help

selenacardenas26
selenacardenas26 Posts: 3
edited November 13 in Getting Started
im new to this , so i basically want to lose weight like everybody else

Replies

  • wibblywobblynomore74
    wibblywobblynomore74 Posts: 37 Member
    Morning, are you new to this site or losing weight? Best advice I can give is find what your BMR is, you can find sites which help you work this out. Basically this is the amojnt of calories your body needs to maintain your current weight. Find this and then reduce the following amohnt of cals a week you would like to lose ie; 3,500 cals = 1lb of fat, so you need to burn 3,500cals more than you take in to lose 1lb. So if you eat 500 cals less a day then in 1 week you will lose 1lb (7x500=3,500). To lose 1 1/2 lb reduce your cal daily cal intake by 750. Use your BMR to help you calculate what your daily allowance will be depending on what you would like to lose per week. Don't worry, you won't have to survive on just 1000 cals a day, exercise counts towards your calorie reduction also. So if you decide you can manage on say 1200 cals per day, and you go for a 40 min swim breastroke, this will give you around 540 cals. When you enger your exercise on here it ups your cal intake for the day. You can either choose to save the extra cals burnt, use them towards an extra healthy snack. I tend to use half of my cals burnt during exercise to eat a healthy snack as this keeps the metabolism fire burning. Anything from cleaning, walkind dog and gardening on here all voes towards cals burnt which makes for a speedier weight loss.

    Hope this helps, if you want a chat or support I will try my best, as I am on here too just like you.

    Amanda
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide#latest



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    read these, they have very useful tips for beginners
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    wibblywobblynomore74 wrote: »
    Morning, are you new to this site or losing weight? Best advice I can give is find what your BMR is, you can find sites which help you work this out. Basically this is the amojnt of calories your body needs to maintain your current weight. Find this and then reduce the following amohnt of cals a week you would like to lose ie; 3,500 cals = 1lb of fat, so you need to burn 3,500cals more than you take in to lose 1lb. So if you eat 500 cals less a day then in 1 week you will lose 1lb (7x500=3,500). To lose 1 1/2 lb reduce your cal daily cal intake by 750. Use your BMR to help you calculate what your daily allowance will be depending on what you would like to lose per week. Don't worry, you won't have to survive on just 1000 cals a day, exercise counts towards your calorie reduction also. So if you decide you can manage on say 1200 cals per day, and you go for a 40 min swim breastroke, this will give you around 540 cals. When you enger your exercise on here it ups your cal intake for the day. You can either choose to save the extra cals burnt, use them towards an extra healthy snack. I tend to use half of my cals burnt during exercise to eat a healthy snack as this keeps the metabolism fire burning. Anything from cleaning, walkind dog and gardening on here all voes towards cals burnt which makes for a speedier weight loss.

    Hope this helps, if you want a chat or support I will try my best, as I am on here too just like you.

    Amanda

    Also this post is incorrect, you create a deficit based on your TDEE (which is how much you burn throughout the day). BMR is basal metabolic rate which is how much you burn just being alive (basically what the doc would feed you if you were in a coma/bedridden). It is typically not advised to eat severly under BMR for a long period of time because it can lead to loss of muscle and impact proper organ function.

    Since you are new I would advise sticking to MFPs system and get used to logging. That is the key to success. Once you become a good logger then you can look into the TDEE or other calorie goal methods if you want, but plenty of people are perfectly happy and successful just following MFP methods.


  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited February 2015
    HI and welcome! Some advice since you're just starting on MFP:

    Forget what you think you know about weight loss. You don't need to eat "healthy" or "clean" to lose weight. There's no magical combination of foods to eat (or avoid) unless you have a medical issue. Eating after a certain time of day won't store fat. No foods "burn fat" and you can't reduce fat in one specific area by doing something special. Drinking lots of water doesn't have an affect on weight loss. I think that covers most of it. :)

    Babysteps! Start slow. Make little changes and keep doing those things until they become habit then add another change. Right now, that change should be getting into the habit of weighing and measuring your food and logging every single thing you eat. Everything down to chewing gum and vitamins. You don't need to change what you're eating or how much you're eating yet, just log it all and be brutally honest with yourself. You may not like what you're seeing but you'll learn a lot more if you can correlate what you're eating, and how many calories it contains, with why you were gaining weight.

    After a week or so, look back over your diary and figure out where you can make some substitutions that will have big impact. Smaller portions at meals. Swapping one or two sweetened drinks with water or something zero calorie. Strive to stay at or just under the calorie goal MFP sets for you every single day. Don't worry about sugar, carbohydrates, fat and protein for now. Once you get logging and staying under your calorie goal you can focus on those things including figuring out your TDEE, BMR, etc.

    Exercise isn't needed for weight loss but it's important for fitness and overall health. Don't join a gym right away (babysteps!) just start moving more. Park at the back of the lot. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Find an activity that you like whether that's walking, running, swimming, biking, Zumba, or whatever. Do something you like so that you'll want to stick with it. Working out shouldn't be something you dread each day.

    The measuring tape is a better tool than the bathroom scale for judging your progress. In addition to "Before" pictures, measure your chest, waist, hips, thighs and any other body part you want to track and start recording them in MFP now. When the scale isn't moving your body might still be shrinking especially if you're lifting weights.

    The most important thing right now is that what you're doing is sustainable. You shouldn't be trying to reach an end goal weight but changing your eating habits for life so you don't gain the weight back. That means that whichever way you're eating while you lose weight should be the way you plan to eat once you reach your goal, just a little more of it.
  • selenacardenas26
    selenacardenas26 Posts: 3
    thank You guys so much for the advice , i always think i have to be doing something wrong because im not losing any weight lol , i really appreciate the help ! & iSure will be looking and feeling different about losong weight . . thanks !
  • dhooddh
    dhooddh Posts: 12
    Yeah, the biggest secret to weight loss counting calories. Find your caloric maintenence level, then eat about 300-500 calories less than that, depending on your goals. Then, add in some exercise. Walking can be a great start if youre new to exercise. If not, I highly recommend weight training. Ive done many forms of exercise from running, swimming, kung fu, karate, yoga, dancing, and after a long time, I finally found weight lifting. Weight lifting is great because it is very effective at burning fat and building muscle. Just my take though :)
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