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Looking for healthy living/weight loss advice

potatoyeti
potatoyeti Posts: 38 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all, I'm new to this whole getting healthy and weight loss thing and truth be told I don't even know where to start. For the last couple of weeks I have been cutting out the bad in my diet (fried food and juice) and trying to eat healthier. So far have been successful, however I'm having a very hard time getting in the daily nutriet and calories that are needed to do this properly. Since I've started I am finding that I'm full and content at around 1400-1500 calories a day which is not enough considering I'm a 282 lbs male who wants to achieve long term success. At this point really just looking for any advice so that can do this properly and not destroy my metabolism and pack the pounds back on.

Replies

  • alondrakayy
    alondrakayy Posts: 304 Member
    First and foremost: buy a scale and weigh ALL of your food. That's the very best advice I can give you.

    Honestly, I think 14-15k is not enough for a male.. but I'll let other, more knowledgeable peeps advice you on that one.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    First thing to do is stop worrying about it all. Everything will come together in time.

    Set your goal to lose no more than a pound per week, maybe half. You can adjust it later. For now, you want to make things as easy as possible since you're getting started.

    Log your food, even when you go over your goal. The days will be useful later. You'll start to see food as part of a budget. Enjoy some of the foods you love, in moderation, noticed how they affect your diet the rest of the day.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    It sounds like you're off to a good start - my main advice is to give it time! Two weeks is just the beginning. As @alondrakayy said, if you aren't weighing your food, it's a good way to get a lot of information about how much you're actually eating, even if you don't want to keep the habit up longer-term. I would wager you will find you are eating more (maybe much more) than 1500 if you're feeling full at 282 lbs. That's okay! It's going to take time to figure out all the pieces that come into play for healthy eating: nutrient balance, the right deficit, fueling workouts, meal timing, satiety, the works. Assuming you're okay with scales, it's good to figure out what kind of weighing-in schedule works for you, because that external measurement is really the best way to keep you on pace for weight loss. Alternatively, you could use the feel of your clothing, or a good old fasioned measuring tape. Do a lot of reading, here and elsewhere, and above all else, be patient with yourself and your body. Good luck!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    You won't destroy your metabolism, have no worries about that.

    Don't undereat, and don't cut out everything you like, or try to make a 180 degrees turn. It may feel allright now, but suddenly it won't, and then you'll binge. Set your weight loss goal to 2 pounds per week, and eat the number of calories MFP gives you, every day, aim to not go over or under by more than 50 calories. Prelogging helps tremendously.

    And make sure you know how many calories you indeed are eating. You need a food scale and correct entries, and you have to log everything you eat or drink that has calories. If you don't do it like that, it's more than likely that you are eating more than you think, maybe so much that you won't lose, or lose more slowly than you have to, or so little that you'll crash and burn. Don't do any of that. You will make mistakes, but it's smart to avoid the most obvious mistakes.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    alondrakayy wrote: »
    First and foremost: buy a scale and weigh ALL of your food. That's the very best advice I can give you.

    Honestly, I think 14-15k is not enough for a male.. but I'll let other, more knowledgeable peeps advice you on that one.

    I totally agree a scale is the most helpful thing. And in addition LOG EVERYTHING you eat.

    I think you meant 14 - 15 hundred isn't enough not thousand tho right, lol.
  • potatoyeti
    potatoyeti Posts: 38 Member
    Thanks for your input everyone. I need to invest in a scale.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    potatoyeti wrote: »
    Thanks for your input everyone. I need to invest in a scale.

    Yes :) This is probably a combo of:

    1. The diet honeymoon. It's common when people overhaul their diet to take some time to get accurate hunger signals, or to ignore hunger signals subconsciously.
    2. If you aren't using a scale, you are probably eating more than you think.

    Don't sweat it in the short term, you just don't want to undereat long term. Get that food scale and get used to making a habit out of logging accurately and consistently. Good luck!
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