New to this, Encouragement Needed

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lstadler29
lstadler29 Posts: 6
in Introduce Yourself
Hello-

I am new to myfitnesspal! I have been doing this for about a week now and I could use some new friends, encouragement and advice. I am married with a one child and work a full time job. Excercise has never been my thing and I'm trying to get into it. I've joined a zumba class and I walk the dog on occassion but all in all I'm not very active.

I have found that staying within 1200 calories is not working very well and I'm starving all the time. Does anyone have any advice that might help? I could also use some great ideas on where to find filling foods that are low in calories and healthy. I'm trying to make a life style change and not just do a "diet" and pray that I lose some weight. After my first week on myfitnesspal I found that I gained a little bit of weight (shocker)! Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Replies

  • JoshuaFox07
    JoshuaFox07 Posts: 3
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    Hello and Welcome

    I use this site as well only for calorie counting so it's bascially just a reference and tracker. As far as losing weight and changing your diet. Research everything things you like and thing you don't like to eat. Opening up the cookbook, searching recipes, learning how to eat correctly, and when to eat can all be figured out once you do your research. It took me about a month to research my diet, while it's still not perfect (I still don't eat the correct amount of carlories and I don't get all my protein, carbs, and other essentials daily (which is probably off since I am not actually overweight as my BRM only represents average people my size) I am 5'9", 236.5 and actually I am active, atheletic, and in shaped I just won't to rid myself of the excess fat that keeps my clothes from looking good on me. Anyways, if you do your research before starting your diet and also doing a detox or cleansing maybe a week before hand you will be successful in your ventures. Also, remember patience is a virtue and is the most important thing in dieting and losing weight. You didn't wake up one morning overweight or out of shape it took time it takes about the same or less time to correct it though. Don't push yourself to hard to early but always challenge yourself. Make goals with dates and write them down because if you visually see a goal it gives you more push then it would if you just keep it in your head because you can easily convince yourself its not important or its not time yet.
  • ILuvLifehouse
    ILuvLifehouse Posts: 55 Member
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    Welcome and good luck to you. You can do it!!! Feel free to add me if you like.
  • rakelros
    rakelros Posts: 67
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    Hey, and Welcome :)

    Nice job to get started on your lifestyle change!

    Staying within 1200 calories really isn´t a good idea. If you stay under that for any prolonged time, you´re body will enter "starvation mode" and halt your metabolic rate.

    I myself am 172 pounds atm, and I require 1500 calories per day, just to maintain my weight, so if I eat 1400, I´ll start losing weight.
    Depending on your weight, you should eat a minimum of 1200 calories every day. More if you weigh more, even more if you exercise too.
    Try using an application in the "tools" section of this page. It will tell you your approximate BMR, or the minimum amount of calories you should be eating every day. Any less than that, and you will probably be slowing town your metabolic rate.

    It´s good to keep your protein intake high, such as egg white ommelettes, boiled eggs, chicken, peanuts and almonds. Those helped me get my weight loss boosted.

    If you need any help, feel free to ask :)

    Go Go Go, you can do it!
  • crrc78
    crrc78 Posts: 207 Member
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    Hi - you're in the right place - MFP is amazing - everyone is so supportive and friendly, and better yet full of great ideas and inspiration! Finding filling foods is definitely a good goal - it's amazing how some things pack more calories than you could ever imagine and are gone in 2 bites. Check out some of our diaries for ideas, and also search "filling foods" in the message boards - I'm confident you'll find some great ideas.
    Feel free to friend me - I'm 32, married with 2.5 year old and also work full time. It's tough, but this website is giving me great ideas, motivation and most importantly accountability.
    Best of luck!
  • karla1083
    karla1083 Posts: 19
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    Hello! Welcome to MFP!
  • slimsuzy14
    slimsuzy14 Posts: 3
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    Hello, I am finding it difficult to lose weight too. Mainly because of stress I think. To stop feeling hungry and lose only fat you have to eat more protein. This then keeps you feeling fuller longer and makes sure you do not lose muscle as well as fat when you lose weight. I always have a load of cooked chicken or ham in the fridge for snacks etc.
    Hope this helps.....Slimsuzy (I wish)
  • angievaughn
    angievaughn Posts: 655 Member
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    I would say...stick with it!!! It takes over two weeks to develop a habit!!! Keep working at it!!! Try eatting 3 meals and three snacks...I keep my meals under 300 and my snacks at about 100 cals give or take 20-30 cals. I eat breakfast at 7, midmorning snack at 10 lunch at 12 afternoon snack at 3 (which saves me because when I get home to cook dinner I am not starving mad) and dinner between 530 and 6pm!!!

    You can add me as a friend if you would like!! We are all here to help in anyway we can!!!
  • CassieLEO
    CassieLEO Posts: 757 Member
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    I have found that staying within 1200 calories is not working very well and I'm starving all the time. Does anyone have any advice that might help? I could also use some great ideas on where to find filling foods that are low in calories and healthy. I'm trying to make a life style change and not just do a "diet" and pray that I lose some weight. After my first week on myfitnesspal I found that I gained a little bit of weight (shocker)! Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

    Thank you!
    Hey you!!! You might need to look at your diet a little closer and see if there is any small changes you can make to save some calories, like adding stuff thats more high fiber, or more veggies.
    One way that I use to get more calories is to exercise. The more calories you burn, the more you get to eat! You need to eat back those calories so you never drop below 1200 calories. If you dont, your body wont effectively get rid of the weight and you will go into starvation, which believe it or not, wont help you lose weight. I work out daily so that I can enjoy more food, and have treats every now and then. Ill friend request you and you can look at my diary and see how I eat! -Cassie
  • distant_dreamer
    distant_dreamer Posts: 33
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    thnk i'm gonna find to hard to stick to 1200 calories!! gonna have to exercise to get more!! am also new to MFP, really gettin into the forums!!

    feel free to add me !
  • maddismom10
    maddismom10 Posts: 1
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    I completely understand. Im a new mom with a 5 month old and a fiance who works full time. So between my part time job as a server, my full time job as a mommy, and having no one to watch my little girl while i go to the gym for an hour, working out is hard to do. I end up waiting until My daughter and fiance are asleep and going then but that is usually around 11pm so by the time i get home and in bed its 1 am so it dosnt leave me with much sleep.

    As for food...i think alot of it is just getting used to the portins that you are eating and eventually your body will be full when the healthy portion of food is gone. But im still waiting for that to happen to. I usually drink water when i feel hungry and know that its not time to eat yet so that i am distracted with trips to the bathroom.
  • Rebjones612
    Rebjones612 Posts: 408
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    :bigsmile: Welcome! This is an awesome site for motivation and support.
    I would like to start off by saying, you need to eat at least your min 1200 calories and more if you exercise.
    I have a min of 1200 calories a day so when I first started I thought if I ate under 1200 calories then I would lose more weight......WRONG!
    I did for a while but then I got to a point where my body wasn't changing anymore. I started doing a little research and turns out I was starving myself. You have to eat to have energy. Once I started eating more the scale started going down again.

    I would recommend you eat a good breakfast to start your day!
    I usually eat 1.5 cups of cheerios and some kind of fruit. Very filling.
    That gives me a boost.
    If necessary then have a snack between breakfast and lunch, something nutritious of course!
    Plan your meals ahead of time.

    Please feel free to add me as a friend.
    :smile:

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