Old and wise... or supposed to be ;)

Hello all,

I'm another new MFP join today, but really not even slightly young (*cough* 45 *cough*). I'm now about my third decade into weight management so you can pretty easily deduce that, up until about the last 6 months, I have been spectacularly bad at it!

Having worked my way through pretty much every diet and exercise type out there, I HAVE finally found something that works for me though - Since August I have lost 40lb through a combination of paleo(ish) diet, pretty much total drop of grains and cereals, and 10 - 20 mins per day of high intensity workouts.

I have about another 5lb to go, and it is getting harder now because I am at the point where calories really do matter now - I do ALOT (98%ish?) of homemade food, and the tools on this site allow me to work out the nutritional / calorific value of what I am making - I cannot tell you how valuable this is!!!

Sorry - very long post for a first one - if you are still awake, I've done tons of research and I'm happy to share any tips / techniques / pitfalls (I've hit'em all!) and also I'm very much looking forward to learning from you too.

Number 1 tip: Know your target weight in lbs (mine is 127). Multiply by 10% if you are sedentary, 11 or 12% if you are pretty active, and 12 to 14% if you are a performance exerciser - this will give you target daily calories. Although it is a smart idea to eat healthily, ultimately it doesn't matter what you eat, if your calorie intake is less than your target, you WILL lose weight!

Wishing you all success in 2016!

Steph