First day and very curious about the site.

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maude2011
maude2011 Posts: 12 Member
in Getting Started
Hi everyone. This is my first time on this site. Any feedback would be appreciated. It looks as if it could be the one I'm looking for.
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  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,197 MFP Moderator
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    What do are you looking for exactly?
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    Hi Maude. Welcome. Are you looking to lose weight? Build? Maintain?
  • maude2011
    maude2011 Posts: 12 Member
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    I have quite a lot of weight to lose but want to do it slowly. Too many times before I have lost it quickly and gained it plus more just as quickly. I've tried many popular slimming clubs but find the cost of them is not justified as I don't really commit to them. I've decided to do it this way and take control over my own habits rather than drifting along with whats not working for me. So in answer to your question I'm looking for any tips and hints about using the site to get the best from it. Thanks in advance.
  • dwood1231
    dwood1231 Posts: 275 Member
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    Good morning Maude and welcome to the MFP family. This site will be able to help you, if you are willing to help you. Use the food tracker... get a group of friends, ask for and offer advise and inspiration, use the food tracker... Explore the group chalanges, I find them helpful and fun, also a good way to expand your frineds pool, Use the food tracker... And dont cheat.. enter everyting in to the food, exercise, and water tracker. Did I mention useing the food tracker? Again welcome, I will send you a friend request.

    "Do or do not, there is no try."

    Yoda...
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    Welcome :)

    MFP has a no nonsense approach to weight-loss, I've found. It doesn't take kindly to fads and deals with scientific logic behind losing weight (Calorie Deficit). I've previously been a member of Weight Watchers and whilst I did lose a substantial amount of weight, nothing educated me more than this website. I strongly recommend MFP over any diet out there, in my opinion.
  • maude2011
    maude2011 Posts: 12 Member
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    Thank you all so much for the welcome and the encouragement. I will definitely take the "Do or do not, there is no try" on board. I found filling in the food and exercise tracker very helpful and an eye opener as to the amount of calories in food. I also did weightwatchers and got tired of counting points and always second guessing myself as a result whereas here there really is no where to hide!!! Can anyone give me some advice on eating out. Its our anniversary on Friday and we're going out for dinner. I don't want to lose the run of myself but at the same time I want to enjoy our special night. It will also include a couple of glasses of wine!!!
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    maude2011 wrote: »
    Thank you all so much for the welcome and the encouragement. I will definitely take the "Do or do not, there is no try" on board. I found filling in the food and exercise tracker very helpful and an eye opener as to the amount of calories in food. I also did weightwatchers and got tired of counting points and always second guessing myself as a result whereas here there really is no where to hide!!! Can anyone give me some advice on eating out. Its our anniversary on Friday and we're going out for dinner. I don't want to lose the run of myself but at the same time I want to enjoy our special night. It will also include a couple of glasses of wine!!!

    Enjoy your anniversary and treat yourself. Remember, this is a lifestyle change and I don't personally believe in restricting on special occasions - that's no fun, is it?! Get back into it the following day, work out and track your food - youll be fine :)
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    PinkPixiexox wrote: »
    maude2011 wrote: »
    Thank you all so much for the welcome and the encouragement. I will definitely take the "Do or do not, there is no try" on board. I found filling in the food and exercise tracker very helpful and an eye opener as to the amount of calories in food. I also did weightwatchers and got tired of counting points and always second guessing myself as a result whereas here there really is no where to hide!!! Can anyone give me some advice on eating out. Its our anniversary on Friday and we're going out for dinner. I don't want to lose the run of myself but at the same time I want to enjoy our special night. It will also include a couple of glasses of wine!!!

    Enjoy your anniversary and treat yourself. Remember, this is a lifestyle change and I don't personally believe in restricting on special occasions - that's no fun, is it?! Get back into it the following day, work out and track your food - youll be fine :)

    I agree--enjoy life! With that said, I find that I'm MUCH more successful if I commit to tracking everything as best as a I can, even when I'm splurging and even if the the tracking is just after the fact guesstimates. Tracking helps keep a special day from turning into a special week. :wink: For that, if you go to a restaurant that posts nutritional information, then log what you eat, without stressing on the number of calories. If the restaurant doesn't post it, do your best to guess by looking up other similar restaurant meals (look up a bunch and see which ones seem most accurate--if it looks too good to be true it probably is) and/or logging the components of the meal (e.g. 4 ounces chicken breast + 2 cups rice, etc.). If you're logging components, be sure to add more butter or oil than you would use at home because restaurants do like to get heavy handed with those.

    Good luck and Happy Anniversary!
  • wayne206
    wayne206 Posts: 30 Member
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    welcome maude. i love mfp so far and have lost 15lbs. got 25 to go hopefully. i would have never figured my calories, fat etc out by myself.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    Words of advice. Find a good set of knowledgeable friends that aren't going to talk you into some fad diet that involves eliminating a food source/group, a cleanse, or a detox. Take 95% of the advice that you find here with a grain of salt... especially if it recommends the aforementioned diet trends and fads. You don't need to turn cauliflower into a pizza crust and you don't need to necessarily eat only 1200 calories (unless your lifestyle, weight and height... and preferably a dietician... requires it)...
  • maude2011
    maude2011 Posts: 12 Member
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    Thats what I thought but just wanted to be sure. Eating out is too expensive to just order something because it seems to be the "healthy option" From past experience I know thats not always true. Anyway I don't plan to go totally crazy just enjoy myself and my food. I totally agree with you k8blujay2 about the fads and trends. As for the cauliflower pizza crust and cauliflower "rice" ..... we just won't go there :p
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    maude2011 wrote: »
    Thats what I thought but just wanted to be sure. Eating out is too expensive to just order something because it seems to be the "healthy option" From past experience I know thats not always true. Anyway I don't plan to go totally crazy just enjoy myself and my food. I totally agree with you k8blujay2 about the fads and trends. As for the cauliflower pizza crust and cauliflower "rice" ..... we just won't go there :p

    Ha! Then you should fit right in to a small pocket of us. ;) anyway as far as eating out, most places have their nutritional information out there. Just look it up before you go if you can and plan that way. Otherwise don't worry about it if it's not an every day thing. ;)

  • kss1231
    kss1231 Posts: 167 Member
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    Welcome! As others have stated, track your food (the good, bad and ugly), weigh and measure everything until you have a good handle on portion sizes and start an exercise routine. A simple 10 minute walk will do wonders for both your physical and mental health and eventually you will be able to increase the length of your walks. Its all about doing something you can live with the rest of your life. Enjoy your anniversary, it is a special day that you should be able to enjoy without feeling guilty. Just get back on track the next day. :)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Do you like swift feedback? The community does offer that, for sure.
  • elbrujo53
    elbrujo53 Posts: 55 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Welcome Maude... Take it easy, use the food tracker (as Yoda says), exercise with a purpose every day (Fitbit tied to MFP has worked great for me) and always, as Ralph Waldo Emerson used to say, "Moderation in all things, especially moderation.” . Happy Anniversary
  • maude2011
    maude2011 Posts: 12 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I'll take everything on board. Second day down and ready for No. 3 keeping in mind its my night out so fingers crossed. I know I'll enjoy it and get back into the runners on Saturday morning and go for a good walk. Running would be beyond me at this stage!!!
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Welcome to MFP Maude. I'm sure you will do well. Its difficult to stay on plan while going out to dinner. But I would suggest to you that you at least log everything you eat. Even the butter on the dinner roll. That will let you know just how many calories eating a meal like that out will take....so in the future you can plan for it. I don't think you should necessarily restrict when you go out to a anniversary meal but I do think you should try and make some better decisions than you would have before starting your diet. The key to long term success is starting to train yourself how to eat normal size portions and how to choose healthier options. Instead of two dinner rolls...only eat one. Instead of the 21 ounce Ribeye...get the 5oz filet mignon. There are ways to make any meal more sensible. Take baby steps to a healthier life.
  • maude2011
    maude2011 Posts: 12 Member
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    Okay guys. Just home. My anniversary dinner turned into a surprise weekend away. It was fab but not very good from a dieting point of view. So as a result I am going to weigh myself in the morning and start again. There is nothing coming up in the near future to steer me off course so I'll have no excuses not to knuckle down and do my best. Hope ye all had a good weekend.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    maude2011 wrote: »
    Okay guys. Just home. My anniversary dinner turned into a surprise weekend away. It was fab but not very good from a dieting point of view. So as a result I am going to weigh myself in the morning and start again. There is nothing coming up in the near future to steer me off course so I'll have no excuses not to knuckle down and do my best. Hope ye all had a good weekend.

    I hope you had a LOVELY surprise weekend away and didn't worry about calories! :)
    Today is a brand new day! :D
  • maude2011
    maude2011 Posts: 12 Member
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    Yes I did have a lovely time thank you and I've had a very successful day today. My daughter does weightwatchers and her weigh in day is Saturday so we are going to support each other and weigh ourselves on the same day so we can progress together. It'll be good to have the encouragement from close to home as well as on the site. Also it gives me a few days extra to strive for a good result on the scales. I went for a lovely walk earlier and really feel pleased with what I did today. Heres to another good one tomorrow.

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