I don't really know what I can and cannot eat. Please help

It's just portion control. Two pieces of bread turns into one, a potato turns into 1/2 potato with 1/2 of the other stuff you're accustomed to putting on it, etc etc.

Incorporate into your foods, fruits, salads, veg's, 0 calorie drinks, and grilled instead of fried when possible, and low fat lunch meat etc. No more second helpings, lay off of the sugar, sweats, chips, and high calorie crackers. If you've got to have a taste of cake make it a sliver. Lifestyle change doesn't mean you eliminate foods that you like to eat, it just means you eat less of them.

I keep a few Healthy Choice dinners in my freezer, when I don't feel like cooking.

Basically, it's just calories in versus calories out. If you stay within your calorie goal on MFP, you will lose weight.

From what I've learned: avoid heavily processed foods like packaged snacks and white bread. Avoid "low-fat" or "low-calorie" foods that over over processed and have little nutritional value. Try to eat food that you enjoy, especially fruits and vegetables. Stick with lean meats, like turkey or fish, over heavier red meats like beef and pork. Avoid sugary drinks and snacks. Complex carbs are good, like wheat breads and some starches that take longer to break down in your body and therefore keep you full longer. The biggest one for me — avoid TRANS fat. Other types of fat can be healthy in moderation, but trans fat found in fried foods, many "snack" foods like chips or cookies, and baked goods that use high levels of margarine or butter.

THIS was the big change that did it for me in several ways. I got rid of processed food and found that I was eating healthier just from that and my energy level went up as well. Lots of protein is good too, you'll feel much better and that will get the ball rolling.

Also, don't cut out whole types of food (bread, pasta, etc). Learn to eat less of it or just every once in a while, do what I do and give yourself permission to enjoy the meal you really love without feeling guilty. I still log it, and that one meal is not going to erase all my other efforts.

Everyone is different, so it'll take some experimenting to see what works best. I have friends who eat no breads, pastas, etc and are happy, while I want to go smack someone if I don't get pasta on a semi-regular basis You'll find what works for ya!!!! You can do it!

PS - get rid of mayo and skip the "low-fat" craze too, ask yourself what they did to it to replace the fat and make it taste good. Its chemical grossness!

I'm just starting out myself but have been told by a dietician to stick to the following guide lines:-
* 1200-1500 cals per day
* reduce salt and sugar intake
* avoid high fat and fried food or eat sparingly.
* Eat plenty of veg and salad plus some fruit
* Eat plenty of protein ( it increases your metabolism)
* Eat frequently ( about every 3 hours to keep your metabolism pepped up)
* Drink plenty of water
* Don't eat for a couple of hours before bedtime
* move about more even if it is only doing extra chores at home or taking a walk, the more you move the more cals you will burn but don't go from being completely sedentary to doing 2 hours of gym overnight as you could injure yourself.

GOOD LUCK

Sounds like a good plan! Try this.

I think you are getting a lot of good advice here. I would definitely NOT rule out entire food groups in general. Personally, I avoid added sugar and sugar-like products (because I can't eat 1 portion of ice cream or cookies, I eat all the ice cream etc), so its a trigger for me. But I eat a potato almost every day. I look in the bins for the smallest ones there, and then cook up 3 or 4 in foil at a time, so I don't stop for fast food etc. I always have something filling at home.

If I were starting where you are, I would probably eat "normally" for a week, and track all of it. Then go back and look at what wasn't worth it, what you like, but could have portioned better (cereal, etc), what meals you could make healthier with less oil, or baking instead of frying. And then add in more veggies and fruit because they are more filling and have fiber to keep you full. I find having several sets of measuring cups is helpful and a kitchen scale.

You don't need to be hungry. You don't need to eat anything you don't like (for example, you don't have to force yourself to eat salad because you think its healthy, there are other foods). And you don't have to cut out your favorites. Figure out your "trigger foods" and keep an eye on them when you do eat them.

its more about quantity and moderation that cutting out entire foods.

let my fitness pal calculate your calorie requirements to lose the desired amount of weight and then log your food accurately to stick to it

Exactly this