i dont know what im doing.

I found skinnytaste.com really helpful for healthy meal ideas. As for a general suggestion, eating food that you make at home as opposed to buying food out is less calories and more nutritious almost 100% of the time.

purebredpolly wrote: »

If you click blog, on the top bar it takes you to the MFP blog. There you will find a lot of healthy articles that should give you a good start. You will also see at the top, on your left, the word EAT. Hold your cursor over the word EAT, and you will see how to get healthy recipes.

Good luck on your journey.

Great tip! I did not know this.

You lose weight by eating fewer calories than you burn—period. Rather than going on (and eventually off) a diet, make some healthy lifestyle changes.

Step one: learn to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. You don't even have to change anything yet—just log. Once you see what you're eating and drinking, you'll start to see changes you want to make—like eating your calories rather than drinking them.

Logging will keep you mindful and make you want to eat better. You can eat all the same foods you do now and still lose weight. You just have to eat less.

For more advice, read the posts pinned to the top of the Getting Started thread.

arn1313 wrote: »

hello. im new to this myfitnesspal. im not sure what to do. just log in what i eat, log in what exercise i do? im trying to diet but thats info overload...low carb, low cal., cabbage soup diet...the list goes on & on.
i need recipe ideas that my whole family will enjoy. i have lost 10 pounds but now im feeling stuck with what to do, what to eat.......ideas? suggestions? recipes?
thanks, i appreciate it.

Make one change at a time! But log everything! Even the bad. It will help u find patterns and answers. I had the same problem of being overwhelmed. A meal planner is my next goal. It makes it easier to stay on track if u know what yr going to eat.

arn1313 wrote: »

hello. im new to this myfitnesspal. im not sure what to do. just log in what i eat, log in what exercise i do? im trying to diet but thats info overload...low carb, low cal., cabbage soup diet...the list goes on & on.
i need recipe ideas that my whole family will enjoy. i have lost 10 pounds but now im feeling stuck with what to do, what to eat.......ideas? suggestions? recipes?
thanks, i appreciate it.

Log your food. Log your exercise. Eat at a deficit

603reader wrote: »

purebredpolly wrote: »

If you click blog, on the top bar it takes you to the MFP blog. There you will find a lot of healthy articles that should give you a good start. You will also see at the top, on your left, the word EAT. Hold your cursor over the word EAT, and you will see how to get healthy recipes.

Good luck on your journey.

Actually I don't suggest this. That blog has promated cleanses (unnecessary ) and 7 moves on a treadmill that aren't walking/running that could easily injure you. That blog is full of misinformation and some pretty gross recipes

I was just coming back to address this…yeah there may be a good one here or there…but the majority are not good. Not good at all...

Don't follow silly diets, eat properly. Chicken, fish, seafood, steak with vegetables, salad and some carbs will give you a good base for lunches and dinners.

Work out how much you need to lose sensibly, say 1lb a week, plan your meals to fit your calorie allowance.

Exercise if you want to, some strength training and cardio 3 times a week will make a nice difference in the long run. You can re evaluate your workouts as you get stronger and your goals change.

Welcome aboard.

I did a newbie help post that has links to lots of useful info, including sexypants, logging accurately, goal setting, motivation...
Go read sexypants.

Start with logging everything you eat for a couple weeks, to see how much you're eating now. Weigh or measure everything. Yes, it's a pain, but eventually you'll know what 4 oz of meat looks like.

Once you have a baseline, cut 500 cal/day from that & tell MFP that's your goal. (Don't go under 1200 cal if you're a woman, 1500 if you're a man, unless your doctor says it's OK.) That's your _total_ calorie intake for the day. Ignore exercise calories (most of the time).
Being 500 cal/day under should have you losing 1 lb per week. With about 40 lb to lose, that's a pretty reasonable rate.

For now, keep eating what you like to eat, just in smaller portions. Don't cut out or emphasize any food or food group. Eat a balanced diet, maybe a bit heavier on the veggies than maybe you're used to.
Once you have a handle on eating less, you can start playing with the macros (carbs, fat, protein). Eating higher protein & lower carbs leads to more weight loss. Try 45% carbs, 20% fat, 35% protein to stay within the healthy ranges.

For recipes, I really like Taste Of Home. Everything is tasty, and if you follow the directions it will turn out great. Most are pretty easy to make. In the menu bar, hover over "recipes". In the menu that pops up, the top of the right-hand column is "healthy recipes".

And get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. That could be going for a walk, chasing the kids around the park, swimming, rollerskating, whatever flips your switch. It's supposed to be at least tolerable, preferably enjoyable. If you can do longer, do it.

"Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake.
However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html