I'm confused....

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cartersmom06
cartersmom06 Posts: 68 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been reading ALOT about different dieting methods, intermittent fasting, iifym, low carb, keto, high fat, high protein, etc. etc. etc...I am so confused!! Can I just lose weight by letting MFP figure it out for me, or do I need to figure out my macros and all that other stuff to be successful at weight loss?

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  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
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    MFP can figure it out for you- just enter your stats and goals and eat whatever calories and macros it gives you.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,694 Member
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    MFP works and is very simple. You can eat what you want, but limit the total calories.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    MFP works fine. As @CafeRacer808 says, after a while you will begin to learn which foods leave you feeling sated and which ones don't. The only significant change I made to my previous diet when I started losing weight was to stop eating breakfast cereal, which I used to have most mornings. I discovered that 200 calories of buttered toast kept me going until lunch, whereas 400 calories of cereal and lowfat milk made me hungry again by 10 am.
  • Sheisinlove109
    Sheisinlove109 Posts: 516 Member
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    IMO, those are all fad diet and may not be easily maintainable the rest of your life. Not to mention some might have long term affects.

    It's simple, eat right, exercise and get the right amount of sleep. You may lose faster on those plans but at what cost?

    Stay committed to your health and use mfp as a way to catalog and over time you will see what makes sense and what doesn't.
  • Mini_Medic
    Mini_Medic Posts: 343 Member
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    If your just starting and want to lose, use the MFP formula and just eat your calorie goal. If you put sedentary or lightly active and have a really strenuous day like mountain climbing or intense physical labor add some exercise to it to eat more that day to compensate.

    All the other stuff is just icing on the cake and won't really effect your weight loss unless you have specific allergies, advanced fitness or health goals like sub 10% body fat or muscle building.

    Like others have said, just log everything. The small stuff like coffee creamer, ketchup, mayo, spices, and sneaky drink calories are what will mess you up if not accounted for.

    The first time I lost 40lbs using MFP and it worked fine, I walked and did the elliptical. I was happy with my weight. Now I've lost 40lbs again and I'm going more advanced to see which foods are more nutrient dense and which protein/fat/carbs and exercise I enjoy.

    Start with the basics MFP formula and read a lot of the stickied posts and you will get the hang of all the lingo and different methods. But basics first. You will lose weight just fine with the MFP way if you are accurately counting calories.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
    edited February 2017
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    cartersmom06 wrote: »
    I've been reading ALOT about different dieting methods, intermittent fasting, iifym, low carb, keto, high fat, high protein, etc. etc. etc...I am so confused!! Can I just lose weight by letting MFP figure it out for me, or do I need to figure out my macros and all that other stuff to be successful at weight loss?

    Most of what you list here (all the bolded) are eating methods not diets. People use them to lose, gain, and maintain weight. All of them will work with MFP.

    Weight loss, however, is all about calories. Use MFP's numbers, measure your portions carefully and consistently, and meet the calorie goal MFP give you. You should lose. All the rest is stuff that may or may not help you stick to that goal. Ultimately it is all about long term compliance to that goal, no more, no less.
  • Alpine021
    Alpine021 Posts: 27 Member
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    Agree with all the above. A deficit is all you need but a high protein diet will help. High protein foods require more calories to process / digest, make you feel fuller, repairs muscles after workouts etc. Win win win :)

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