NeW to the site. Any helpful hints to help me!!!!

BellNowit
BellNowit Posts: 1
edited September 24 in Introduce Yourself
Hi, I am Bell. I am 49 years old and would like to lose approximately 40-50 lbs by Dec 26. - my 50th birthday. Three weeks ago I joined a gym and started getting serious. I have changed a lot of my eating habits and am doing cardio 5 times a week - anywhere between 35-65 mins each session. At the end of three weeks I have lost 1 lb. My trainer has been encouraging me to join this site so here I am. Any helpful hints to using the site would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Replies

  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    Find your BMR with activity level, and make sure you track all your calories. that means everything you intake..from fluids to condiments. Most foods are in the database. Sometimes when we make stuff home made we just have to guess at the amount of calories or put each individual ingredient in. make sure you enter your workouts too.

    Do your own research about nutrition and exercise. there are a lot of 'opinions' on this page about things, lots of wives tales and myths. So dont automatically believe what is told you.
  • jllipson
    jllipson Posts: 646
    Key # 1 - use the site daily if for nothing more than to log your foods. It truly helps to keep you on track to losing the weight and realizing just what you are eating.
    #2 - it will tell you that you have earned x number of calories from exercise. Most people do not eat those - from what I've seen from other posts, people who do consume the additional earned calories tend to lose weight slower or not at all.
    At a minimum eat 1200 calories per day and make sure you get your water - coffee, tea, diet drinks DO NOT count toward water - must be water, it is okay to flavor with lemon or another fruit, but once you add sugars and caffeine, it's no longer water. Long ago I used to count unsweet tea, until I learned better...

    This week has been bad for me, but normally I try to consume the majority of carbs early in the day - have a big lunch and light dinner - that way you have more time to burn off calories and carbs through your day. Big dinners are harder to burn off.

    Good Luck
  • kayradavila
    kayradavila Posts: 2
    I recommend you read an AMAZING book! It's titled The Abs Diet, by David Zinczenko. It pretty much transformed my life. It's the best book I've ever read... by far. Also, do strength training at least 3x weekly. This will not only boost your body's ability to build muscle, but you will burn TONS of fat in the process. More muscle = less flab! Cardio is great, but too much of it diminishes muscle mass... Less muscle = more flab. Plus, what you are aiming for is the highest after burn (calories burnt after you finish your exercise). Research shows that strength training can burn fat up to 48 hours after exercising. Steady cardio can burn fat up to a few hours after exercsing. If you are going to do cardio do so 3-4x weekly, and make it count. Do cirquits (high intensity aerobics followed by low intensity aerobics, and so on) and burn even more fat.
  • mrsmillerstyle
    mrsmillerstyle Posts: 3
    Keep track of your calories and workout!!;) You'll Lose it! Also, check your thyroid and glucose levels... This is something everyone should know. Change what you put in your body!! I guarantee that if you cut out ALL of the sugar out of your diet, the weight will just start falling off!! And I'm not just talking about candy and sweets! Everything has sugar in it! The fruit is the only sugar you should be eating. Eat all of the protein and veggies you can stand!! Whole grains only... You'll starting dropping the pounds like there's no tomorrow!! Good luck:)
  • ameaston22
    ameaston22 Posts: 38
    Keep track of your calories and workout!!;) You'll Lose it! Also, check your thyroid and glucose levels... This is something everyone should know. Change what you put in your body!! I guarantee that if you cut out ALL of the sugar out of your diet, the weight will just start falling off!! And I'm not just talking about candy and sweets! Everything has sugar in it! The fruit is the only sugar you should be eating. Eat all of the protein and veggies you can stand!! Whole grains only... You'll starting dropping the pounds like there's no tomorrow!! Good luck:)

    I agree that this approach would allow for weight to fall off quickly, but I think it's important to find a diet that one can stick to. From personal experience, following a strict diet always leads to disaster because it's not something that you can easily stick with and then you fall back into bad habits. I believe it's necessary to allow yourself frequent treats. For instance, I have one soda a day if I am still going to be under my calorie allowance. I work out several times a week (five - six days of cardio and then two-three days of toning exercises like ab, butt, etc.). Find a balance for you of eating foods you like and exercising. You want something you could stick with even after you've reached a goal weight.

    4648248.png
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  • OBXGal
    OBXGal Posts: 113 Member
    Welcome Bell! I just joined yesterday and everyone has been so supportive and helpful. Keep working out and log everything that you put in your body on here, even if you have a horrible eating day, log everything.

    Good luck!!
  • rebecca916
    rebecca916 Posts: 45
    Welcome to MFP!
    I absolutely love this site (:
    I have been using MFP since the middle of February. It is a great tool for weight loss. Track all of your calories and exercise for the day. It works! You just need to stay motivated and keep moving! Exercise makes you feel amazing. After I exercise, there always seems to be a smile on my face. Ask more questions on message boards if needed. It helps (:


    Good luck!
  • Chaos_Residue
    Chaos_Residue Posts: 15
    To jllipson the only thing that I would correct from your earlier post would be this:
    #2 - it will tell you that you have earned x number of calories from exercise. Most people do not eat those - from what I've seen from other posts, people who do consume the additional earned calories tend to lose weight slower or not at all.

    There's another thread here by another member that explained this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/188509-my-take-on-exercise-calories-please-read-if-you-are-new

    MFP tells you that you have X amount of calories that you can consume each day to reach Y weight by your goal. If you exercise that increases your body's need for "fuel" by burning off calories that you've consumed. You should go by the NET calories (calories earned from food minus calories lost from exercise) to determine where you need to be, not the calories before exercise. That's not as healthy for your body.

    That said, welcome to MFP! Remember, there are tons of people willing to help you on this website. I suggest finding a friend, either in real life or on MFP, that can help with accountability. There's nothing worse than trying and trying and then giving up on changing because there was no one there to push you that extra step. That's what's great about this website. We're always here for each other. :)

    P.S. MFP stands for My Fitness Pal. You may have already figured that out but when I was new I didn't know what everyone was talking about, lol.
  • Franlash
    Franlash Posts: 4
    Hi - we have some of the same goals. I am nearing 50 and want to be the best that I can be. I joined this site on Monday and am loving it. I think it is a great tool and I hope it will help me obtain my weight loss goals. StayEncouraged and keep moving!:smile:
  • Franlash
    Franlash Posts: 4
    Hi, I am new to MFP as of Monday. I saw those extra calories, but what I have found is that I always have about 300 or so calories under my goal before even exercising. So the weight loss chart below that say if you eat like this .... you will weigh .... is accurate? Thanks for the advice.
  • Chaos_Residue
    Chaos_Residue Posts: 15
    Hi, I am new to MFP as of Monday. I saw those extra calories, but what I have found is that I always have about 300 or so calories under my goal before even exercising. So the weight loss chart below that say if you eat like this .... you will weigh .... is accurate? Thanks for the advice.

    Franlash, everyone's body works just a little differently, but that is an approximation of what you would weigh if you ate and exercised that EXACT way everyday. It's okay to be under your calorie goal. What you need to remember is that you shouldn't be starving your body, and when you exercise that increases the body's need for "fuel". You don't want your body to go into starvation mode because that would actually end up hurting you, not helping you.
  • foodforfuel
    foodforfuel Posts: 569 Member
    I am also a big fan of "The Abs Diet- Get Fit, Stay Fit Plan" by David Zinczenko. Good luck on your journey!
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