Your MOST helpful tip to new users.

1356

Replies

  • disneygallagirl
    disneygallagirl Posts: 515 Member
    be honest with yourself and leave the excuses behind.
  • theJTfitness
    theJTfitness Posts: 142 Member
    Use the message board! You have access to loads of advice from people who have been there and done that or are currently going through it with you. The best part is, it's FREE ADVICE. You don't have to pay a personal trainer who may or may not know what they're talking about.

    Granted there is occasional bad advice on here, but MFP members have a way of calling people out on it. The bad rep the board gets is from when people who give bad advice get corrected and take it as rudeness. We don't sugarcoat things here and we don't allow advice that is harmful/untrue.
  • Julesbait
    Julesbait Posts: 190 Member
    Don't do anything to lose weight that you're not willing to do for the rest of your life.
  • Shropshire1959
    Shropshire1959 Posts: 982 Member
    1) Don't believe everything that you read!!! - Do your own research.

    2) Abs are made in the Kitchen!!
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    Be patient

    Buy a food scale, a $15 postage scale will work

    80% of this battle is nutrition.

    Don't let anyone tell you there is only one way, or a best way to do this. We each have our own comfort zones, body types, and real life schedule. Find what works for you. It may take a couple weeks to dial it in, and know that it is effective. That is why patience is the key. Also, what works for you at one point may quit working. Your body will adapt, you will need to change it up every once in a while.

    While MFP may lead you to enter races, remember that losing weight is not a race.
  • SecretDuck
    SecretDuck Posts: 26
    You can enjoy any food in moderation. Going cold turkey will make you want to crave the food more.

    I'm losing, even though I sometimes eat deli coleslaw and potato salad (both which are deemed to be unhealthy). Since I joined MFP, I just reduced the amount that I buy and eat.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    "You must worship at the altar of the Goddess of Good Form, for She is a fickle ***** who cosigns people to Snap City for the slightest of infractions against Her will."
  • willrun4bagels
    willrun4bagels Posts: 838 Member
    Weigh / measure and log everything.
  • theJTfitness
    theJTfitness Posts: 142 Member
    Stay out of threads that have "1,200" in the title. Jk.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    [My first bit of advice would be to STOP MAKING EXCUSES.

    Not enough time. Too tired. Holiday. Personal Problem. Birthday. Vacation. Work sabotage folks. Healty food too expensive. Etc.

    Everyone who is overweight, myself included, has used one or more of these excuses. Often.

    It isnt until you STOP MAKING EXCUSES that you truly will get it together.
  • Love2lift72
    Love2lift72 Posts: 157 Member
    every journey begins with a single step.....and sometimes that step is a pothole....keep walking

    Love this. And it applies to do much more than weight loss and exercise. Life is full of potholes (like the past 2 weeks of skipping my workout). Get over them, keep hobbling along and you'll be moving again soon.
  • oldantired
    oldantired Posts: 24 Member
    Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
  • cniemann26
    cniemann26 Posts: 49
    Don't compare yourself to others. Instead of being discouraged because other's have lost more weight than you, or this person looks this way, or what have you, be encouraged and inspired by each other's stories. Not only that but encourage others, everyone could use more positivity and support.
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
    There's no such thing as bad food. Don't try to stick to only salads and protein shakes, you have to do a lifestyle that you can sustain forever. Eat clean 95% of the time, and then if you feel like a slice of cheesecake, have one!

    I see too many people that diet like crazy, eating a super low number and nothing with fat or sugar in it. Then when they fail because they can't resist having a piece of chocolate, they are super discouraged and spiral into more failures and end up binge eating because "F*** it, I already cheated today"

    Food is good, and everything in moderation is fine.

    Except Meth. Probably not good even in moderation.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Pro-Tip: Don't let other people decide how you feel. Whether it's someone telling you you're wrong on a forum, a lady at work critical of your workout or diet plan, or that guy who thought you were pregnant. You can't control how other, terrible people act, what they say, and how they live their lives. You can only control how you react to those people.
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
    "You must worship at the altar of the Goddess of Good Form, for She is a fickle ***** who cosigns people to Snap City for the slightest of infractions against Her will."

    Hahhaa, this is awesome!

    Also, the word you needed there was "consigns" not cosigns.
  • 86sarahb
    86sarahb Posts: 84 Member
    Log your foods honestly, even if it is a lot of calories and you want to hide it, it doesn't matter it will open your eyes to nutritional values.

    Build up a friend base for support (Feel free to add me btw :smile: ) check out their diaries for food ideas so you don't get bored of eating the same things day in day out.

    And....... patience..... it didn't go on overnight and it's not going to come off overnight. One bad meal can't won't you fat just like one good meal won't make you skinny!!
  • Frood42
    Frood42 Posts: 245 Member
    Search function.

    Some topics have been worked through several times... :laugh:
    .
  • biscuitwelsh
    biscuitwelsh Posts: 86 Member
    THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!
  • lsorci919
    lsorci919 Posts: 772 Member
    1. Start with a small deficit. Figure your intake from there.

    2. Eat what you want in moderation

    3. Get a food scale

    4. Log accurately (weigh and measure everything)

    5. If you have a question you want to ask on the message boards, use the search option at the top of the page. Most of the time your question has been asked and answered a few time before.

    6. Have patience this takes time.
  • joannaphipps00
    joannaphipps00 Posts: 21 Member
    I have been at this for 60+days right now and I have managed to get my snacking some what controlled. My main frustration is that as soon as I lose a few pounds my body puts them right back on again. For example yesterday I was down three pounds from a weight bump, this morning I'm nearly back where I start 60 days ago. How in the hell does one avoid this?

    :explode:
    Jo
  • chadwick175
    chadwick175 Posts: 34 Member
    So true![

    quote]
    Be honest with your food diary posts and don't skip anything!
    [/quote]
  • Deena_Bean
    Deena_Bean Posts: 906 Member
    Don't think of this as a final destination....even when you make it to your set 'goal' you'll still continue doing what you were doing to get to it. Or you'll have to start all over. So make sure the way you get to your goal is a way you'll be able to live forever.
  • Pamela_in_Progress
    Pamela_in_Progress Posts: 197 Member
    There are no 'good' foods or 'bad' foods. There is just food. Eat it. Log it. Adjust. Number-crunch. Want to add 200 cals there? Subtract them from here.

    There are no 'cheat days'. It's not 'cheating' to eat. There are just days. Log. Adjust.

    Don't demonise food.

    There should be a "like" button in the forums! :drinker:
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Don't let another person's experience determine your success or lack of it. You are on your own journey. Try things that make sense to you and, if it doesn't work for you, move on
  • megan_plumb
    megan_plumb Posts: 1
    If you are really concerned about "going over" your calorie count, add a couple more calories than what you think it should be. I'm by no means trying to tell anyone to starve themselves, but be honest to yourself. If you feel like the suggested calories on the food diary isn't 100% correct for what you ate, add a couple calories on to it.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,123 Member
    For weight loss: get a digital food scale and weigh EVERYTHING. You will be surprised how much it really helps. You're probably eating more than you realize.

    For fitness: start weight training from the gate. Seriously. Most people say "i'm going to start out doing nothing but cardio and then try to tone up later". NO! Do it all at once. It will take so much longer if you burn all your good muscle tissue away slaving for hours on the elliptical... preserve it as you go by doing BOTH now..and you will be MUCH happier with your results along the way... I promise! I wish people had told me that the first time around back in 2008 when I came to MFP. I lost about 25# but I still carried so much extra fat. I look leaner now at a heavier weight becuase of the lifting :)
  • honsi
    honsi Posts: 210 Member
    Use digital scales and weigh everything you can.
    Be honest with your logging; not logging everything is just cheating yourself.
    There is no good or bad food, its just food.
    Set realistic goals and accept you are in it for the long haul; its not a diet its a lifestyle change.
    Don't compare your self to others, everybody's progress is complete individual and determined by a lot of different factors.
  • knitapeace
    knitapeace Posts: 1,013 Member
    When I first started, I asked a question about how to get a more accurate calorie burn number. Someone responded, "Everything we do is an estimate." and that was great information. I toddled off to just do the best I could and got great results.

    When the results began to slow down, then stop completely, I thought I must be at the dreaded "plateau" and just kept on keeping on. But after a while it began to dawn on me that the newbie successes I had with "estimates" were starting to wear off. I was getting close to goal, and precision was called for. I got an on-body fitness tracker and started weighing pretty much EVERYTHING.

    So my advice for new users is in the beginning, it's better to just do *something* than to try and be perfect. But later in the game, you may have to work a bit harder and don't let that discourage you. Keep going.
  • must_deflate
    must_deflate Posts: 183 Member
    Keep your blood sugar and insulin levels steady!! This is crucial.

    Avoid starchy stuff like grains, pasta, bread, and potatoes . Avoid sugary things. Eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and good fats like olive oil.

    Works for me. In fact, this is the only thing that works for me.

Categories