So hard to lose weight - Help!
Jadu786
Posts: 141 Member
My weight is currently 151. I'm 5'5. I wear a size 8 in pants and a size S/M in shirts depending on where I shop. I work out 3-5 times a week and eat relatively healthy, but I do have a job where I sit a lot of hours in the day. I'd like to lose 10 lbs and get down to 141 and my ultimate goal would be 135. I wish that tracking would work for me. I am switching over from weight watchers to tracking in MFP, so I'm hoping this is successful. Does anyone have any tips that could help?
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The best thing is consistency. I Yo-yo’d for a year before finally committing early September. I’m finally getting some results. Also don’t sweat it if you gain or fall off track a few days. As long as you’re consistent you can’t fail. I also work sitting for 8 hrs a day, I try to sneak exercise by tightening my abs and holding it as long as I can. Just little things while I’m doing work1
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Do you weigh your food?1
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Nope I don’t but I do have a good scale1
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Food scale and accurate logging is the only way especially for the last 10-15lbs.
eating clean doesn't matter for weight gain/loss. you need to eat fewer calories than you use up (over time). the only way to really know is weight and log food (at least at first). A number of "clean" foods are pretty calorie dense so it doesn't take much (you wouldn't notice visually) to really be eating over the total calorie goal.
set-up your profile in MFP with your stats and goals (for 10lbs select ideally 0.5lb) and it will give you a goal. without exercise. eat back the exercise cals.2 -
Tracking will work for you. Aside from the rare medical problem, a calorie deficit will work for everyone. It’s the laws of physics. It can’t not work.
But a couple of things. There’s a significant learning curve that doesn’t get much discussion. First, there’s the math. All these calculators give folks the impression that the there is an exactly right calorie target for you and that the calculators know what it is.
The calculators work on averages. But no one is exactly average. Plus there are always calorie counting gray areas. The only real test of your calorie target is a downward trend at the scale. Be willing to experiment and tinker and feel around in the dark until you find the right target. This could take weeks or even a couple of months. Don’t be discouraged if it takes some time.
Second, you have to be able to live with your plan. A plan you won’t actually follow is not a good plan. Given the amount you want to lose. I’d suggest spending a lot of time looking for small changes that you think you can live with from now on. Keep an attitude of experimentation. Aim at doing this weight loss thing just once.5 -
Tracking will work for you. Aside from the rare medical problem, a calorie deficit will work for everyone. It’s the laws of physics. It can’t not work.
But a couple of things. There’s a significant learning curve that doesn’t get much discussion. First, there’s the math. All these calculators give folks the impression that the there is an exactly right calorie target for you and that the calculators know what it is.
The calculators work on averages. But no one is exactly average. Plus there are always calorie counting gray areas. The only real test of your calorie target is a downward trend at the scale. Be willing to experiment and tinker and feel around in the dark until you find the right target. This could take weeks or even a couple of months. Don’t be discouraged if it takes some time.
Second, you have to be able to live with your plan. A plan you won’t actually follow is not a good plan. Given the amount you want to lose. I’d suggest spending a lot of time looking for small changes that you think you can live with from now on. Keep an attitude of experimentation. Aim at doing this weight loss thing just once.
There endeth the lesson ^^^^ This sums it up nicely.1 -
Also, as you have time, read the "Most Helpful Posts" sections in the forum. The ones in "Getting Started" and "General Health, Fitness and Diet" are a good place to start. Lots of useful info in there - it'll help you get the most out of MFP!2
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Thank you everyone!0
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Weigh your food
Eat a proper calorie deficit
Be honest in your tracking
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