercise.

    This is also excellent advice. If you do this and try it out for at least a month with accurate (read as weigh your food!) tracking and don't see results then it might be time to look into other more precise methods, but you should see progress just by following what's listed above.
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,425 Member
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    Use the recipe function to enter the foods you cook for yourself so you have an accurate nutrition count. Be a little skeptical when selecting items from the food database-most of the entries are member entered and you will find some crazy entries! Also, be mindful of the country -a lot of people will put in if it's a uk entry or Canadian.

    It can be a bit time consuming in the beginning establishing the foods you eat most in your recent and frequent food list but it's so worth it!

    If you are exercising, get a heart rate monitor with a strap to get an accurate number of calories burned during cardio. (polar is one of the most frequently recommended brands and my personal choice) MFP and the numbers on cardio machines tend to run high so could lead to eating too much.

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