How did you begin?

I agreed with prattiger. I started with low carb and that lasted a whole two days. I didn't fall of of the wagon. I just switched to counting calories with eating anything I want. The calorie counter on here makes it very easy. I do a fit walk 5 days a week and since I've always been a big water drinker that part was easy. That's it for me. I feel good, sleep better. I don't feel l starving all of the time doing f it this way so I think this is the right way for me.

I had done all the fad and 'quick' diets before, with no success. To be honest, they only caused me to gain weight in the long term, and by the time I turned to MFP I was wishing I was the size I was when I first thought I was fat!

I decided that this was going to be a lifestyle change, and not a diet. I realised that my progress would be slow, but that it would be sustainable. I made peace with the fact that I might not see immediate obvious results, but went ahead with the idea that I would appreciate the effort further down the track.

I started off only counting calories, but eating pretty much what I want within reason (I've never been into fast food - my problem was always portion control, not junk food). As I became comfortable with that, I added in exercise (which I struggled with at first, but now absolutely love). Now, about 18 months down the track, I am 11kg (25 pounds) lighter, but my measurements, dress size and body fat are significantly lower. Ive started to watch my macros, but still don't eat what would be considered extremely 'healthy' - I eat chocolate every day, just in moderation, and am still dropping the weight hahah

I feel this is something I could happily sustain for the rest of my life. I feel great, my health is good, and I never feel deprived of anything. :drinker: (love me some wine…in moderation hahah)

Count calories first. Once you realize which foods give you the most bang for your buck you will automatically start eating more filling (read: healthier) foods. There's usually no reason to not eat any specific food.

This!

Broccoli is your friend. Pasta hates you.

It does not always have to be a drastic lifestyle change. You can start by just counting calories. If you have a bad diet, seeing the calories and nutrition information may help motivate you to cut out the bad foods. When i started i tried my best to keep under the goal calories the MFP created for me. I then added in the exercise and soon enough it will start to feel normal.

I just counted calories. Pretty simple. I still eat what I want just as long as I can afford to.

I also started to make sure I was reaching a good protein goal which helped to keep my other macros in check.

I sort of did both but the food changes came more gradually and were more about making healthy, more filling choices (more fruits and veg, leaner protein, whole grains, etc). It was more about figuring out proper portion size of the foods I liked to eat.

So basically I agree with many of the above - start logging first, get familiar with your calorie goal and what you can have based on that then if you want, start making changes in the actual food choices.

Count calories first. Once you realize which foods give you the most bang for your buck you will automatically start eating more filling (read: healthier) foods. There's usually no reason to not eat any specific food.

This!

Broccoli is your friend. Pasta hates you.

What?!! Pasta is not the devil!!!

But I do agree with Count Calories first. This is very much a learn as you go change for life - this is NOT a diet.

At first most people do the IIFYM (if it fits in your macros) Meaning they eat whatever whenever as long as they meet their calorie goals (and fat, carbs, proteins). As you start to notice changes you see how your body reacts and responds to certain foods. Hence why I say Pasta is not the devil. Whole Wheat/ Veggie Pasta is my meal almost every Thursday so I can fuel up for long runs. But.... this is me and needed for MY goals. Everything in moderation and you'll see where you can remove items and add items. Cutting and changing too drastic at first is recipe for you to get discouraged adn annoyed and quit.

As weeks and months go on you'll start to remove more processed foods, add more natural/orgaic foods, less junk (cake, cookies, candy) more fruits and veggies and you'll be happier and more motivated to keep moving forward!

I agree with everyone here. Start small and work your way up. I tried to do too much at first and found myself not feeling the best. I toned it back and I've started to see the weight come off more evenly. I'm still working on the diet thing but I exercise regularly and even do a weekly kickboxing class. I'm even looking to start a second day of the week with kickboxing because I enjoy it so much. On the days I don't do that I use the P90X workouts and can really tell a difference from when I started a month ago.

I have been doing this for a week now and I am quite pleased with how much I have learned about this process and myself in this week! The best part of MFP for me is the fact that I do not feel like I am on a diet.

I have started with calorie counting and still in this phase. I have this awful snacking habit and I love sweets and junk food. I am slowly eliminating this habit as I realize how much calories things really are and am adding in more good foods. I suspect the food changes and exercising more will come gradually.

I started with eating easy to count foods and kept it to 1200 calries with long low impact cardio sessions I was obese

As I learned more, I changed this to a more functional adn succesful game plan I recommend you start from a better place than I!

Lift heavy things/IIFYM

Firstly, congratulations on asking the question. That is a great initial step.

I recommend this. It's by no means the only answer, but in my experience it works well.

If you have trouble with the link or don't trust urls from random folks (I wouldn't) just google "three food rule"

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-three-food-rule-healthier-eating-106383.html?cat=51

I only counted calories.

Like someone above said, you'll quickly see which foods are the biggest "waste" of calories, so to speak. My habit before I started logging was to drink four of those bottled Starbucks frappucinos a day :sad: :blushing: which was costing me 720 calories a day. Pretty sure they were the major contributing factor to me getting fat LOL. By the end of week 1 I was down to 1 per day and then none. I'm not calling them 'bad', just a waste, since they did nothing to fill me up. Other than that, though, I still eat the same foods I always did, just much smaller portions, and now I eat far more vegetables than I used to. So I ended up eating far fewer processed foods but only because of the calorie count. :flowerforyou:

My first dieting experience was Atkins when I was 16. I had to stay at 20 g of carbs or else I stopped losing - I was on it for 4 months and lost 40 lbs. At 5'5", I went from 165 to 125. I then swore off of low-carb forever because it made me hate so many foods I used to like. I switched to a low calorie, low fat diet and maintained for awhile, followed by a few years of yo-yo dieting with the trusty 1200 calorie failure plan. About a year ago, at 155 lbs, I decided enough was enough.

I no longer "diet." A diet is temporary. I simply changed my way of eating without depriving myself of calories my body needs to function or foods that I enjoy. I now count calories as well as keep an eye on my macros, especially protein. I recently started drinking protein shakes in order to take in .75-1 g protein per lb of body weight. I also started lifting heavy (for me) and am about to start the StrongLifts 5x5 program.

The biggest change was tossing out the, "I want to be skinny" and adopting the "I want to be fit and healthy" frame of mind. I don't care about a thigh gap or a bikini bridge. I just want to look in the mirror and like what I see. I want to be stronger, more flexible, and gain endurance. I want to FEEL healthy, and not revert back to old habits. This is the way I plan to eat forever, just more of the same once I lose the last few pounds.

This is the first time in my life weight loss hasn't made me absolutely miserable. This is the first time I've been excited about nutrition and fitness.

bump

When I had reached my highest weight (in '08) and knew I wanted to change, I started by walking a LOT...several miles most nights. And by changing my lunchtime habits. Before that I grabbed fast food, had a full-on dinner type meal at my mom's house complete with a dessert, or went out to restaurants with friends/coworkers. I started only doing those things on Friday. Mon-Thurs I packed myself a healthy light lunch like veggies & hummus and some fruit or crackers, premade salads (made a batch for 4 days on Sunday evening) or tiny portions of baked goods along with a small healthier wrap.

By the time I joined MFP, I was down 45 lb and had developed some better habits mostly thanks to my now-husband's good influence. I stopped putting tons of creamer in my coffee, going for just a splash of milk instead. I'd started using cheese, cream, and butter very sparingly in my cooking and food prep, and adding "unnecessary vegetables" to everything (for example, a perfectly good grilled cheese sandwich was stepped up by including sautéed onion, bell pepper and/or mushrooms).

That made my transition pretty smooth. For me, being on MFP was just another step in the right direction. It's helped me make decisions that are actually way more satisfying...one example I've given before is when I used to go to Starbucks or a local coffeehouse with my best friend, I ordered a grande white mocha and now I get an iced black coffee and a sugary pastry...while it is still not a healthy choice, it's way less calories and I enjoy it so much more. I do try to aim for healthy and nutritious eating though so maybe that is not the best example...another example would be my go-to egg taco for breakfast when I am in a hurry. 77 calorie Mama Lupe's fajita tortilla, pan-fried egg and a tiny bit of chipotle dressing. SO good and around 180 calories. I used to think I was making a better choice by eating a big bowl of non-sugary cereal with 1% milk which wasn't very tasty and way more calories to boot.