2015 Adopt a Noob Official MFP Thread

I would like to be a mentor.

My names sally-anne. I have just in the last 6 weeks or so finally got my head around my own diet, knowing what I can and cannot eat, what makes me ill etc. and how to fit it in with my job and very active social life. I'm sure if I had someone to give me a little push here or a little nudge there then this would have happened a lot earlier in the year.

Anyone looking to start fitting everything in so you're eating the right amounts of food and getting the right nutrients in (especially those just out of university) feel free to give me a message.

MissKahli85 wrote: »

I am a noob just signed up today....I could use a mentor is one would like to mentor me!!!! I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

You need to read through the responses and see a mentor who would be a good fit.

I'll add some more info I guess, Id love to help someone out

From I was born till I was 23, I was probably the laziest person you'd ever met. I refused to walk for more than 5 minutes, I skipped every PE class in school and I was a very picky eater. I only really ate fried foods and all of my dinners involved fries lol. Combine that with a very sedentary lifestyle, I ended up at 150lbs at 5'1.

After meeting my wonderful SO in december 2011 and learning that he had lost 60lbs I knew it was time for me to eventually make a change. It wasnt till may 2012 I felt ready. I started p90 and found this site about a week later. In the first year I lost 30lbs and I'm now sitting comfortably at 105 which I've maintained for almost a year now.

I've had periods with disordered eating, its been an emotional journey, but I've learned a lot about myself and my body, and I've become much healthier, confident, and I've explored a lot of new activities that I never would have even considered 3 years ago.

I'm a huge believer in not following specific diets, cleansing or cutting out food groups. This should be a lasting change and something thats enjoyable, fun and sustainable.

I would be honored to be a mentor so please send me a pm with a little info about yourself so we can get started

I am new to this app and don't know what I'm doing yet. I haven't even worked out how to add people and then if I do add someone what this actually means? I can't be the only one who is experiencing this so let's work together and smash all our goals! Who's with me?

Hi,
I'm available to mentor a bunch of folks.

My name is Andy. I live in Washington state, i'm 48, married, no kids but two cats.

I've been on MFP for a few years and it's helped me lose close to 70 pounds. You can read my weightloss journey (it's a little stale after a year but gives you a feel for who i am) :
http://allred.us/myweightlossjourney.htm

Andy

I could really use a mentor and love this idea. I have been overweight all my life. Even as a little girl and now many years later I am desperate. I lose and then gain. My body is telling me very loudly that I cannot continue this. I think having a mentor would really help me and I would appreciate it. I am 42 and weight 237lbs. I would like to get down to 150. I really need to do this for myself and my son. Thanks!

Thank you!

I would be happy to volunteer as a mentor.

I'd be happy to help. My history's in my profile.

I guess 40 something males with around 50lbs to lose is my best match?

Duh... Just saw the "instructions". Thank you!

I'm willing to take one or two n00bs.

I've been a member for over 2 years, going on 3. In all, I've lost over 40 pounds and am still going. I routinely do bulking & cutting cycles and aim to compete in power lifting competitions by mid-2015. I've done various programs (e.g. SL 5x5, Mad Cow, Shortcut to Shred, The Blueprint), and currently train using a hybrid program that's most effective for me.

If you're a cardio bunny, I'm not the mentor for you. If you want to work your way to lifting heavy, eating healthy yet big, and don't mind the occasional heavy squat/deadlift induced projectile vomit in the gym, feel free to message me.

I've had a lot of replies to my offer to act as a mentor. I'm loving this. I think I'm "full" now. I'm still getting messages from people and I hate saying "no" but I think I have to. I don't think I'll be helpful to anyone if I'm not able to keep up with people.

Is it appropriate to alter my first post in this thread to say that I'm no longer accepting new people to mentor?

I can mentor 1-2 people. I have insulin resistance and a long history of binge eating. I am addressing both through a moderately low carb diet and moderately high fat and protein diet. I try to maintain as high a calorie diet as I can and still lose weight (1800-2200 daily seems to be working right now). This has helped me to not binge eat for the past nearly 20 weeks, and so far I have lost 45 lbs.

The other side of the equation is exercise. My primary activity is dance, which I will do 3-4 times a week. I'm also working on strength training using calisthenics and weight training. Do this 1-2 times per week, but I want to build up to 3-4 times.

If you think you might have insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome and would like to try a similar diet approach, I'd be happy to serve as a mentor. Here are some potential indicators of IR (only a doctor can diagnosis, but unfortunately this is often overlooked!)

• Waist size of 40 inches or more in men and 35 inches or more in women.
• High levels of triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood): Your levels are 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or you're taking medicine to control your triglycerides.
• Low levels of "good" (HDL) cholesterol: Less than 40 mg/dL for men and less than 50 mg/dL for women.
• High blood pressure: Your blood pressure is 130/85 or higher, or you're taking medicine to treat high BP.
• Blood sugar levels that are above normal: Your fasting blood sugar levels are 100 mg/dL or above, or you're taking medicine to treat high blood sugar levels.
• Darkened skin around places like neck and armpits
• PCOS

I would love being a mentor to 1 or 2 people--it really can be mutually beneficial. I don't have all the answers and don't always practice all of the ones that I do have, but I've been "dieting" since I was 11 and generally know what works and what doesn't.

I'm 5'2" and currently weigh 148 lbs. at age 38. I'm down 10 lbs. from my all time high weight of 158 lbs. after recommitting on MFP last fall. My goal weight is 125, but I'd like to get down to 122 eventually. I had lost that much weight (158 to 122) about 6-7 years ago with Weight Watchers' old program and maintained the weight loss for 2 years before health and family issues derailed me. Since regaining, I've yoyo'ed quite a bit (learning what works and what doesn't work and trying to find my motivation), but feel that I'm back on track now and would love to share what I've learned with someone as we both continue on the journey together.

My weight loss philosophy can be pretty easily summed up that it's all about the calories, and specifically being religious about tracking them! Exercise is important for health, but it really won't make you lose weight unless you're also at a calorie deficit. It is also important to be patient--I can gain 4 lbs in a week long vacation, but I know it will take 1-2 months to lose it. I see a lot of people get derailed when they don't see fast results. I expect a long term average of about 1/2 lb per week loss when I'm staying consistent. I think this is especially true for short people like me.

I also have found that while no food is off limits, some foods help me stay on track more than others. Therefore, I try to focus on higher protein, lower refined carb, high volume, less processed (whole) foods for my core diet with other foods as treats only. I also try to limit artificial sweeteners because I've found that they really do make it harder for me to resist binge cravings. I am currently an omnivore, but I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 5 years (including the time of my initial weight loss and maintenance).

I currently only have real-life friends on my friend list, but if you'd like to partner through this mentoring project, please feel free to reach out. I think I would be most helpful to a shorter woman, like myself, since that's what I know!

I just want to say as a "noob" this was a great idea and I am so glad that I got on here, looked at it, and snagged me an AWESOME mentor. Thanks for all the support on and off the forums!!!