One month approaching

dregz
dregz Posts: 4 Member
edited December 2024 in Getting Started
It's been almost a month since I began trying eating well and tracking my eating on MFP. I really want to focus on my health, not just losing weight. I definitely am working towards losing around 70-80 pounds, but I want to do it right and use the same focus and discipline I harness to excel at work and apply it to my health, eating and self care. I'm working up to more vigorous physical activity but have been using the last 3.5 weeks to alter and get used to a healthy and measured way of eating, though I have been going on 3-4 mile speed-walks at the park. I've been in a lot of pain for years, but so far cutting preserved food, soda, sugar etc. has helped reduce that pain. For the last few years I've let myself eat what I want, when I want it and though it could be enjoyable, it got to a point where I just didn't want to eat garbage food anymore. I have the know-how and capability to eat and do the things that are good for me, so on the 4th of June I just stopped. I'm tired of being depressed, fat, tired and in pain. I'm tired of being under the control of addictive trashy food that's actively making me sick but is accessible everywhere you go and in gross abundance.

I want to be in a physical condition to enjoy my life and not feel ashamed of how I look and feel. So far the eating well has been going great, and the next step is routine exercise. I'm thinking of introducing workout videos on youtube for cardio and kettle bells to build muscle back up, and eventually yoga once I can stretch and bend better. I honestly hate exercise but with clean eating and pain reduction I hope to eventually enjoy it.


Here's a snapshot of my weekday diet. I'm trying to keep it simple and fresh as possible. I'll switch around the protein for my dinner from chicken/lean pork/fish for variety, but I chose some core foods that go well together but are versatile enough to configure them into different meals. Honestly I've eaten pretty much the same meals majority of the days so far just to get a grasp of how my eating should be and making that come to me as naturally as possible. It's also relaxing for me to cook after work, clean up, and enjoy my food.


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I think I've used this site before around a decade ago (caloriecount?) and lost weight the wrong way, this time I want to be healthy first and foremost.

Replies

  • AyoBenni2618
    AyoBenni2618 Posts: 24 Member
    I understand the calorie deficit but bro you are not eating enough. You will lose weight this way but it will be more muscle than fat. Don't become enamored with that the scale says but monitor your body fat percentage.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Good for you for wanting to lose weight in a healthy way. I agree with the poster above that you are not eating enough. The general recommendation is that men NET no less than 1500 calories per day in order to maintain proper organ function and basic health. Also, in case you aren't aware, this site is designed for you eat back your exercise calories to hit that net calorie goal.

    I would suggest you use the guided setup on this site to enter your stats and choose an appropriate weight loss goal. I would say 1-1.5lb/week would be appropriate with 70-80lbs to lose. Then follow what MFP tells you for about 6 weeks and re-evaluate your progress.

  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    If you want your logging to be accurate you will want to use a food scale.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

    You also want to avoid generic and homemade db entries for the most part. Stick with USDA entries as much as possible. The generic listing for Tilapia looks right though. I should know as much of it as I eat.

    Hopefully you are eating more than you logged. Focusing on your health is a good thing but for health food is fuel first and nutrients second. It is better to eat whatever you consider "garbage" and get enough calories than eat too little of more nutrient dense foods.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    AyoBenni2618 wrote: »
    I understand the calorie deficit but bro you are not eating enough. You will lose weight this way but it will be more muscle than fat. Don't become enamored with that the scale says but monitor your body fat percentage.

    I think it's more a case of he's not logging accurately and therefore probably eating way more calories than it appears.

    There's a whole lot of volume and 'serve' measurements there and the biggest red flag is that are an odd amount of entries with perfectly rounded calories which tends make me think that entries are being manipulated to reflect the amount of calories that they want to show rather than the amount of calories actually consumed.

    It'd be interesting to see that same day recorded where everything was accurately weighed. I suspect there might be a very different calorie total.

    But to be honest that's kind of irrelevant if what OP is doing is working.

    The goal is to lose weight and get healthy, which seems to be happening despite the logging method. In the end you only really need to log as diligently as required to get the results you're after and if rough logging and ball-park servings is doing the job then I wouldn't go messing with a winning formula. If later on things get off track or the results stop coming, then it might be time to invest a bit more time and effort into logging more accurately to get the ball rolling again.
  • AyoBenni2618
    AyoBenni2618 Posts: 24 Member
    Danp wrote: »
    AyoBenni2618 wrote: »
    I understand the calorie deficit but bro you are not eating enough. You will lose weight this way but it will be more muscle than fat. Don't become enamored with that the scale says but monitor your body fat percentage.

    I think it's more a case of he's not logging accurately and therefore probably eating way more calories than it appears.

    There's a whole lot of volume and 'serve' measurements there and the biggest red flag is that are an odd amount of entries with perfectly rounded calories which tends make me think that entries are being manipulated to reflect the amount of calories that they want to show rather than the amount of calories actually consumed.

    It'd be interesting to see that same day recorded where everything was accurately weighed. I suspect there might be a very different calorie total.

    But to be honest that's kind of irrelevant if what OP is doing is working.

    The goal is to lose weight and get healthy, which seems to be happening despite the logging method. In the end you only really need to log as diligently as required to get the results you're after and if rough logging and ball-park servings is doing the job then I wouldn't go messing with a winning formula. If later on things get off track or the results stop coming, then it might be time to invest a bit more time and effort into logging more accurately to get the ball rolling again.

    Totally makes sense, I honestly only paid attention to the total. If it is accurate though he his hurting his body more than helping. I like how you analyzed that.
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