For those who've lost weight using MFP ...

patience

Totally agree with the above. Log even the UGLY days. It's such great information to look back through and see your patterns. Mostly importantly- PATIENCE!

Log everything you eat and if you go over your calories, don't give up, just try to do better the next day. And yes, patience.

1. Patience is a good one, don't expect fast results. It's a lifestyle change, not a diet.
2. Find a good food scale and measure, measure, measure!
3. Eating some or most of my exercise calories is working for me, but you do what you feel works best for you. It's a huge debate here so do your research:)
4. Don't weigh everyday, or if you do, only count it once a week. I'm guilty of daily weigh ins, but when you see a loss most of the time, it can be encouraging.
5. Find lots of friends on here who are supportive. I couldn't do it without the encouragement of my MFPals:)

Good luck and if you need any help, just ask!

I agree with @wriglucy... some days it's tough to log each thing... but it's worth it for the accountability!

Paitence is the #1 thing....and like others have said....log everything you eat and always know that you will have good days and bad days....there will be some weeks you gain...but dont let it discourage you...this is a lifestyle change not a DIET! you will always have to watch what you eat but always be accountable...you can do it ....one day at a time...one meal at a time...and drink your water....it really does help. Best of luck on your weight loss journey! You can do it!:drinker: :flowerforyou:

patience

Welcome :flowerforyou: Yep, patience. There are no "Get skinny quick" programs. It just doesnt work that way. It took you a while to put it on, it's gonna take a while for it to come off, just take it one day ata a time, and before you know it you'll be heading down the scale. Be patient, but persistent. When people ask me how I stay with it, I just say that if you want it bad enough, you won't fail. Everybody has good days and bad days though, so if you have a bad day just forgive yourself, pick yourself up and keep going. Hope this helps..

As said, log everything, some days may be better than others, specially since you're beginning, learn from your bad days so your good days will be better and plan ahead! That helped me almost never going beyond my daily goal. Also try to measure everything, use a food scale if available

Good luck!!

Hi Brittany:

1) Friend lots and lots of people! The more support you have, the better!
2) Eat back as many of your exercise calories as you can. Since you're working out quite a lot you don't want to put your body into starvation mode.
3) Don't get discouraged if the scale doesn't move for a week or two...or even if it goes the wrong direction. Your body has to get used to this lifestyle.
4) Track EVERYTHING you eat. I know it seems like it can be a pain to do that, but it will really open your eyes and it will help you make better food choices. Who wants 1 chocolate bar when they can have 1 container of strawberries with fat free whipped cream for the SAME or less calories??? It'll teach you things like that.
5) If you don't already have one, get an HRM. The information in the exercise database is not always 100% accurate. So it's better for you to track it with your HRM. Get a good one like an FT4. $100 is WORTH IT because it's incredibly accurate. Based on my exercise and food intake, I can literally guess my weigh in weight every week within .1 - .2 lbs. Seriously.
6) Do not get discouraged when you start losing weight if you're losing a pound or LESS per week. I have recently discovered that based on BMR, it would be almost impossible for me to healthfully lose more than 1 pound per week. Although my goals are set higher and MFP tries to get me there, the numbers don't add up. It was a really crappy day yesterday when I realized that, but I'm getting over it slowly and working on being okay with it.
7) Above all, remember that NO ONE on here is a doctor. Okay, maybe a couple of people are. But seriously...we're all just people trying to lose weight. A lot of people are going to tell you to not eat exercise calories, that hcg and other speed loss drugs and supplements are safe and effective, that if you're working out you don't have to watch what you eat, and that people who tell you otherwise don't know what they're talking about. If you're truly curious about things you should go see a nutritionist. Someone who can tell you the actual scientific realities behind your own body's mechanics. None of us is the same and therefore we can't all do what everyone else is doing.

Hope that helps!

Don't think of this as a diet, but as a lifestyle change. You'll probably lose weight on a diet, but if you don't change the way you are eating, as soon as you stop "dieting" you'll gain it all back and probably more.

Just as important as the calories you intake is what those calories consist of. Stay away from processed/canned/fast food as much as you can. Go with fresh/frozen fruits & veggies, whole grains, dairy. Try new recipies. Make the food part fun.

Drink your 8 glasses of water each day.

Watch your sodium intake. I wish that was a default setting in the Food Diary. Turn on sodium. You'll be amazed at how much you actually take in each day.

Remember, you didn't put the weight on all at once. It will take some time for it to come off.

Check out the link in my signature. Lots of good info in there...

Have fun and be healthy!!!