Want to lose weight but have no idea where to start!!!

Use the MFP calorie and activity tracker to set up your calories based on activity level and make a point to eat less calories than your allowed limit.

When you exercise MFP will add in additional food calories for you. Don't eat all of them back. Maybe eat half the extra calories back.

I am turning 58, 5'2" and over the last 2 years, I went from 117 to 141(all belly). I am trying a low carb diet change. It's been 16 days. Eating 700-900 calories a day, staying under 100 carbs, usually 60-70 and only lost 3 lbs. This programs says I don't eat enough, but this is who I am. I have cut out all snacking, carbs & sugar add weight. lol. Will the changes kick in eventually? Seems really slow progress or not working.

OK, even if you don't have a monthly cycle give it some time. Periods often create strong weight fluctuations, but those happen for other reasons as well, so it's good to give things some time before trying to readjust your plan.

Good luck!

casandraeaddy wrote: »

@hipari i put the lightly active exercise 1-3 times a week because I just started and didn’t want to go higher than that just in case I didn’t do exercise more than 3 days a week I will adjust when my activity level goes up. I use the scanner option and verify the information is correct on MFP be the container I’m scanning. I do not have a monthly cycle as I had to have a hysterectomy in December. Thank you for your help !

MFP's designed for you to set your activity level based on your daily life (job, home chores, etc.), not including intentional exercise. Then, it wants you to log exercise when you actually do the exercise, and eat back a reasonable estimate of those calories, too.

It seems like doing it that way would better suit you, if you're uncertain of exercise amounts? (It will put the calories on the day of exercise, but if you want to "bank" some and eat them on a near-future day, that's fine. Quite a few people go by their weekly total, to do that. (It can be seen in the phone/tablet app, on the Nutrition/Calories/Week View part of the app. I don't think it shows up in web-browser MFP).

If you prefer to have the same calorie goal every day whether you exercise or not, a slightly better way to do that** would be to use an outside TDEE calculator to estimate your calorie needs, then manually set a calorie goal in MFP. (** That's because of some technical differences in how they typically do the calculations between NEAT (pre-exercise) needs calculators, which MFP is one of, and TDEE (all-activity) needs calculators. There are lots of TDEE calculators, but one I think is help full is https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/ , which has more activity levels to choose from, with good descriptions of the activity levels, and uses/displays multiple different research-based formulas so you can see the range of variation between different studies' implications).

BTW: I personally use the MFP method, with a pre-exercise calorie goal, then log and eat back exercise. Been doing it that way for almost 5 years now, to lose weight for almost a year, and now to maintain a healthy weight.

It's good that you're checking the scanner results against the package, because the scanned entries are no more accurate than any others in the database: They're still crowd-sourced (user entered), so can be wrong, sometimes very wrong. It's not a direct data feed from the manufacturer, as some people imagine.

You don't have to answer this question on the forum, but what type of hysterectomy did you have? Sometimes they leave one or both ovaries in place, sometimes they remove them. If you still have ovaries, you can still have hormonal cycles that can have water weight implications for some, even though you're not having actual menstrual periods anymore.

Best wishes!

casandraeaddy wrote: »

@AnnPT77 I filled out the information on the link you posted however, with all the numbers and things to look at my eyes went cross eyed lol

In regards to the hysterectomy they did leave both ovaries.

If the TDEE calculator is a bit much, I'd suggest you use MFP as designed, then: Set your MFP activity level based on what your life is like not including intentional exercise. Then, log your exercise when you do it, and eat those calories back, too. (It's fine to carry some over to a later day.)

Some people worry that their exercise calories may be overestimated. A common strategy is to eat back half or three-quarters of them at first, until you have that 4-6 weeks of actual weight loss experience. At that point, you can use your average weight loss rate to figure out whether you can eat a little more for better energy/fullness, or can safely eat a little less to lose faster without it becoming unsustainable or unhealthful.

Best wishes!

casandraeaddy wrote: »

I can’t seem to eat all the calories I need for example yesterday I was supposed to eat 1340 cal and I only ate 1100 cal I don’t want to eat when I’m not hungry so what are alternative snacks or something that I can eat to help me reach my calorie intake for the day or is it ok to be a few hundered calories under ?

Nuts are good. Nutritious, calorie-dense, not very filling. Peanut butter is another. Avocados, full-fat dairy products instead of low/nonfat if you eat dairy, a little extra butter or oil or dressing on veggies/salad or used in cooking.

It's fine to be under sometimes, as long as you're not overall losing weight at an unhealthfully fast rate. (Unhealthfully fast rule of thumb, no more than 1% of current body weight per week unless under close medical supervision, slower is fine; slower recommended if less than around 50 pounds above goal weight).

If you're regularly and frequently that far under your goal, and are just getting started so don't know how fast you're losing yet, it would be a good idea to eat closer to goal calories until you have that 4-6 weeks of experience.

It's not unusual to feel full and not hungry at first, especially if you've switched what you eat to include more of the less processed or whole foods, which many people find more filling. The problem is that undereating is unhealthful, and speaking as someone who did it unintentionally/accidentally for a bit, a person can feel great for a while, then hit a wall. (I got weak and fatigued, then took several weeks to recover even after I started eating more.)

Also, undereating can feel fine for a while, but suddenly result in an an uncontrolled/way-over-goal day(s) if the body rebels (especially likely if under stress, or fatigued for other reasons). That's obviously counter-productive, and for a few people can set up binge/restrict cycles and a dysfunctional relationship with food.

If you're having trouble eating enough, especially if you're already getting close to your protein and fat goals (those are important for health!), it's also fine to eat a considered portion of some treat food, and it can even be psychologically helpful to fit those in now and then. Some people like a couple of squares of good chocolate, a small cookie, an ounce or smaller of chips/crisps, some ice cream, or something like that. If you've been telling yourself not to have treats because they're "junk food" and bad for you . . . consider that eating too few calories is also bad for you. (Besides, the badness of those things is pretty overstated, if you're otherwise getting overall good nutrition, and having small treat portions. ) If you're avoiding treat foods because you can't eat them in moderation, then that's a different matter.

casandraeaddy wrote: »

How much fats should I be eating a day MFP has me with a goal of not over 45 g of fat day a day is that right ?

Many of us look at fat and protein goals as minimums, or at least try to get up close to them if not over. We need a certain minimum of fat and protein for health.

When we cut calories, we still need that same minimum. At low calories, the percentage-based approach tends to put them on the lower side of absolute needs (but this varies because people choose different extremes in calorie goal).

In health and nutrition terms, the exact amount of carbs matters less (unless someone has a relevant health condition such as diabetes), so those can be used to balance out the calories. (A few people find that eating too low carb hurts their energy level, or eating too high carb spikes their appetite/cravings. Those are individual, so you'd have to figure out via experience whether either one applies to you. As you'd guess, "too high" and "too low" is a personalized number, too, not an absolute.)

So, try to get at least to your protein goal and fat goal, or close. Over is fine. Try to get a reasonable minimum number of daily servings of veggies and fruits, too (USDA and the like usually recommend 5+) .

All of that protein-fats-carbs-veggies/fruits stuff is about nutrition and health.

For weight loss, only calories matter, especially in the short run.

In the long run, poor nutrition can cause fatigue (so we move less, and burn fewer calories). In the long run, poor nutrition can cause hunger/cravings, so cause people to eat too many calories. In those way, poor nutrition can indirectly affect weight loss.

In a direct sense, weight loss is about getting your calorie intake (via eating) below your calorie expenditure (via daily life and exercise).

Weight loss is just calories. Nutrition is important for health. Most of us want to be healthy, not just thin, though, right?

*Measure your food.* Limit processed foods. *Keep your food diary. *Drink plenty of water.* exersize.
I'm in an ultimate accountability group that's real good.