Need help losing
lutzbenita
Posts: 2 Member
Does anyone have a weight loss plan that is easy to follow? I need to lose 50 lbs but it’s hard for me to stay on a rigid diet.
1
Replies
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You don't need a rigid diet, just a calorie deficit.15
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Get a reasonable calorie goal (MFP will set one for you). Log accurately and consistently hit that calorie goal.4
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Thank you both!0
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Start with logging what you are currently eating. Be honest and include everything, including drinks, cream and sugar in your coffee etc. Do this for a week or two just to get a baseline. Then you can look at what you need to cut out, cut back and what will fit.
I'm not one to cut out much and don't think going "clean" is the answer, but it may be pretty obvious (if you are honest) what you can drop and where you can add some bulk. 100 calorie apple is a lot more filling as a snack than 100 calorie chocolate. You can still have the chocolate, but be sure it fits.8 -
I agree that a restrictive diet is no good. There are no "bad" foods, just foods that are better choices for your body than others. I feel more energetic eating a 2-egg broccoli scramble than three pancakes, for instance. An egg is around 74 calories, if I remember correctly. Anyway, I paid more attention to eating vegetables and fruits instead of pizza, but I did incorporate carbs like rice and potatoes because I just am not into denying myself regular food. I also occasionally budgeted a piece of pie or a couple cookies into my daily calorie budget, because I was able to still lose weight using MFP logging and keeping a daily calorie deficit. Good luck!3
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In a shameless bit of self-promotion, I recommend this one:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm
Seriously, this is exactly the advice I'd give in response to your question, but am too lazy to re-type.
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Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
This means eat all the fresh veggies you want. And all meats in reasonable quantities. But keep in mind that sauces have ingredients on the label so they are out.23 -
Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
This means eat all the fresh veggies you want. And all meats in reasonable quantities. But keep in mind that sauces have ingredients on the label so they are out.
What's wrong with carbs? Or items with multiple ingredients? Hogwash.12 -
Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
This means eat all the fresh veggies you want. And all meats in reasonable quantities. But keep in mind that sauces have ingredients on the label so they are out.
Heh. Sounds like superstition, to me.
You know potatoes are a vegetable, I'm sure. They're quite nutritious (especially with skin), and many people find them helpfully satiating.
Can I have cauliflower? It's white. What about purple or orange cauliflower? That's OK, right?
Beyond that, I think you're saying it would be OK for me to make cabbage rolls (cabbage, onions, meat, herbs, onions, garlic), but not OK to buy them premade, because they have ingredients on the box. Sure, that makes sense.
Heh.10 -
Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
You obviously don't exercise regularly or train because going without carbs is a horrible idea if you do. Carbohydrates are the body's primary energy source which our body stores as glycogen and uses to do work. I eat carbs every day and I've lost twelve pounds in ten weeks while strength training four to five times a week.7 -
Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
This means eat all the fresh veggies you want. And all meats in reasonable quantities. But keep in mind that sauces have ingredients on the label so they are out.
8 -
Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
This means eat all the fresh veggies you want. And all meats in reasonable quantities. But keep in mind that sauces have ingredients on the label so they are out.
And that's a big ol' nope from me.4 -
Yup. I gave an over-simplification of Keto diet, Paleo and/or Atkins. There are exceptions to the "no white" rule, but it is a rule of thumb. Exceptions are onions, cauliflower, etc. I have been mostly keeping my carbs at 250g per day, but there are those who have great success with below 40g. Recently, I have been going for below 100g. Have you naysayers never heard of these?8
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DevilsFan1 wrote: »Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
You obviously don't exercise regularly or train because going without carbs is a horrible idea if you do. Carbohydrates are the body's primary energy source which our body stores as glycogen and uses to do work. I eat carbs every day and I've lost twelve pounds in ten weeks while strength training four to five times a week.
My cardio meets or exceeds just about anyone in my age group. I believe that if your goal is to be a body builder you are going to need lots of glycogen. But if weight loss is the primary goal, not so much.0 -
Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
This means eat all the fresh veggies you want. And all meats in reasonable quantities. But keep in mind that sauces have ingredients on the label so they are out.
Heh. Sounds like superstition, to me.
You know potatoes are a vegetable, I'm sure. They're quite nutritious (especially with skin), and many people find them helpfully satiating.
Can I have cauliflower? It's white. What about purple or orange cauliflower? That's OK, right?
Beyond that, I think you're saying it would be OK for me to make cabbage rolls (cabbage, onions, meat, herbs, onions, garlic), but not OK to buy them premade, because they have ingredients on the box. Sure, that makes sense.
Heh.
The problem with "premade" is the amount of preservatives and flavor enhancements. Yes, it is possible that the premade have no extra ingredients, but for the most part you are going to have tons of sodium like product added. Also, added sugar, fructose, whatever you want to call it.6 -
MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
This means eat all the fresh veggies you want. And all meats in reasonable quantities. But keep in mind that sauces have ingredients on the label so they are out.
What's wrong with carbs? Or items with multiple ingredients? Hogwash.
I was trying to give a simple rule that many have had success with. I guess I failed due to the negative comments. What is wrong with carbs is that we ingest too many. The white rule is a quick and easy way to identify and therefore keep out of one's diet. OP had requested a plan that was "easy" to follow. Many of the diets have complex rules to follow. What I suggested is easy and works for many.7 -
MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
This means eat all the fresh veggies you want. And all meats in reasonable quantities. But keep in mind that sauces have ingredients on the label so they are out.
What's wrong with carbs? Or items with multiple ingredients? Hogwash.
I was trying to give a simple rule that many have had success with. I guess I failed due to the negative comments. What is wrong with carbs is that we ingest too many. The white rule is a quick and easy way to identify and therefore keep out of one's diet. OP had requested a plan that was "easy" to follow. Many of the diets have complex rules to follow. What I suggested is easy and works for many.
weight gain isn't caused by too many carbs, its caused by too many calories.8 -
Yup. I gave an over-simplification of Keto diet, Paleo and/or Atkins. There are exceptions to the "no white" rule, but it is a rule of thumb. Exceptions are onions, cauliflower, etc. I have been mostly keeping my carbs at 250g per day, but there are those who have great success with below 40g. Recently, I have been going for below 100g. Have you naysayers never heard of these?
Heard of these approaches, sure? Are they necessary for weight loss - absolutely not. Keto, Paleo, Atkins - are all ways of eating that someone might choose, but the weight loss is derived from a sustained calorie deficit over time and you can achieve that eating low carb, high carb, white foods, black foods, etc.
Rules like don't eat foods with more than x ingredients, don't eat foods with ingredients you can't pronounce, don't eat white foods, shop the perimeter of the grocery store, etc are silly, arbitrary rules and seem to suggest that a person isn't smart enough to figure out the basic energy and nutritional needs for themselves and needs a list of rules to prevent them from overeating.
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OP -read through some of the stickied Most Helpful Forum Posts for advice on how to best use this site and how to successfully achieve your goals. This one in particular is really good, as are the links embedded within it.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1
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Some have had success with just not eating anything that has a list of ingredients on the box. Combine this with "If it's white, it ain't right." In other words, no pasta, rice, bread, potato - which are all carbs.
This means eat all the fresh veggies you want. And all meats in reasonable quantities. But keep in mind that sauces have ingredients on the label so they are out.
This seems unnecessarily complicated given that all it takes is a deficit to lose weight. You can do this while eating foods that come in a box or foods that are white or even sauces.
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WinoGelato wrote: »Yup. I gave an over-simplification of Keto diet, Paleo and/or Atkins. There are exceptions to the "no white" rule, but it is a rule of thumb. Exceptions are onions, cauliflower, etc. I have been mostly keeping my carbs at 250g per day, but there are those who have great success with below 40g. Recently, I have been going for below 100g. Have you naysayers never heard of these?
Heard of these approaches, sure? Are they necessary for weight loss - absolutely not. Keto, Paleo, Atkins - are all ways of eating that someone might choose, but the weight loss is derived from a sustained calorie deficit over time and you can achieve that eating low carb, high carb, white foods, black foods, etc.
Rules like don't eat foods with more than x ingredients, don't eat foods with ingredients you can't pronounce, don't eat white foods, shop the perimeter of the grocery store, etc are silly, arbitrary rules and seem to suggest that a person isn't smart enough to figure out the basic energy and nutritional needs for themselves and needs a list of rules to prevent them from overeating.
OP asked for an easy way to lose weight. Yes, I agree that sustained calorie deficit is the only way. I never said Keto, Paleo or Atkins were the only way. In fact, I don't use them. I was just responding to those who said that a low carb diet would not work, as those 3 are low carb. Notice, in my original comment, I said that "some" have had success. You have added "necessary" for some reason. "Necessary" implies absolute.
I know some who would disagree with you on the "shop the perimeter of the grocery store" plan because if they don't go crazy and eat too much, it is a simple plan for losing weight. Many, including me, would disagree with your "silly, arbitrary" comment.
So, your plan is to log and weigh all foods you eat in order to not exceed the daily limit. And first one must find your BMR which is easy to do and add estimations of workouts on a daily basis. And you claim that this is what the OP asked for? An easy diet?3 -
Yup. I gave an over-simplification of Keto diet, Paleo and/or Atkins. There are exceptions to the "no white" rule, but it is a rule of thumb. Exceptions are onions, cauliflower, etc. I have been mostly keeping my carbs at 250g per day, but there are those who have great success with below 40g. Recently, I have been going for below 100g. Have you naysayers never heard of these?
Eating all the fresh vegetables I want (the advice in your post) would be enough to keep me out of keto.
Honestly, if someone wants to do keto or Atkins, that's fine. Some people have great success with those. But it requires more knowledge than just "don't eat white things" or "don't eat anything that comes in a box."3 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Yup. I gave an over-simplification of Keto diet, Paleo and/or Atkins. There are exceptions to the "no white" rule, but it is a rule of thumb. Exceptions are onions, cauliflower, etc. I have been mostly keeping my carbs at 250g per day, but there are those who have great success with below 40g. Recently, I have been going for below 100g. Have you naysayers never heard of these?
Heard of these approaches, sure? Are they necessary for weight loss - absolutely not. Keto, Paleo, Atkins - are all ways of eating that someone might choose, but the weight loss is derived from a sustained calorie deficit over time and you can achieve that eating low carb, high carb, white foods, black foods, etc.
Rules like don't eat foods with more than x ingredients, don't eat foods with ingredients you can't pronounce, don't eat white foods, shop the perimeter of the grocery store, etc are silly, arbitrary rules and seem to suggest that a person isn't smart enough to figure out the basic energy and nutritional needs for themselves and needs a list of rules to prevent them from overeating.
OP asked for an easy way to lose weight. Yes, I agree that sustained calorie deficit is the only way. I never said Keto, Paleo or Atkins were the only way. In fact, I don't use them. I was just responding to those who said that a low carb diet would not work, as those 3 are low carb. Notice, in my original comment, I said that "some" have had success. You have added "necessary" for some reason. "Necessary" implies absolute.
I know some who would disagree with you on the "shop the perimeter of the grocery store" plan because if they don't go crazy and eat too much, it is a simple plan for losing weight. Many, including me, would disagree with your "silly, arbitrary" comment.
On the perimeter of my Kroger: Produce, deli, bakery, meat, cheese, dairy, frozen desserts, health & beauty, magazines, hard liquor. Sounds good.
Here, I'll save us a couple of conversational steps:
You: You're not supposed to take "perimeter of the store" literally. Everyone know it means you should eat whole foods.
Me: That's exactly what makes "perimeter of the store" silly and arbitrary. Why not just say "eat whole foods"?
Yes, OP asked for a simple plan. She also asked for one that was not rigid.
You say "the "shop the perimeter of the grocery store" plan . . . if they don't go crazy and eat too much . . . is a simple plan for losing weight."
You know what's even simpler? Eat a well-rounded nutritious range of foods you enjoy, but don't eat too much. That's the essence of the plan I posted earlier. Does it require more information than that essence, in order to be actionable? Sure it does, just as "shop the perimeter, don't go crazy" does. And the information needed to make it actionable was also in the link I posted.
On a calorie-counting-oriented site, one will probably get calorie-counting-oriented advice, unless one explicitly asks for something else. And those of us who stick around and succeed, like me and most of the others posting on this thread, have typically used the MFP logging process, found it simple; and in many cases found it to be the key to succeeding while eating in a non-rigid way.So, your plan is to log and weigh all foods you eat in order to not exceed the daily limit. And first one must find your BMR which is easy to do and add estimations of workouts on a daily basis. And you claim that this is what the OP asked for? An easy diet?3 -
I log everything and have found it critical to losing weight. I believe that when one is new to this, some need a simple rule of thumb or program they can follow until they learn more. For me, it was Nutrisystem. I was working and had no time. Nutrisystem made it simple to lose weight. Was it cheap? No. Was it perfect? No. But, it got the job done. At some point, I no longer needed NS.
Recently, I had the opportunity to have a nutritional consultation with a PHD guy who was also a bodybuilder. In the diet he talks of how it is low carb and at some point, I should have a carb loading meal.
You are right that on a calorie-counting-oriented site, I should have never recommended anything other than counting calories. Oh, well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I am done. I surrender.4
This discussion has been closed.
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