I'm confused....

cartersmom06 · February 2017

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?

courtneyfabulous · February 2017

MFP can figure it out for you- just enter your stats and goals and eat whatever calories and macros it gives you.

spiriteagle99 · February 2017

MFP works and is very simple. You can eat what you want, but limit the total calories.

kimny72 · February 2017

Yes

If you're confused, start by stripping away all the other noise and focus on hitting your calorie goal. Just log accurately and consistently and get right around that number.

After you get the hang of that, you could start looking at your macro totals. See if there is anything in common on the days you did well, that might give you a clue as to what kind of macro distribution will help you feel full on the right amount of calories. But you don't even have to do that, it can just give you a little useful info.

Good luck!

CafeRacer808 · February 2017

In the simplest terms, calories are all that matters for weight loss. Different macros have an effect on satiety and paying attention to them can be important, especially if you have specific exercise/fitness goals, but calories are king.

My suggestion to you would be to start by focusing on calories only. Let MFP set a daily calorie goal for you and use a food scale to weigh everything you eat. After a couple of weeks, you'll get into the flow of logging all of your food accurately. And during that time, you'll start to gain a better understanding about portion control as well as more insight into how different foods affect your hunger and energy levels. From there, you can start to adjust your macros if you feel its necessary.

bwogilvie · February 2017

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 · February 2017

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 · February 2017

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 · February 2017

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 · February 2017

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

I'm confused....

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