Big loser here (!)

On the same road! We can do this.

Welcome! I just started too!

Hello to all who have just started. I am back after a long lay off. Had several trips abroad that got me off track, but I'm back in the U.S. for hopefully awhile. I've been seeing almost immediate results and know that i can achieve my goals. Best of success to all!

Good Luck on your Journey

I'm new too! Let's do this together!

Been here for a couple months. Feel free to add. Its hard work but its soo worth it!

Just a word of encouragement to all the newbies. MFP really works. It has really opened my eyes to how much I was eating. I should have been eating around 2,300 calories per day and I was actually eating at least 3,500. Even with exercise, it's no wonder I was 50 pounds overweight! A few simple tips:

1. Learn your BMR and TDEE. BMR is the basic # of calories your body needs to survive. You need to eat above this number to stay healthy and to sustain it for the long-term. TDEE is the calories your body burns in a typical day. If you eat between these two numbers, you will lose weight. Try this calculator. I use "desk job" and then factor my exercise in separately. http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

2. Losing weight is simple math, but you have to know the numbers. Log everything carefully. I don't use a food scale but it's not a bad idea. It's very, very easy to eat more than you think. Once the numbers become "fiction" logging becomes somewhat meaningless. So try to keep everything accurate so you can see where you're at. Also consider a heart-rate monitor (I use a Polar) to see how many calories you actually burn during exercise.

3. Exercise makes it a lot easier. I've gotten to the point of loving exercise because it allows me to eat a bit more. I try not to eat back my exercise calories - the more I can put that toward weight-loss the better, but it gives you a little flexibility. If I'm a little over on my eating and I work out hard, I can still net under my goals. Plus it just feels good to get moving!

4. Try not to drink calories. I've eliminated almost all liquid calories (except the occasional beer). This is hard enough without drinking soda. There are zero-calorie options out there.

5. Eat smaller, frequent meals. This is a BIG one for me. I eat 5 meals a day - breakfast at 9 (post workout), lunch at noon, afternoon snack at 3, dinner at 6 and an evening snack at 8pm. Every meal is about the same (350-400 cals) except dinner which is about double that (so I can eat a relatively normal meal with my family). This works for me - my total calories consumed are around 2300. After I factor in my exercise I usually make my daily goal. I'm never really hungry, and my next meal is always right around the corner.

5. Think long-term. If you get really, really strict you'll drive yourself crazy and say "ENOUGH!" and fall off the wagon. Give yourself a break. If you have a party to attend and you go over your goals one day, don't sweat it too much. Just get up and make the next day a really good day. We all have our ups and downs. Think of this as a new way of eating - the way you should have been eating all along, really. You can't go back to your old habits every day or you'll gain all the weight back.

Interestingly... these days I don't want to return to my old habits. When I eat that occasionally, I feel so bloated and gross that I can't wait to get back on track and have a healthy day again. You get used to feeling good!

Good luck!