new to this

welcome! Im new here also. wishing you the best

I'm new also, I just started about a week ago. I think the best way to succeed is to make it easy and convienant. Do you have a phone to download the MFP app.? I have an iPhone and that has made it a lot easier to keep track of my food. I just log it in while I'm eating. A couple other tips; start with baby steps. While cardio is the key to burning calories, muscle mass burns more calories while you're sitting still. IE: MUSCLE BURNS FAT! Find your "fat-burning" heart rate (60-70% of (220 minus your age)), 80% of the calories you burn while in your "fat-burning zone" are fat calories, the other 20% are empty calories (water-weight). And finally, the key for me is accountability, surround yourself with people who know your goal, that makes it harder for you to give up. Good Luck!!!

Welcome everyone feel free to add me.

I've been a member for about three weeks. I'm 5'5" and presently an uncomfortably snug size 12, now 165 lbs. My goal is to get back to my "in shape" size, which is between 135-140 (or size 8-10). I'm aiming for 140 first, which for my frame should be about a comfortable size 10. . At that time I'll decide if it's necessary for me to lose another 5 or not. I got up to 170 lbs about a year ago. I've kept off 10 lbs, but have not been able to lose any more
What's helping me most is to enter everything I eat and drink right here. I have an iphone so that's really helped me keep track all during the day. I'm also able to keep track of how often I work out, too. I know I need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories every day, so my goal is to eat/drink at least that, but not much more. By keeping track of how many calories I have left I'm able to determine if I need to make sure to work out if I'm at risk of going ove. For example: The other day I was able to stay on track because I knew what my calories were for the day... we went out to dinner... I'd gone over... and it made me realize that I had to get in a walk if I were to meet my daily goal. So I when I got home, I got on the treadmill for a 30 minute casual walk and was able to keep my daily calories under the target. (When you exercise, it gives you more calories that you can eat)

Another thing that's helped (A WHOLE LOT) is that I joined one of the Challenges... the 7-week one. That started me adding friends and helped me quickly feel a part of the site. So every day when I log in and post my food and exercises it's posted along with the others in my friends list on my home page so we all can see how each other is doing. I can't tell you how much being on a team has helped motivate me to make better, healthier choices more often than not, and to stay on track. We cheer each other on for our successes. It's really cool

Another thing is to try to keep track of which kinds of meals help you feel fuller longer without feeling bloated. Some things I eat I'll be starving 2 hours later. Other things I eat I'm satisfied for 3, 4 or 5 hours. So I try to keep track of which ones help me keep from getting hungry again so soon so I can concentrate on other stuff instead of when my next meal is.
And plan your snacks too!
Best of luck

Hey ! I am new too! I think about 5 mins now. If you want a friend, go ahead and add me. The more the merrier! Good luck to everyone too!