getting started but where to start

hi and welcome )

make sure to check out these links - all you'll need

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

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

So my question is how accurate is the food counter for MFP ? I have been doing this only a few days but feel perhaps it is not the numbers but what I am eating with those numbers- not lost a pound . Im trying to put together where to start, I am doing this alone. Can you go to a gym and hire a personal trainer with out joining that gym? I sure could use a buddy .. that’s buddy not bully. If you have some insight that would be great as I have dealt with this my whole life but never really dealt with it….

Most foods will be accurate....but you need to be a little careful. Foods are added to the database by users and some of them are just plain wrong. This thread has some great info.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

Read the threads provided by Dwarfie.....really useful info.

Just start by making a few healthier choices. I don't belong to a gym I use DVDs at home. Just moving more will get you started in the right direction.

1. Keep reading the forums because you can gather a lot of information. You wills see the same questions being asked and answered all the time. I think you need some good understanding of dieting by calorie deficit, changing what you eat to give you good nutrition and the role that exercise can play in improving health and fitness. They cna form the basis of your good plan as well as understanding yourself and why you wnat to commit to a lifestyle change becayse whatever you decide has to be sustainable.

2. I think the food counter is pretty accurate and you cna check on the back of packets anyway. Most have nutr info, except ofc the standard things that arent in packets. The more common answer is that the person is just not measuring and recording accurately meaning there is no calorie deficit. Get some scales is a common answer here so you can control portion size and log things accurately.

3. Gym, then am sure you can hire personal trainers, but it cna be quite expensive and one or two lessons ccould be a months gym membership. Look around and fid a pt that you are comfy with and can be supportive. Other gyms just have nice trainers and are not the fearful places some people think, community gyms where there are lots of people with injurties, overweight etc. You cna alos use mfo to get friends an who knows there might be buddies in your area.

The key is once you have your calorie deficit is to sustain it and keep oing through healthy nutrition and lifestyle changes. You will see this info again and again. Think you need to wait more than a few days before looking for weight loss. the body fluctuates naturally. Dont obsess on scales.