What would have been most helpful to you when you started to lose weight?

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Replies

  • kitkatkarr
    kitkatkarr Posts: 97 Member
    If only I knew calories counting is all I need to lose weight. If I knew the mass amount of veges and fruits I could of eaten. If only I knew I can still eat anything I wanted.
  • markdvsmo
    markdvsmo Posts: 16 Member
    Gardening. Having a variety of fresher-than-fresh organic vegetables a few steps out the back door makes it easy to let veggies take center stage in meals and snacks... and it's virtually free. Plus you burn exercise calories tending it! It's a win-win.
  • mich19025
    mich19025 Posts: 55 Member
    * Aim to drop body fat instead of body weight. I once became just a smaller version of the body I didn't like.
    * You shouldn't restrict for long periods of time as it suppresses your metabolism. I'm doing a re-set now.
    * Don't over complicate things. I feel liberated now and understand that I need food to fuel myself to lift.
  • meddaugh48
    meddaugh48 Posts: 41 Member
    javakitty wrote: »
    Don't keep anything in your house that you overeat.

    definitely this for me
  • Dariasen
    Dariasen Posts: 145 Member
    *Cups/spoons are not an acurate measument for non-liquids
    *No magic "diet" just CICO (wish I would have learned this 15 years ago)
    *Weight loss isn't linear. Don't panic with a little gain day hear and there...as longs as you are tending the correct way.
  • Slashnl
    Slashnl Posts: 339 Member
    I needed tough love from someone who wouldn't accept my lame excuses for not losing weight. But, then again, I do believe that until you are really ready to make it happen, nothing helps.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    terizius wrote: »
    What would have been most helpful to you when you started to lose weight?

    I think this is a great question.

    Ideally, I would have tracked everything I ate for two weeks prior to dieting to get an idea of the amount of calories I was eating and what I was eating.

    From there I would have made small changes to my existing diet in order to move down to a calorie level where I was losing weight consistently but with the least amount of change to my existing diet set up.
  • AlisonH729
    AlisonH729 Posts: 558 Member
    It would have been (would be) helpful if MFP included a chart in the goals area (where you enter your stats & how much you want to lose) that outlined what reasonable weight loss goals are based on your weight/how much you have to lose.

    When I first joined (the first time around) I was like so many others with just a handful of vanity pounds to lose. But I was impatient and said 'lets get this done' and set my goals to -2 lbs a week. (Which I know NOW was totally unrealistic.) Of course MFP gave me 1200 calories, and that's what I ate. Sure I lost weight but I ended up skinny fat because I had no energy to exercise. I was hungry & miserable and not happy with my body anyway so I stopped logging for a while. Now that I know better I eat more, work out smarter and generally feel like I'm establishing habits I can stick to.
  • qb63
    qb63 Posts: 88 Member
    Realizing that a loss of one or two pounds a week (over the long run) is AWESOME and worth sticking it out for.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    I needed to stop eating my predominantly starchy meals and eat more well balanced. It kept my hunger in check for way longer. I concentrated on the protein side (30-35% of my daily calories) and the carb side fell into place within the calorie allotment.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    Free personal chef, trainer and masseuse.
  • Mgtei
    Mgtei Posts: 56 Member
    edited July 2015
    wkwebby wrote: »
    I needed to stop eating my predominantly starchy meals and eat more well balanced. It kept my hunger in check for way longer. I concentrated on the protein side (30-35% of my daily calories) and the carb side fell into place within the calorie allotment.
    kitkatkarr wrote: »
    If only I knew calories counting is all I need to lose weight. If I knew the mass amount of veges and fruits I could of eaten. If only I knew I can still eat anything I wanted.

    +1 @wkwebby & @kitkatkarr, I just figured both of these out using MFP.

    I wish I'd known that just because I got myself into this situation by myself doesn't mean I can't ask for help (e.g., join a gym, hire a personal trainer, use the forums here).
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    terizius wrote: »
    What would have been most helpful to you when you started to lose weight?

    Throwing away every single thing I thought I knew about dieting and starting from scratch learning how to weigh and accurately log every single calorie

    No other rules, guides, thoughts at all until I got that down

    Moving more in general

    Finding an exercise I loved

    Learning to accurately log those calories too and eat them
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    sofaking6 wrote: »
    Free personal chef, trainer and masseuse.
    Oh, yes.

    I want to change my answer to hers. :)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,497 Member
    I suppose one thing that would have been helpful would have been the knowledge that it was going to be as easy as it was.

    Logging is pretty straightforward.
    Staying under my calories was quite simple most days, but provided an interesting challenge on a few days ... I like challenges, trying to figure things out.
    Exercise gave me room to eat more so I wasn't ravenously hungry all the time.

    And the weight came off much faster than anticipated.

    If I would have known it was going to be that easy, I might have started a year earlier. :)

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