I need help ASAP

Hey good for you taking the first step. This could be the big step that changes your life in a huge way. My biggest advice is to be consistent and if you mess up, don't make it be a snow ball effect. Log everything whether you want to or not. I'll send you a FR if you'd like to be friends here.

OP: your son is adorable!

I suggest investing in a food scale so you can measure everything. It comes in pretty handy. Don't beat yourself up too much when you have a slip up. I'm almost 2 years into this and I still make mistakes along the way. Make sure you are staying properly hydrated, it doesn't have to be just water.

Good luck

OP, good for you for taking that step. You've gotten some good advice above.

My biggest advice to you is to make little changes as you go rather than changing everything all at once. Be consistent with your logging, and most of all be patient! It'll take some time, but you'll get there.

Best of luck to you!

The serving size will be listed on the box, so you can weigh it if you have a scale, or measure with a measuring cup. The milk will need to be measured with a measuring cup. Then enter the amounts into mfp and it will show you how many calories you just consumed.

My suggestion is to remember that you can eat anything at anytime, as long as you stay under your total calories for the day. Don't fall for the gimmicks like pills, starvation mode, etc.

Also, focusing on protein and fat (vs. carbs) will help you stay fuller longer. So the little pie chart here on the mfp site that has your percentages in it, don't get obsessive, but try to have every day be closeish to those recommended percentages.

PocketAces760 wrote: »

Thank you very much. I'm about to go log my first breakfast meal which is going to be Cheerios and 1% milk I just don't understand the serving size how do you know what one serving sizes or eight serving sizes how do I measure that when I pour my cereal

Do you have measuring cups? Or, do you have smaller sized glasses? Ultimately, you want to get a food scale. You can get one for $20 at Wal-Mart. But, since you are just starting, don't overwhelm yourself. Start with logging your food here, to the best of your ability. Start eating much smaller portion sizes of what you've been eating. Drink a lot of water. Cut down on any sugary drinks like pop and juice.

We are here to encourage and help, so keep on posting!

Congrats on the first step & welcome to the journey :-) Buy a food scale, weigh & log everything that you consume, and make sure you are eating at a deficit. Don't worry if it takes some time to get used to it, I'm a little over 100 days in and I still get frustrated. The thing is to keep at it & don't worry about the missteps along the way, it will be worth it in the end!!!!

Troutsy wrote: »

PocketAces760 wrote: »

Thank you very much. I'm about to go log my first breakfast meal which is going to be Cheerios and 1% milk I just don't understand the serving size how do you know what one serving sizes or eight serving sizes how do I measure that when I pour my cereal

For the milk, use a measuring cup. On the back of the milk, there will be a nutritional label that will say how many ounces or mL a serving is. For the cereal, when you get a food scale, use the scale to measure out the proper serving in grams. Until you get a food scale, you can use a measuring cup. It won't be as accurate, but it will be closer than guessing.

Yep ^^^ this! Good for you starting your journey and asking for help - it won't always be easy! I will warn you, you are going to be absolutely shocked when you realize just how small most portions really are. I know I have been surprised. And the suggestion to take it slowly and change one thing at a time could be a key to your success. We get so eager to see results that we aim to do it all at once. We can wind up failing because of that excitement. Welcome to the community and I wish you all the best along the way!

A serving of cereal is usually either 3/4 cup or 1 cup. I think Cheerios serving size is 1 cup (28 grams). If you're like me, I can fill up a large bowl twice and eat it and consider that my one serving....but it's not, it's probably more like 7-8 servings. I agree with everyone above. Log what you eat regardless of what it is. You should also take notice if you eat when you are hungry or bored, etc. You really should eat something small every three or four hours as this keeps your metabolism running. If you wait until you are very hungry to eat, you're likely to make bad choices. Also, a big recommendation is to plan the meals for the entire day/week if poosible. Planning is very helpful. Lots of luck!!!! You can do it!

You've gotten some good advice on measuring/weighing/logging. Have you filled out your MFP profile and gotten your calorie recommendation? Starting larger, you are one of the few people who can probably go with a 2 lb/week goal at first, and even at that, you calorie allowance will still be pretty generous. You don't have to overhaul your entire diet right off the bat or aim for too low of calories, just track carefully and stop when you reach your limit. As time goes on, you'll probably learn that certain foods offer more "bang" for the calorie buck and start slowly changing your choices. Remember, you've got a long time to do this

Congratulations on taking the first step. We're here to help and if you would like, send me a friend request and I can help answer any questions that you have.

Welcome! It is very nice to meet you. I am super committed to my weight loss and I log religiously. I'm going to send you a friend request incase you want some support along the way.

I'm 40 - some pounds into my weight loss and still have about 130 more pounds to go to reach my goal weight of 130. Anyway, I'm here for the long haul & I hope that you are too!

You've gotten some really sound advice already so I won't repeat most of it. I did want to re-emphasize one thing.... if you screw up ( and everyone does)log it, forgive yourself and press on. One bad meal doesn't have to ruin your day, your week or mean to give up entirely. Get right back at it! You've totally got this!

PocketAces760 wrote: »

Hey guys today is my first day on here and my goal is to loose 100 pounds. Right now I'm 379 and I'm a single dad of a son that's 4 years old. I took him to Lego land yesterday and wasn't able to get on any rides with him because I was to big. It's time for a change in my life and it has to happen now. I could really use some help from some passionate motivated people who can get me moving in the right direction. and I'll do my best to do the same for them. I'm not going to give up until I reach me goal.

Congrats and good luck! It's a big commitment, but it's a big deal, especially for your son's sake.

Getting a good food scale will be a big help to you. I was just at Walmart, and they have several types, but most of them are not good models (the switch to change to grams is on the bottom, and they don't hold the setting).

They do have one made by Taylor. Walmart is selling it with some "Biggest Loser" branding, but it's the same one I use. It's easy to set up and use. It's also on Amazon here for cheaper: http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-3842-Digital-Food-Scale/dp/B00BDS2X2G

It takes a little effort (and you need a calculator handy sometimes), but once you get the habit it becomes second nature.