Tips for a newbie?

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emilyjblake
emilyjblake Posts: 2 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello I'm a newbie! I've previously had a really unhealthy relationship with food. A few years ago I became obsessed with dieting and weighed every day, if I didn't see a loss I would starve myself. I then got back to a healthy weight, but started having problems with my hormones which caused a huge weight gain. I shot up to 16st and through determination managed to get back down to just over 13st. I have now decided that it is time to take proper control of my diet and lifestyle so here I am. I have taken up badminton twice a week as well as doing clubbercise. I now need to concentrate on my eating habits. Any tips would be gratefully received. Emily x

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  • susanayt97
    susanayt97 Posts: 309 Member
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    Hello Emily :)
    Read your food labels, weigh what you eat, and log it. Follow the amount of calories MFP suggests you, based on your goals, and that's all! With time you will find out what works for you and what doesn't. I always have to leave a few calories for late night snacking, because I know I won't resist chocolate. So cutting out all "unhealthy" foods doesn't work for me, but it works for some people!
    Try to remember this is pretty simple (I keep forgetting and making it a lot more complicated than it is), and patience is key :)
  • mamma_adventure
    mamma_adventure Posts: 235 Member
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    What @susanayt97 said! You got this @emilyjblake <3
  • crystales
    crystales Posts: 3 Member
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    Hi! @emilyjblake good luck! Some tips that helped me finally lose weight (30kgs, 6 years ago) was learning about food after years of eatin mindlessly. I.e. What I need to eat for optimal health (i.e. how much protein, carbohydrates etc) & what my BMR was etc. Documentaries about food helped me tremendously like"forks over knives", "food matters", "sustainable". It changed my life. Im now 4 years plant based, happy and in the best shape of my life. BUT critical is to love yourself at all times throughout weightloss. Focus on getting your health back not a bikini body. Xo
  • tabby718
    tabby718 Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi I'm Tabitha
    I have been overweight my whole life And now I'm in my 40s and starting to feel pain all the time. I know it's because of my yoyo dieting and over eating I feel angry with myself. So I'm angry dieting. Going full force with all I know about eating right and want to reach my goal. Any advise
    Sincerely
    Tabitha
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Take the time to work through your feelings this time. I suggest using a weight trending app and weigh yourself no more than once a week.

    Try logging all your meals for a week to see if you can maintain a healthy perspective.
  • susanayt97
    susanayt97 Posts: 309 Member
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    @tabby718 Don't be angry with yourself! A part of being successful in reaching your goals is to forgive yourself. We're all here because we all messed up, but we realized it's time to get it right. Instead of being angry, be excited for yourself! Be excited for all the knowledge you're gonna gain about food and fitness. Be excited for everything that will get better :)
  • emilyjblake
    emilyjblake Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you all so much! I'm really looking for this to be a lifestyle change rather than just a fad diet. I will take all your tips on board and try and resist the urge to weigh more than once a week. You're all so supportive and lovely, good luck in your weight loss journeys ❤️ xx
  • SaraydaB
    SaraydaB Posts: 120 Member
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    Hi! Some things that work for me:
    *Start slow... every week make some changes on your diet while listening to your body
    * Try to fit your meals to your calorie goal... But watch the nutrients of the food you are eating
    * Buy a food scale! That way you can learn about portion sizes for the future
    * *Drink a LOT of water
    * Be patiente.... at first you might feel the need to binge... But keep ypur goal in mind and your stomach will feel full with the food once you have like a month or so
    * Make smart food choices
    * If you have a cheat weekend instead of a cheat meal... MOVE ON.. Next day start back to normal
    * Motivate yourself every single day.... I love eating while watching youtube videos of what I eat in a day and weight loss success stories
    * Fill your social media with fitness/weight loss accounts
    * Baby steps
  • absolament
    absolament Posts: 278 Member
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    Hi Emily, based on your post, it sounds like you are on the right track. I think the most important aspect of using MFP is to try your best to stay within the calorie range suggested, especially when it accounts for exercise. You'll hear people say not to eat back your calories. Hogwash. You need calories to burn stubborn fat. Don't starve yourself. Proper measuring is crucial...that's for both exercise and food. That being said, I used MFP years ago and lost about 30 pounds of pregnancy weight. I got lazy with logging thinking I would do fine without and I did fine for many years until I approached 40. It seems true what "they" say that things change when you turn 40. So, I am back on MFP to see if logging helps as much as it did in my early 30's. I already found that I've been over eating by about 200 calories every day. That's a lot of excess calories a month. Yikes! Perhaps turning 40 isn't the culprit after all. Good luck to you on this adventure.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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