Advise needed!

IamEmmilia
IamEmmilia Posts: 2 Member
in Getting Started
Hi all!

I'm new to MyFitnesspal and calorie counting. I am not too sure how this works, im on 1200 cals per day. Do I try and use all my calories and lose weight? Can i eat what i want and still lose weight? I work in an office so food prep and cooking is harder as I don't have much time. Any advise on food?

Thank you x

Replies

  • TheMrWobbly
    TheMrWobbly Posts: 2,541 Member
    Good morning Emmilia,

    Start with logging your food to see where you are. Once you see the horrors of some of the sat fat, sugar and salt content in what you normally eat you start by shopping with those things in mind and you will buy better food. If you are a fast food, on the go sort of person see the nutrition is and it will hopefully change your buying pattern.

    I don't know how much weight you want to lose however if you really want to lose there will some tough choices on changing habits.

    Track your first week accurately and see where you go from there.

    I work with no access to shops and I have switched from sandwiches to salads, from left over pizza to soup and just a general change in mindset on what I eat.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Set your calorie target properly (a daily deficit to achieve a weekly weightloss of no more than 1% of your bodyweight).

    Get a food scale. Use it. Log everything you eat (and drink that has calories) in your food diary. Prelogging helps. Hit your calorie target consistently. You can bank calories for the weekend if you like.

    You can eat what you want and lose weight. It's actually a requirement; feeling deprived and trapped and miserable is how you end up self-sabotaging and rebound eating and regaining.

    All the tips and advise on food are merely suggestions. Giving advisers (government, health gurus, diet book writers etc) the benefit of the doubt, they want to help people lose weight and improve health, but it has the opposite effect, it leads us to think there's only one way, and any other way is failure, not reflecting on how extremely diversified the advise on food are.

    This means that I'm not going to give you any specific advise on food, beyond "eat a balanced and varied diet, have some food from several groups for each meal, and foods from every food group every day, and different foods from day to day".
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    Yes, eat all your calories. If you exercise MFP will give you more. I agree that a digital food scale is important to start. You'll be fine. This is a day to day thing. Take your measurements and keep a journal because sooner or later the scale won't move and you can see your progress by your measurements. Read the success threads for inspiration. Good luck to you!
  • IamEmmilia
    IamEmmilia Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you so much! I need to break a habbit of buying ready meals and lose body fat %.
    I am definitely not a huru on macros so I have no idea how to track them so this is why I thought starting to count calories will ease me in.
    Thank you all for your advise! ❤
  • EifionCockram
    EifionCockram Posts: 122 Member
    its all a start. im sorta in the same boat as you. i grew up basically in restaurants n greasy spoon cafe. dont get me wrong, i do know how to cook. its just at times im to lazy to cook and cooking for one can be boring. i am trying to learn now and be healthier
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    IamEmmilia wrote: »
    Thank you so much! I need to break a habbit of buying ready meals and lose body fat %.
    I am definitely not a huru on macros so I have no idea how to track them so this is why I thought starting to count calories will ease me in.
    Thank you all for your advise! ❤

    When you lose weight, and not too fast, you lose mostly body fat.

    You need a plan to lose weight. What are you going to eat instead of ready meals?
  • kalyandc
    kalyandc Posts: 12 Member
    Calories in > Calories spend = weight gain; Calories in < Calories spend = weight loss.

    having said that maintaining calorific deficient, in long term, is not possible with high carb/fat diet. After all there is only so much you can push with willpower. So that is where whole/protein rich foods come into play, for long term success.

    While losing weight you would lose both fat and muscle. Muscle loss can be prevented to some extent by strength training and eating high amounts of protein.

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