One year on MFP and 90 lb. gone

OK, full and fair disclosure, I have lost 70 lb. with MFP. The first 20 were lost during the 6 weeks before I discovered this great site. My weekly average loss with MFP is 1.35 lb.

My "how I got whacked upside the head" story is in my profile so I won't repeat it. There is also a starting photo and a halfway to goal photo taken at Thanksgiving. I really want to share my learning experiences and why I think MFP is the best! MFP does not teach you what to eat, each person has to figure it out for themselves, but it is the best for compiling and analyzing the components of your food. I was on WW online a few years ago and lost weight but it was not sustainable for me because I was not eating the right balance of macros. I would get hungry at times but the worst thing was how my health suffered. I know others who were fine. It just was not the best for my needs. I am currently eating 35%-35%-30% (carb, pro, fat) which is a great blend for me. I was a newly diagnosed T2 diabetic last January and being able to set my carb max (per Dr's recommendation) has helped me go off the meds and be diet and exercise controlled in 10 months.

I also like the NEAT way of calculating calories, which is the MFP default. When I started, I could only walk a block or so. I needed to set my calories for sedentary. I also set it to lose 1 lb. a week but I was looking at that as a minimum, not an actual goal. I knew I would get more active as my weight started falling and my back strengthened so being able to add exercise calories at the level I wanted was really helpful. I now get 10,000 steps daily (except Sunday, my day of total rest) plus I swim laps for an hour and take a 50 minute water aerobics class 3 times a week. I got myself a Fitbit last March and started the classes at the same time. My step goal was 2000 to start and I didn't always reach that. When stretching out the quads in class, I couldn't even touch my foot behind me. Now I can grab my ankle!

I love the forums. I am usually good at ignoring the trolls and snarkiness and gleaning good advice, information, and truth from them. The absolute best advice I learned came from a post I read early in my time here: "You are not making a huge change in your life, you are making a series of small changes". For those of us who have a lot to lose, that is the best way to think of it. Baby steps. I started the day I got out of the hospital by just eating regular meals of real food rather than grazing on whatever I had available. I didn't pay a lot of attention to actual portion sizes or macro make-up, I just planned 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. A few weeks later, I got the diabetes diagnosis so i started cutting the carbs. A few weeks after that, I found MFP and started logging my food and watching portions. I am still tweaking.

As so many have read ad nauseam, the absolutely most important tool for weight loss is a good scale. Mine cost $15 at Amazon and weighs up to 11 lb. so a good one doesn't have to be expensive. I weigh all solids and semi solids and measure all liquids. Well, except my leafy salad veggies. I do eyeball them. Oh, I also measure my oats when I have oatmeal for breakfast because the scoop I keep in the tub is a 1/2 cup measuring cup. We all have to have our little rebellions to keep sane.

Stalls happen. I have had 3 so far, 2 for 3 weeks each and 1 for 4 weeks that I just got off. Make sure you are still in the same deficit and just be patient. The losses WILL start up again.

I do not have cheat days or cheat meals. I also do not freak out when I overeat or have a late night binge. I accept that this is all a part of the learning experience and the most important thing is to control them so they do not get out of hand. If I had a bad night, I just make sure I am on point the next day. If I know I have something coming up like a party or holiday dinner, I plan as much as I can ahead of time and log everything I ate to the best of my ability, then move on.

Let common sense prevail.

Try to not be too hard on yourself, especially when you stumble (and you will).

I still have 61 lb to lose and I know that the second year will be slower than the first. I really hope I can come back here and post a "I'm at goal!" success story in another year.