Brand new- Looking for your best tips!

Knowledge is power! Track everything you eat, every single day, and that will tell you exactly what you are doing to your body.

These are great posts to help you get on your way-
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

Welcome!!
Sorry for the loss of your father.

Congrats on you and your husband making a Lifestyle Change!
i'd need to know more about 'you' for specific info. Generally, eat good, healthy foods as much as possible.
Count the calories
Get some exercise and count it.

Make sure more goes out than in.
Drink plenty of water for your body.

Enjoy the process of new foods together.

Good luck!

1. Keep it simple, don't overthink what you should or should not eat....i.e. track your food and exercise daily and be honest with yourself. I am a calorie in vs calorie out proponent and that is what worked best for me. I did not cut out any food groups or specific items. I just tracked most of everything I ate.
2. Eat less and move more (move more might just be a walk around the block for starters)
3. If you like gadgets…. a fitness tracker was the one main item in my weight loss tool belt that helped me the most. I use a fitbit, but there are several different trackers that can help you in reaching your goal. They are not magical, but they can help you better understand how much or little you move throughout the day AND help motivate you to move more
4. Be reasonable with your expectations.
5. Be patient
6. Be consistent
7. Be patient
8. Don’t let a party/anniversary/holiday derail you. Enjoy your day and remember we do not become overweight in a day and we do not lose it all in a day.
9. Be patient

Good luck.

It's encouraging to hear you mention a 'lifestyle change', as opposed to a 'diet'. You're already well on your way to success! Here are a few tips I'd recommend:

1) Count your food accurately. I was surprised by how much I was actually eating compared to what I thought I was eating.

2) Add some exercise! You don't have to be great, just remember you're lapping everybody sitting on the couch.

3) Cut out the soda, diet and regular. Drink water (lots of it). I also drink tea and almond milk.

4) See #1

5) Don't expect results overnight. It's easy to get discouraged but try to see the long-term picture. One year from now you'll be amazed at your progress---and so will your family and friends!

6) Speaking of family and friends, most people will be happy about your lifestyle change, but a few won't. Don't let the envy or jealousy of others slow you down. Encourage them to join you on this journey! But be prepared to (possibly) have to sever a few unhealthy relationships.

7) Eat for fuel. And put the best fuel in your tank!

8) Seek help for any food 'issues'. Issues from the neck up will almost always trump getting results from the neck down.

9) See #1

10) Remember, a lifestyle change is meant to be permanent. There will be tough days but the good should outnumber the bad 100 to 1. (Don't beat yourself up over one bad day!)

You can do this! Every day gets a little easier and once the compliments begin rolling in you'll know you're on track!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. If you ask a question on the forum, give as much information as you can ("yes, I have a food scale and weigh my food" is worlds better than "I eat a palm full of miscellaneous boiled chicken parts..sometimes.")
17. Be honest with yourself and honest with us.
18. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

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

...and here's another approach.

Block off 6 weeks. log EXACTLY what you eat for those six weeks, weigh at the beginning, weight at the end. If you've lost, you're eating under your TDEE. If you haven't lost, congrats.. you found your TDEE, if you've gained... then you're above TDEE.

From there, look at how much you lost or gained and you have a rough estimate of how to shift your intake to balance it out.

Online calculators are great, but they're just estimates. They give you decent ideas for starting points. From there, it's on you to fine tune it.

Great info. The only thing I didn't see was weekly meal planning and preparation. It makes a world of difference when you get to Wednesday and don't want to think about what you are going to eat. You got this!

listen to Trog, he's got the scoop!

listen to Trog, he's got the scoop!

+1

-Water. AND TONS OF IT!!
-eat the most for breakfast, and the least for dinner. Somewhere in between for lunch
-DO NOT eat after 8:00(pm), technically 7:00, but with some schedules that can be slightly complicated
-Do little things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator
-Always ask yourself "Can I walk/bike there?

bump for later. Great suggestions!