How did you begin?

Well, since i've never been overweight but wanted to build muscle I really didn't change anything drastically.
Just ate a bit less fat and calorie dense stuff like cookies and icecream, that sort of thing.... and ate more of protein.
When I wanted to lose some weight I just lowered my intake of overall calories, so mostly portion size. Something that is really good to watch out for is oil, butter and stuff like that in your pan. 1 tablespoon of oil is 120 calories, so it does a lot in the end if you fry stuff a lot! And just take a walk a day

But the trick is like I wrote in some other thread, is just to allow yourself to eat unhealthy stuff as well, but just watch the portion size

My girlfriend started it. She joined the gym and I got jealous and joined too. I said at the time, "I don't want to get obsessed with this, I'll do it at my own pace..." Needless to say I became obsessed.

I worked out, a lot, probably too much, hitting cardio every day for over an hour. Then I joined here about a year ago and have been counting calories ever since. I started out on 1,200 like every newbie on here does, and lost some weight quickly. Now I'm at a weight I'm happy with I'm concentrating more on lifting and strength than losing the lbs and making sure I stick to a specific deficit, and I try to eat as naturally as possible.

I just started counting calories. I've never really changed the type of foods I eat because my main issue was portion size. After a while counting you realise how you can reduce the calories such as the amount of oil etc you use to cook with. My mantra through the whole of this is no food is out of bounds and anything as long as it's in moderation. yes the base of my everyday is what people may consider 'Healthy foods' (though to me there are no unhealthy foods it's all food) but it doesn't stop me having things I want within my calories. Though some of my choices have changed over the past year and a bit in order to fuel my running more. Tonight I will sit down with Mrs Fatdoob and watch a film while eating popcorn because I've planned for it and it's within my calorie goals.

The best bit of advice I can give anyone is don't eliminate foods you like just learn to eat them in moderation.

I did not diet for my first week and just kept track of the calories I ate.... it was an eye opener because I often felt hungry but the calorie intake was high. I think being aware of how many calories are in something is vital. Yesterday I had this tiny egg cup size cheesecake in the fridge. I looked at the calories and it was 275.... and it just put me off straight away. The exercise I'd have to do to burn that off was enough of an incentive not to eat it.

Once you are in the habit of eating better you can then look at exercise.

I think to change everything is too much. Baby steps is my motto. Rome wasn't built in a day is another!

I have been trying to eat healthier for ages. Which I have successfully done, but that didn't mean automatic weightloss for me. The biggest difference is once I started logging I cut out a lot of fast food. I didn't worry about my macros right away, just calories. Then as I became more concerned with my macros it was easier to cut out fast food because of the sodium and fat levels. I don't like meal planning because then I end up eating lasagna for 3 weeks because I made a 12 serving lasagna. I generally eat what I call rabbit food (Salads, raw nuts, chicken and rice). I try to steer away from candy and fast food and I don't cook very frequently. Ocassionally (I've done this like 2 or 3 times since December to tell you how infrequently I do it) I just go to the gas station, get two kinds of chips with two kinds of dip (a couple of my favorite Easter Candies this time of year) and rent movies from the red box. I totally pig out but that's all I eat for the day and whatever is left over the next day I throw in the garbage and go back to healthy eating. I usually only do that on the end of a long stretch of shifts (I work nights). So I watch movies and eat chips until I fall asleep. Never takes very long lol.

Ok forget this image posting crap!!

Weighing my foods and counting calories. It's sounds daunting to weigh foods but it really opened my eyes to portions.

Now it's just second nature to weigh and log calories and stay within my goals. :flowerforyou:

you have to first be totally set in your mind what you want to achieve. no matter what it is, if its dieting or quitting tobacco (or any other nasty habit), you have to be 100% ready to do it, or it wont stick. set realistic goals each week, and allow yourself some leeway at least one meal per week to treat yourself. the fast results in the beginning, from changing from a poor diet and no exercise, to regular work outs and clean eating should give you more incentive to keep going. most people lose a lot of water weight in the beginning, but get discouraged when they hit that first plateau when their body adjusts. that is the most important time to push harder and remember your goals. look to things that inspire you, your family, your health, etc. start small in the way of finding your total caloric needs and your maintenance. write down some simple principles to start, and make your grocery list. do not buy any processed or premade meals, buy lean meats and fish, whole grains, and reduced fat milk products, and many different kind of spices to give your meals different flavors. stay away from anything that has high fructose corn syrup in it, or an ingredient list the size of this post, lol. set your goals first, make your plan, and stick to it. don't make it harder than it has to be. if you want results, you have to work for results. and remember, you didn't get to where you are in a day, so it will take more than a day to get to where you want to be.

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.

^^Ditto!^^

I started by tracking everything I ate and drank for a few weeks to see where I really was, food- and calorie-wise. I didn't make any changes in that time. Once I saw how many calories some things were or how out of balance I was eating (too many carbs, not healthy carbs, etc) I started making small changes. I still eat over MFP's allowance almost daily and I'm almost to the point where I may not need to lose more, weight-wise but it's been a long, long road.

Getting started is hard. The best thing I can tell you is that you have to find a diet that you can live with. Don't force yourself to eat things you don't like. For example: l can't stand fat free butter or cheese, but I can eat the 2 % versions. I don't like soy milk, but I do like almond milk. You just have to try stuff out and see how you like it. I am a chocolate ice cream-aholic. I managed to concoct a smoothie using sugar free pudding and chocolate almond milk and Stevia. It satisfies that chocolate ice cream craving and I feel like I get something. It's still 188 calories, but compared to the calories and fat in ice cream, it's a much better option. Some days, I don't get much exercise in. It might only be 15 minutes on the elliptical machine instead of 30. Some days, if I'm tired or don't feel good, I don't force myself to do it. Don't beat yourself up when you fall of the wagon, because you will. We all do. Even nutritionists will tell you that (which I'm not). You just aim for more good days than bad. Good luck! We're here to support each other. You are not alone!

I have made some changes, such as substituting fried chicken for oven roasted MorningStar Farms Buffalo Chik patties and potato chips for peanuts. I've come to prefer my new diet, though, and I pretty much eat what I want, whenever I want. The exercise I do is enough to keep me losing 1+ pounds a week. I only really look at calories when I get food from a restaurant, which typically happens at least once a week.