Where to begin.......

"Diet" - no good. Life style change - that's the answer! Don't stress, take it easy. Trust MFP and use their calculations. Choose sensible macro percentages - best you stick with the ones your body is most happy with. Prepare a simple meal plan for the next day. Take it day by day, meal by meal. If possible, go for a little walk - just around the block to start with, enjoy nature. It has taken a bit of time to add that extra weight - so it will take a bit of time to lose some weight again. (Started 499 days ago on MFP, have so far lost 40 kg - about 90 pounds and a long way to go. Initially I was barely able to walk, now I can "do" about 3 hours. I trust MFP and all those supportive members - I regularly read up on lots of good MFP advise.) Give it a try - what could go wrong?

tlcarc00 wrote: »

I am once again trying to make better choices and lose weight. I am a horrible yo-yo dieter. I need help to make this a lifestyle change and not just another failed diet. Thanks in advance.

Welcome back! Often, people yo-yo because they try to do too much, and set up a lot of unnecessary rules rather than focus on the main stuff first.

For weight loss, calories are king. Start with just logging and hitting your calorie goal. You can always add more specifics once you have that down. These are a great place to start:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

MeghannVT01 wrote: »

Thank you for that response neugebauer52! I feel like I have a new start everyday. I am so overwhelmed. I feel like in the morning I will do keto and by the afternoon I know that's not the best path for me, and then I just give up. I really just need to trust MFP, stick to the calories calculations it gives me, and just go one day at a time. I feel like we get so many new "plans" thrown at us everyday that it gets overwhelming and at least for me, makes it feel like chaos and really I need to just trust the system.

There is no best plan there is only the plan that works for you. By working I do not mean weight loss because most of the named plans will accomplish that if you are in a calorie deficit I mean one that makes your weight loss journey the easiest possible.

I customized my own plan. I looked at how I normally failed, I tried a couple of different ways of eating, and then merged it all together.

What I read from you is that you are so result oriented you are scared to death you are wasting time for even half a day. That is going to keep you in analysis paralysis. Weight loss takes a very long time and if you are in amount of a calorie deficit you are making progress. I strongly suggest that you try to discipline yourself to focus on the process of daily living in a calorie deficit and then let the weight loss take care of itself.

Really the most important part initially is just not quitting. If you have a lapse and eat all the cookies in a 10 mile radius just log it and keep moving forward. Mistakes will happen and perfection gets in the way of good enough. I lost 158 pounds my first year and 11 percent of the time (approx 6 weeks of mostly nonconsecutive days) I was not even losing weight. I don't have to lose weight every day I just have to lose weight most days.