I am Beyond Confused

The only plan you need to follow is CICO (calories in, calories out). Essentially, this means to eat less then what you expend. There is no food that is not allowed.

Do yourself a favor and buy a digital scale to measure all of your food. Be honest with your logging.

Here's the great thing about CICO (Calories In <Calories Out): you can eat literally any food and still lose weight. Plug your stats into MFP and eat the amount of calories it tells you, including any food you want.

You don't need to and definitely don't want to cut out any macronutrient or food group for that matter. Keep the fruits, keep the veggies, keep the beef...eat a balanced diet, and yes most importantly, monitor your intake. Calculate your estimated total energy expenditure--there are plenty of calculators around--and consume less calories than you take in to lose weight. I'd recommend a 300-500 deficit. You don't need to follow the latest and greatest extreme diet. Keep it simple... calories in vs. calories out.

Edit: From experience.. I've done keto; I've carb cycled, along with whatever other nonsense you can imagine. Sure, I've seen results from various methods, but all due to the fact I was still in a caloric deficit. Especially since you said you're looking for a long term solution... I can't stress the importance enough of keeping it simple and not depriving your body or your mind of any essential nutrient.

kpeterson539 wrote: »

The only plan you need to follow is CICO (calories in, calories out). Essentially, this means to eat less then what you expend. There is no food that is not allowed.

Do yourself a favor and buy a digital scale to measure all of your food. Be honest with your logging.

^^ that

RobotPhysique wrote: »

You don't need to and definitely don't want to cut out any macronutrient or food group for that matter. Keep the fruits, keep the veggies, keep the beef...eat a balanced diet, and yes most importantly, monitor your intake. Calculate your estimated total energy expenditure--there are plenty of calculators around--and consume less calories than you take in to lose weight. I'd recommend a 300-500 deficit. You don't need to follow the latest and greatest extreme diet. Keep it simple... calories in vs. calories out.

Edit: From experience.. I've done keto; I've carb cycled, along with whatever other nonsense you can imagine. Sure, I've seen results from various methods, but all due to the fact I was still in a caloric deficit. Especially since you said you're looking for a long term solution... I can't stress the importance enough of keeping it simple and not depriving your body or your mind of any essential nutrient.

I like this !

@thorsmom01 Thanks. It wasn't until fairly recently that I learned much of what I accepted as fact or at least best practice was straight up misinformation. Most of us want things fast, easy, and spoon-fed. I'm no expert, but if I can help folks with what I've learned from my follies, or by directing them to actual reputable sources I've learned from to set them on the right path instead of chasing their tail... good deed for the day: ✓.

Right^^^^great advice. OP you say you have 15lbs to lose. That's not alot, and the last 15lbs go slowly. Set MFP to lose .5 lbs a week. Try to be as acurate as possible with your logging.

The way to lose weight is to have calories going in be less than calories out. Diets are a way to meet CI<CO and hopefully improve your health. Based on your lifestyle and health, certain diets may suit you better than others.

I eat a low carb ketogenic diet. It improved my blood glucose, cut my appetite and sugar cravings, gave me more energy and mental clarity and even improved my skin, all while getting to a healthy weight pretty quickly. For me, a ketogenic diet works and I plan to stick with, or at the very least just low carb and high fat, for the rest of my life. It was a lifestyle change for me, and I have no illusions that if I went back to my "normal" way of eating that I would regain weight and my health would decline.

If you decide to try a LCHF diet, do some reading, maybe join the Low Carber Daily group, and give it a good month. When people cut carbs their electrolytes will drop and you will have symptoms of low electrolytes, often called a low carb flu. If you increase your sodium up to 3000-5000mg per day and add some extra magnesium and potassium, you won't feel poorly and be more likely to quit - this is an unknown hurdle that cause many to quit LCHF because they think (incorrectly) that is how the diet is supposed to feel.

Low carb usually involves cutting sugar added foods, grains and baked goods, and starchy foods first. A healthy low carb diet will usually still involve plenty of vegetables and some lower GI fruits. A low carb diet usually has carbs below 100-150g, and a ketogenic diet is usually below 20-50g of carbs per day. I am in ketosis and keep my carbs around 20g per day.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

ETA that it is a myth that you will regain all of your weight if you stop doing low carb after a weight loss. As long as you eat an appropriate calorie level, carbs will not put your weight back on with any black magic like powers. Some do regain a pound or two or water weight but it's water and not fat.

I was in the checkout lane in the grocery store yesterday looking at the magazines (because the walmart lines are so long you can read a novel while you wait) Almost every one of them was shouting "LOSE 30 pounds this month" "Bikini body by spring!" or my favorite was a photoshopped image of Kim Kardashine talking about how she dropped her baby weight in a week. It is no wonder that the average person feels like a failure when they can't get their dream body in a matter of days.

If you are looking to lose 15 lbs then first of all you need to accept that to do this in a healthy manner then it will take time, 0.5 - 1.0 lbs per week would be good. Then decide what you want to do after you have lost the weight, keep it off or take the chance of yo yoing? As has been said, a calorie deficit is what you need to achieve this and there are so many ways to get a sustainable deficit. Counting calories, 5:2 diet, keto etc etc. However think about something that you can sustain long term to stop the weight coming back on. My personal choice would be counting calories, eating nutrient dense whole foods for the main part but leaving room for those that I enjoy, that glass of wine, some cheese, the occasional ice cream. At the end of the day it comes down to what you can sustain and enjoyment of the food you eat has a lot to do with that

I've trained many many females going into menopause. What worked best? CICO. Every time.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Missdaisy99 wrote: »

I'm wanting to loose about 15 pounds.

I started searching weight loss ideas for menopause weight gain. I'm honestly so confused I get so frustrated that I don't know which way to turn.

One article will say Keto diet, next say no stay away, next says no diet eat what you want just count calories. Some family members just lost a lot of weight 40 plus pounds doing high protein, low card (I'm assuming similar to Keto as they are keeping there carbs under 25 g/ day. I hate the thought of giving up fruits and veggies. I love fruits and veggies. We raise our own beef so we do eat quite a bit of beef. I will by chicken breasts though for a change. Seriously Help. What has worked best for everyone. I want something doable long term. Are fruits and veggies that bad? Or will just cutting out bad carbs like pasta, potatoes, bread etc. help? Thanks

The "shell" for eating should be CI<CO. Every special/fad weight loss diet is just a way arranging calories within that shell to meet that goal - regardless of what the proponents say. (Certain of combinations of food may make it easier to stick to your resolve - one of the benefits many find in low carb diets.)

But - within that CI<CO "shell," you need to work out what works best for you that you can sustain long term. Absent health issues - from years of trial and error I know that the following cause cravings for me: sugar (especially combined with carb & fats - e.g. Cinnabon rolls - or as a liquid - e.g. sodas), some fats (see the preceding), and the lack of whole grain carbs. So my ideal consumption would exclude liquid sugar and sweet-fat-carby foods, except on rare occasions (not because they are inherently bad, but because they trigger cravings which makes it harder to control what I choose to eat). It would include daily servings of whole grain carbs (delicious multi-grain breads). Same reason - when they are not part of what I am eating, I have more cravings.

You need to find out for yourself what will make easier (or harder) to stay within the calories needed to lose (at first) and then maintain your weight.

Unfortunately, I don't get to eat in the way that makes it easiest for me because of health reasons. I have Type 2 diabetes and can't tolerate more than 15-20 net carbs in a 3 hour period. So that drives my personal decision to eat a low carb diet (generally less than 50 carbs a day). LCHF/Keto is not magic. For many people it is useful to control cravings. That isn't my experience, because the lack of carbs and the presence of fats are two things that trigger cravings. But for many people eating a high fat diet is satiating and decreases cravings. It is also useful for a number of medical conditions - controlling diabetes, controlling seizures, and potentially other health conditions (alzheimers/memory is the one that seems promising to me, at the moment, at least in connection with people who have diabetes - because there is a strong correlation between diabetes and Alzheimers; My personal experience is that my mind is dramatically clearer now that it has been in at least a year - a completely unexpected consequence i.e. not confirmation bias.)

As to menopause - reports of it being more challenging are vastly overrated. I'm post-menopausal & was simultaneously diagnosed with diabetes and hypothyroidism in early October. Since then I've lost 27.9 lbs (an average of .3 lbs/day - approximately the rate at which I've always lost.)

Well thank you @HappyCampr1 back at you.

Cheers, h.

A year ago I was on a keto diet. I liked eating a lot of fat and did lose 25 pounds. But when I stopped the diet I gained the weight back very quickly and an additional 5 pounds. I think one of the most important lessons about dieting is that it should be something you can do long term. I couldn't do keto long term. Now I'm back to cico and have lost 15 pounds.

lulalacroix wrote: »

A year ago I was on a keto diet. I liked eating a lot of fat and did lose 25 pounds. But when I stopped the diet I gained the weight back very quickly and an additional 5 pounds. I think one of the most important lessons about dieting is that it should be something you can do long term. I couldn't do keto long term. Now I'm back to cico and have lost 15 pounds.

You regained because you ate too much. That can happen with any diet approach, sadly.