Hello world

Butterlushbeauty
Butterlushbeauty Posts: 3 Member
in Getting Started
Hello ALL!
I’m new to fitnesspal and still trying to figure out how to use this thing.
Most importantly, I need help with nutrition. I can work out perfectly fine and lose the weight (in a bad way, “fasting”) but I’d like to do it the healthier way and try to understand calorie intake with everything else. I currently weigh 143lbs and would like to go back down to 130/135lbs, but I’d like to stay and look lean and toned out. Just not too sure where or how to start.

Replies

  • Rubysue17
    Rubysue17 Posts: 24 Member
    Hi Anna. Just remember: veggies, veggies, veggies, fresh fruits, especially berries, lean meats, fish and chicken. Make sure you get "good" fats. Make sure you drink a lot. Protein keeps you satieted. I have to limit carbs, but don't cut them out completely. Research on the internet to start to understand about eating healthy to loose weight.
  • ladyzherra
    ladyzherra Posts: 438 Member
    Hey there, welcome! This can all be overwhelming, I hear you. Take it slowly and spend some time reading about nutrition and fitness.

    Some members will definitely take issue with "fasting" being "a bad way" to lose weight. If by "fasting" you mean startvation and annorexia, then you are right. But, there is a whole lot of science (some would also say "pseudoscience") around fasting right now, and there are groups in MFP centered on fasting. Just a heads up there! :smile:

    What kind of fitness do you enjoy?
    What does your eating currently look like?
  • karawebb4
    karawebb4 Posts: 1 Member
    Is there a way to record intermittent fasting? There is a lot of compelling research on it's benefits, and I've made a goal to fast at certain times of day on certain days.
  • Butterlushbeauty
    Butterlushbeauty Posts: 3 Member
    I agree fasting has a lot of good benefits but I feel I’m
    Not doing it correctly lol i wouldn’t eat breakfast and my first meal would be at 1pm, and when i do have the time to eat, it’s usually big portions and unhealthy and other times i would eat once a day and just starve myself 😫 I want to be able to have meals that will help me get lean and toned
  • jeagogo
    jeagogo Posts: 179 Member
    At the end of the day a consistent calorie deficit will make you lose weight regardless of what time(s) of day you eat. Set a reasonable goal for yourself - with as little as you have to you you will probably not target to lose more than 0.5 lbs/week. Then think about how you are consuming those calories - @rubysue17 has the right recommendation as far as what to fill your diet with. Lots of foods aimed to help you feel full and energized. As you get going you'll get a better feel for what foods help you feel satisfied and give you energy for your exercise.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    Start right where you're at with CICO and follow the constructs of MFP. Do that and keep doing it until you reach your dream weight.

    Throw everything out with the bathwater. Whatever you've done in the past did not last so don't go back and keep picking it back up and doing it over and over again. Whatever we've done in the past that didn't bring us long term weight stability did not work. Time for a real change. Lasting changes.

    Give yourself permission not follow food gurus or conduct another food hack. Give yourself permission to draw a line in the sand with all of it. Eat the foods you enjoy because you're going to go back to them anyway when all of the dieting is said and done. Eat them now, don't wait. We can learn to moderate ourselves with food. Fasting won't fix anything and it never will. It's a temporary bandaid for temporary weight loss.

    Fasting is an imaginary dream that turns into a nightmare. Fasting won't fix whatever relationship you have with food that's not working for you. Eat the foods you enjoy in reasonable amounts. CICO all the way for the WIN. It works.
    It lasts. It sticks.

    MFP is a judgment free zone. Your diary, that is. It won't tell you, Oooo just look at what you've done, you naughty person, you ate all of the wrong things today. No. The constructs of MFP are subtle but with every passing day it will teach you to take a good hard look at your data points. If you don't know your numbers you don't know your business. Ignore your checkbook, cover your eyes and you know how that goes.

    Track your data points. CICO. Let the puzzle pieces come together for you. Fasting ain't the way to goooo.
    All of the rest of those diets....doing what we've always done will get us what we've always gotten. For me, that was rebound weight gain with friends.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    annajnok wrote: »
    Hello ALL!
    I’m new to fitnesspal and still trying to figure out how to use this thing.
    Most importantly, I need help with nutrition. I can work out perfectly fine and lose the weight (in a bad way, “fasting”) but I’d like to do it the healthier way and try to understand calorie intake with everything else. I currently weigh 143lbs and would like to go back down to 130/135lbs, but I’d like to stay and look lean and toned out. Just not too sure where or how to start.

    You don't have that much to lose, so you'll want to do it more gradually, to preserve muscle.

    Fill out MFP, be honest about your activity level (most people aren't actually sedentary, which is some tiny number of steps per day) and make your goal no more than 1 lb/week (some prefer .5 lb).

    It will give you a calorie and macro goal. The macro goal is a good place to start, although if you prefer a good rule of thumb for protein could be 0.65-0.8 g per lb of your goal weight.

    Figure out what eating pattern makes sense for you. Do you prefer skipping breakfast? If so, that's fine. Do you like bigger dinners or equal lunches and dinners most days? Do you like having room for snacking or no snacking? If not sure, try different things.

    One approach to healthy eating (as nutrition seems to be a focus) is to focus on getting in a good source of protein and some vegetables in all meals. I then like to add in fruit, healthy fats (nuts and seeds, olives and olive oil, avocados, fatty fish), and whole food or whole grain sources of carbs to fill out the meal. If you have cals left (or want to save a reasonable amount), it's totally fine to use them on some less nutrient dense treats. Think of your calorie goal as a goal, for health you will want to eat all of it, not as low as possible!

    Pay attention to how meals affect you -- are you happy and satisfied, overstuffed, hungry too soon after? If the meal doesn't work for you, consider changing it up.

    Ignore all those insisting there are ways that you have to diet/lose (cut carbs, eliminate all sugar, IF, eat breakfast, don't eat breakfast, stop eating by 6, no carbs at night, so on) -- there are always trends and old wives tales in the dieting industry and it's just noise there to confuse you or make you think what you like is wrong.

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