What food to eat

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leticiaposada
leticiaposada Posts: 8 Member
in Getting Started
What food do you buy now that you are trying to lose weight. Or what food to stay away from

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  • k8eekins
    k8eekins Posts: 2,264 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Welcome Leticia. Firstly, please have a thorough-read here to quickly acclimate yourself with how and where your priorities should lie, when considering how you'll choose to approach your eating plan for weight loss.

    A good majority of us, stick with our food preferences with some alterations at different junctures, depending on our athletic sports specific readiness, fitness level comfiture and aesthetics for upcoming events for example, always health goals conscious.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,136 Member
    edited October 2019
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    I buy more fruit, veg & pulses now than I did before, but in terms of meals I eat more or less what I ate before just in smaller portions.

    I found for me the best way to improve my health & nutrition was to take the following approach:
    1. Get used to logging all foods accurately and honestly first - this helped with seeing how much I was overeating and seeing where I might be needlessly taking in calories.
    2. Start aiming for a moderate calorie deficit - this is the primary building block of weight loss. To lose weight you must simply be in a calorie deficit.
    3. Once I managed to get into a calorie deficit I started to focus on macros - this helps with satiety and adherance. For me it's particularly important to meet my Protein & Fat requirements, otherwise I feel hungry and fatigued which affects my training and also my ability to fight my binge eating habits.
    4. Then I started focusing on things like getting more fibre, vitamins & minerals through my diet by including more fruit and veg.

    TL/DR focus on calorie intake first and foremost for weight loss and improve your nutrition over time, it's easier to make new habits one at a time rather than changing everything all at once.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Same stuff as before -- eggs and dairy and meat (good bit of which is fish), vegetables, fruit, staples in the pantry typically include dried and canned beans, canned tomatoes, dried pasta, oats, rice, other grains, as well as olive oil and lots of vinegars and of course various spices. Right now I'm getting a farm box that is giving me fall stuff like potatoes, winter squash, kohlrabi and beets, various greens, so I'm planning around that. Sometimes I include tofu or tempeh.

    Weight loss is about calories.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    leticiaposada wrote: »
    What food do you buy now that you are trying to lose weight. Or what food to stay away from

    You stay away from anything you have trouble moderating.

    When I started losing I just chose to eat less of what I had been eating. No reason to overthink it really. Depending on how much you need to lose you will have to adapt as your calories decline.
  • neyagoal
    neyagoal Posts: 65 Member
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    Welcome to MFP, first read all stickies and get weight scale, I personally like AnnPT77 post:FREE Customized Personal Weight Loss Eating Plan! (Not Spam or MLM) and can't recommend it enough. Enter ur data in mfp (be sure to choose proper activity level and loss rate) and log religiously - at least for the start, track ur progress and tweak as needed..good luck and lot of patience
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 1,994 Member
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    I agree
    NovusDies wrote: »
    leticiaposada wrote: »
    What food do you buy now that you are trying to lose weight. Or what food to stay away from

    You stay away from anything you have trouble moderating.

    When I started losing I just chose to eat less of what I had been eating. No reason to overthink it really. Depending on how much you need to lose you will have to adapt as your calories decline.

    I agree with this. I restricted foods pretty heavily at the beginning and found myself pretty miserable. Now I eat things that I like but try and keep it balanced with healthier choices, simply because I fill up more and feel better. The key is learning portion control to stay within your calorie deficit.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
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    leticiaposada wrote: »
    What food do you buy now that you are trying to lose weight. Or what food to stay away from

    I still eat my favorite foods. That's the whole point. You eat the foods you love so you don't feel deprived. You stay in a calorie deficit. You lose weight.
  • TeddyBear47
    TeddyBear47 Posts: 200 Member
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    I tend to eat what I like or that's just ok. I try and stay away from what I love, ex pizza, chocolate, chinese food. I will over eat and they are high in carbs, fat and salt.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
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    I tend to avoid fast food so that I can *continue to eat what I love* by making it at home with portion control and less calorie dense substitutions.

    I make pizza at home with whole wheat crust low fat mozz and a ton of veggie toppings that make it very filling.

    I eat pasta at home. I use whole wheat pasta because I find it more filling and I don't serve myself 4 portions in a serving bowl like they do at restaurants. I put TWO chicken breasts on top instead of one and get higher protein, better, longer lasting satiation and lower calories than two servings of pasta and one serving of chicken.

    However, if you're just starting, spend a week honestly logging what you eat. Look for trends and problem spots and then one week at a time, look for solutions to those problems. Trying to change everything at once is overwhelming and hard to keep track of. Plus it's easy to get fed up and just quit.

    If you just change one thing a week, it's easier to comprehend what that change has done for you, and it's easier to stick to that one little change without getting frustrated or miserable.

    Like... Spend one week controlling your serving of starchy foods or sugar or increasing your serving of protein or vegetables. Try eating JUST ONE SERVING of that thing you really like and see if you can do it and if you still feel ok with the smaller amount. Or substitute a different product for that thing you really like. Or altering the proportions of your dinner plate to be heavier in vegetables and lighter in starches.

    You don't want your life to be unrecognizable over night, or it's totally easy to get lost. One thing at a time, one week at a time.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    I buy pretty much the same foods, but not totally.
    When I realized where most of my calorie-rich but nutrition-poor choices were, I quit buying those things.
    I was drinking A LOT of Coca Cola. That was the first thing I quit buying. Followed by donuts (quick and easy, but I don’t really love them). When I discovered I eat what might be considered about 6 servings of cornbread at a time, I worked on eating a
    Lot less. But I would still have a coke or donut if I really wanted it. I just don’t.
    I buy more pre packaged salads. Faster than fast food and I love salad.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    leticiaposada wrote: »
    What food do you buy now that you are trying to lose weight. Or what food to stay away from

    I didn't really look at it that way. I was hoping to lose some weight, but my primary concern was my health and getting better nutrition overall and regaining my physical fitness with regular exercise.

    I started small and made changes here and there as I went...I didn't make any 180* changes overnight. I started eating more veg and fruit, trying to get in the recommended daily servings or at least coming close. I started eating more fish regularly and less fattier cuts of meat...though I still enjoyed a nice Sunday beef chuck roast at least once per month. I cut back on "junk food" but I didn't really eliminate anything...I just made it more of a treat than a regular thing, except for potato chips and such which I have a hard time eating in moderation...I didn't and still don't typically keep those in the house and if I do get them I just get a single serving bag.

    I also introduced more legumes, lentils, and whole grains like oats to my diet and made efforts to get the recommended amount of fiber in my diet or at least be close enough. I started exercising regularly...at first it was mostly a lot of walking. I eventually worked my way up to doing C25K and running a 5K. Down the road a bit I started lifting weights at the gym. I never really loved running, so one day I dusted off my beater of a bike and went for a ride...I've been riding religiously now for over 6 years.

    I had a lot of bad health markers going in, so fixing those was my primary objective. I lost about 40 Lbs along the way, which was icing on the cake, but also very likely to be a big part of my health markers improving.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    leticiaposada wrote: »
    What food do you buy now that you are trying to lose weight. Or what food to stay away from

    At 110kg (244lbs) I buy and eat the exact same foods I bought and ate when I was 160kg (352lbs) and it will be the same food I'll be buying and eating when I get to 85kg (187lbs).

    The difference is that now I'm cognisant of the number of calories that are in the foods I enjoy eating so can actively monitor and regulate my food intake to maintain an appropriate caloric intake.

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