New...what to eat

Options
Hi!

So how does this calorie thing work? how can I change my diet and what in my diet do i need to change? please provide guidence i will really really really appreciate it. M

Replies

  • MFP1984
    MFP1984 Posts: 48 Member
    Options
    I'd start out eating what you want until you get used to it - i've been eating what i want as long as I don't go over my calories and lost 10lbs in 2 week! - and theres been loads of chocolate eaten!!!! Once you get into the habit of tracking calories you can start to make other adjustments.
  • pamfin
    pamfin Posts: 169 Member
    Options
    I've just started in earnest and am making little changes at the moment. I figure that if I changed everything in one swoop I'm not going to stick with it.

    e.g. - previously I would have 90-100g porridge oats made with milk and covered in brown sugar. Now I'm having 50g porridge oats made with water and raisins so no sugar required with just a little milk round the edge (the milk reminds me of the way my late father made porridge and gives me a little lift each day.)

    Previously I'd cover salad in dressing, now i'm just using the smallest drizzle. When I make a tuna mayo salad, I leave out the mayo! :smile:

    Good luck.
  • RubyA2011
    RubyA2011 Posts: 66
    Options
    I really just eat the same as i used to but have reduced my portion sizes...i really used to fill a huge dinner plate...and would eaat it all & sometimes go back for seconds! I bought myself a couple of smaller plates from a charity shop so i still fill the plate but its about 1/3 the size!

    I make sure i have breakfast now which is something i used to skip before.

    I try to make sure i eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and i make meals from scratch 95% of the time so i know exactly what goes in it.

    I havent had chips (fries) for nearly a month. I have cut down my alcohol intake by about half (i dont drink mon-thur).

    If i have had a good day exercise wise and have enough calories then i have a small bar of chocolate or a cake or whatever i fancy.

    Some people recommend eating "clean" as in unprocessed foods...i do this to some extent but im not religious about it.

    I try to drink 8 glasses of water a day although i usually forget to log it.

    I would certainly go with the making small changes at a time gand then adding a new change...i drop from full fat to semi-skimmed milk one week the following week i cut my 2 sugars in my tea down to one, this week im down to 0 sugars!

    I used to finish what the kids left from their dinners --- those few chips or bits of sausage now i put them straight into the bin with thinking.

    Good Luck... feel free to add me :0)
  • katieb63
    katieb63 Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    My first week I changed nothing and I just logged everything I ate and then had a look at where I was using most calories. I know that when you commit to start it is hard to decide to delay but it is a long term plan so a week won't hurt. Having said that writing it down probably slows you down a bit.

    From the first week diary I could see that I had two problems. First one was portion sizes and having cut down to much smaller amounts I realised it was quite easy. The other one was "diet" foods, lots of the snacks I ate were low-fat but I realised that they were using loads of sugar to make up for the lack of fat.

    My final area to sort out is my OH, he is a chef and does all the cooking at home and just doesn't seem to get it. If I have a bad day he will come home with a treat which is always food based and generally massive in calories ;-) Last week a small pot of Dolce Ice Cream which was tiny and contained 350 calories eeek! So you may find you have people that are saboteurs that you need to work on.

    Good luck and if you want support feel free to friend me ;-)