Im not sure how to start :(

Meal prepping should help you out a lot!

Hi there,

You can lose weight without exercising if you don't have time and are drained when you get home. In fact, the best way to start is just by eating less than you're eating now. You can figure out how much to eat by going here: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

Realize it's a marathon, not a sprint. You don't have to go super-intense in your weight loss efforts, in fact, that's counterproductive. You will succeed if you string a gazillion days of a reasonable calorie deficit together. You will fail if you try to lose 5 pounds a week, and eat hardly anything.

Poke around in the "getting started" messages area. There's a bunch of helpful threads "stickied" at the top of it. Read them. They're awesome.

Best of luck to you!
Rose

The thing about weight loss that almost nobody wants to admit is that it's hard. Once you can accept that and get over that mental hurdle, it really helps.

hi

It can be a little overwhelming to begin with so don't panic! I'm going to assume you have just started so you are totally new to all this. It's really important that your totally on board with the who concept of MFP and CICO (calories in, calories out) and trust in the science. In order for it all to work (for me anyway) you have to be totally focussed.

Put all your stats into MFP and it will calculate exactly how many calories you need to eat every day in order to fuel your body and loose weight (make sure you set a realistic weekly loss, there's no hurry)

I have found that eating similar food on a regular basis works best for me. As yet, it hasn't got too repetitive. I've found what works and I stick to it pretty easily at the moment.

Breakfast is porridge with 150ml semi skimmed milk and 150ml water
Lunch is salad with chicken or tuna and light mayo - easily taken to work in Tupperware
Dinner is usually chicken and veg

These meals leave me enough flexibility to eat snacks (fruit or protein bars usually) or mix up the meals (adding a sauce or pasta/rice) and I usually get a glass of wine at the end of a busy day!

I hope that helps

Baby steps. You are retraining yourself for the rest of your life so don't expect big changes right away.

Start by getting in the habit of weighing, measuring, and logging all of your food. Don't worry as much about what you eat, just get into the habit of accountability

Next, cut portions so you are at your calorie target

By now you should have an idea as to what foods satisfy you and what ones leave you hungry. You should also have a better idea as to what your macro mix should be and how many meals and what time of day you are happiest eating. (Some like 2-3 meals a day, others like 5-6, it makes no difference and is just personal preference)

Do something similar for exercise. If you don't do anything now, just start moving. Go for a daily walk. Start lifting milk jugs with a little water to add weight, whatever. If you already are active, get into a routine.

Ease into the new habits and you will go far. many people try to do too much at the beginning and get frustrated if they can't maintain them. One of the best bits of advice I received when I first started was this: "you are not making a big change in your life, you are making a series of little changes"

LoeshaElizabeth wrote: »

check out fitnessblender.com they are entirely free and give some fantastic advice on nutrition and health as well as providing free workout videos

i second that. they're great and if you're feeling drained they have lots of low impact cardio and stretching.
also feel free to add me.

perpetuallyfit wrote: »

I think if you are too drained out by the end of the day, the best way to lose weight is by consuming lesser calories than you are doing now. And up your water intake!! I've noticed no carbs after 5 or 6 PM really helps to lose weight!!

So the first part of this, yes. The second part is a good example of what I meant earlier when I said "Learn to differentiate between legitimate information and baseless claims so that you don't waste time and effort and become demoralized doing "fad" diets or trying to adhere to unnecessary rules like "eating 6 meals a day.""

No carbs after 5 or 6pm is just another means of reducing your overall caloric intake. Aside from this, it has no benefit whatsoever. It's great that this works for the above poster if that is what they want/like to do, but it's not necessary to change your own eating habits to try to accommodate this suggestion. Again, it just boils down to what helps you adhere to your deficit.

For more info, please see:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/all-diets-work-the-importance-of-calories.html/

http://www.simplyshredded.com/carbs-at-night-fat-loss-killer-or-imaginary-boogeyman.html

http://www.leangains.com/2011/06/is-late-night-eating-better-for-fat.html