Can't sleep so....HELP!!!

MarkiplierFangirl
MarkiplierFangirl Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay I've been trying to lose around 20 pounds for as long as I can remember and to be honest I'm not really sure where to begin. I'm a stay at home college student so between homework, studying, taking care of my new puppy, and band tryouts coming up I don't really have an opening to where I can exercise. I've completely cut sugary drinks out of my diet and I've been watching my calorie intake but I've haven't really been seeing any progress. If there's any tips or motivation you guys could give me I'd really appreciate it. THANK YOU!!!!! :)

Replies

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,072 Member
    Are you weighing all your food? Have you determined what your maintenance calories are and set a daily calorie goal that's lower than maintenance?
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Exercise is good but eating less food matters more for weight loss. If you have not already done so, get a kitchen scale and start weighing and logging your food. After a week or two, you will get a handle on using the data base and the diary.
  • MarkiplierFangirl
    MarkiplierFangirl Posts: 7 Member
    I've set a calorie goal! :) But I don't think I'm weighing my food, I didn't even know you could do that for weight loss!
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    MarkiplierFangirl wrote: »
    I've set a calorie goal! :) But I don't think I'm weighing my food, I didn't even know you could do that for weight loss!
    They sell them at Walmart or Amazon or anywhere else.
    http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=kitchen&field-keywords=AmazonBasics+Digital+Kitchen+Scale+with+LCD+Display
  • MarkiplierFangirl
    MarkiplierFangirl Posts: 7 Member
    Okay I've been logging my food and eating less, but I haven't been weighing. That's a good tip for me to start using! Thanks for helping a beginner like myself!
  • MarkiplierFangirl
    MarkiplierFangirl Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks for the link too!!!! :)
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    You are doing well so far :)
  • MarkiplierFangirl
    MarkiplierFangirl Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks I really appreciate it!!! :blush: I've kinda been sliding a little bit here and there lately (cause of my addiction to chocolate :smiley: ) But I've been taking it one step at a time :smile:
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,072 Member
    MarkiplierFangirl wrote: »
    I've set a calorie goal! :) But I don't think I'm weighing my food, I didn't even know you could do that for weight loss!

    It's the most accurate way of determining how much you're eating of solid foods (it's OK to measure liquids by volume--that is, in cups, tablespoons, fluid ounces, milliliters--but you can weigh those as well). A given mass ("weight") of a particular food is always the same amount of food and the same amount of calories and nutrients (within unavoidable and generally small variations caused by things like what time of year the food was grown). A given volume of a particular food will not always be the same, depending on how large or small the pieces are (small pieces will leave less air between them in the measuring cup), how much you "pack" food down (think brown sugar), and how "settled" the ingredients are (over time, gravity will tend to force particles down and closer together, eliminating as much empty space as possible).

    Once you get used to it, it's actually quicker most of the time to weigh your food. You can just set your plate on the scale, tare (set the scale to zero, so that it ignores the weight of the plate), add the first food, log in the app or make a note of the weight for later logging, tare again, add the next food, etc. Fewer dirty utensils that way, too.

    I recommend getting a digital-display kitchen scale with a tare/zero button that measures in grams (or both grams and ounces) with a weight limit high enough to allow you to weigh foods in your heaviest dishes and pots. Mine (an OXO scale) will weigh up to 11 lbs (5 kg), and I have been using it for years. I had it from baking before I started logging my food on MFP, so maybe five years of light use and then another two and half years of regular daily use (several times a day) since I started logging my food. It takes normal batteries, and I don't think I've had to change them more than three or four times in all the years I've had the scale. Oh, the display also pulls out from the scale base, so if you're using a large dish or pot that hangs over the edge and obscures the display in its normal retracted position, you just pull it out to read it. It's a nice feature, although not as important as the tare button and weighing in grams, IMO.

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