New here, advice welcome!

It can all be very overwhelming, and trying to do it all at once is a recipe for failure.
I suggest logging for a while, even before making any serious changes to your diet.
Weigh (with a scale is best) everything you eat, and write why you are eating it (i.e, lunchtime, hungry, kind of bored, out with friends, watching tv) and how you are feeling right before, right after and an hour after (hungry, comfortable, normal, full, very full bloated, drowsy).
This gives you a baseline pattern for your normal habits and routine. From there, it's just a matter of experimenting. Are you very full after dinner? Cut back on a few things. Does lunch leave you bloated and gassy after an hour, try less or no mayo, and see if there's something you don't mind dropping each meal (fries, or cheese, or maybe only 2 tacos instead of 3).It's amazing how quickly these small and easily sustainable changes will add up to big calorie cuts. Only cut one or two things at a time, until they become habit instead if trying to do everything at once. That way they become individual habits instead of one big "diet". So when you backslide you won't drop everything at once, just one or two habits, that you can fix again more easily.

OP, I wish you good luck. Your plan sounds very reasonable!

I am trying the exact same thing you are. Cut out soda, drinking more water, counting calories, working out on the elliptical and bike, walking the dog, strength training. So far, I have been working out 7 days a week but I might cut that back if it feels like too much so far it is okay I kind of like it. I am down 15 pounds since January. I eat back some of the exercise calories but not all.

Mr_L33 wrote: »

sure, if ur goal is so solely lose weight in terms of number, by all means, eat a big mac every day as long as u dont go over ur number. ull lose weight for sure. being healthy about it is another story

my definition of clean eating is being under your caloric goal, and hitting all your macros without going over with all your meals. so ull satisfy both ur weight and body requirements for losing weight and toning the body when u work out

This sounds more like an IIFYM approach, which is what I and a lot of others aim for.

ashleyandbrian3 wrote: »

So, I just started a new journey almost 2 weeks ago, tried keto, but just couldn't stick it out, felt like I was starving myself. So I did some research and have decided to stick with a 1,500 calories diet & working out 5/7 days of the week. Of course there are days where I eat a little more, but not over 2000. I've cut out sugary drinks, drinking more water, & working my butt of at the gym! So far I'm close to 8lbs lost. Anybody else done something similar? Did it workout good for you?

I lost 55 pounds sticking to a similar approach (though my calorie goal was usually a little higher and eventually I paid a little more attention to my protein). The important thing is to find the way of eating that let's you be in a calorie deficit the easiest. It sounds like you're well on your way!

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