New & Scared...looking for encouragement

You will love it....dont be scared. Friend request sent!

Welcome! You will find GREAT people here.

Some things I have learned...
1. In the first weeks of starting exercise program most folks gain weight because muscle weighs more than fat. SO don't just weigh yourself... MEASURE to see what your body is really doing.
2. NEVER eat less than about 125O calories... OR try to loose too much too fast. Your body goes into starvation mode and retains fat.
3. It took YEARS to put on the weight... eat HEALTHY (food pyramid) exercise regularly... and slowly it will come off.
4. Also, SLOW weight loss is most likely to stay off long term.
5. DON"T "diet"... just learn to eat properly and exercise regularly. Make your goal "good health."
6. Eat back at least SOME of your exercise calories. This motivates me to exercise more!
7. Don't deprive yourself. Learn to have just ONE bite of that cake. Total deprivation may lead to fast weight gain later.
8. As you gained weight you probably had plateaus going up. Your body remembers these plateaus and will automatically plateau there again on the way down. Some refer to these as "set points." It may take some time and sometimes some adjustments to get past them.
9. Mix it up. Vary your exercise from day to day and vary your menu. If you get bored you are less likely to be successful.
10. Fill out your MyFitnessPal.com profile, particpate on the boards and add some friends who will encourage you (and maybe inspire you too) .... and HAVE FUN with it!!
11. Move More + Eat Less = Lower Weight

"It matters not if we try and fail, and try and fail again. But it matters much if we try and fail and fail to try again."

Welcome, Mandi! My name is Mary; just joined here about a month ago. This is a good site. I don't do well on traditional diets; I do better when I can track what I am eating, and how much I am exercising, so this has been a big help to me. You put in what u ate for the day and how much u exercised, and then it calculates what ur net calorie intake was. If it does not feel that it was sufficient when u click finish, a little disclaimer will pop up at the bottom of the screen, warning u that u may be putting ur body into starvation mode. This helps me stay on track; before I eat something I know I shouldn't, I think, "I really don't want to have to put that on myfitnesspal!" That usually stops me lol. I am trying to lose the last few pounds of post-baby weight (my youngest is 2); have been going to Curves for about 4 years; recently discovered Zumba (actually getting ready to take the class to become an instructor, and I'm NERVOUS lol), and also doing the Couch 2 5k program (just started that one-still on the first phase of that). Good luck in ur weight loss endeavors-40 pounds is an awesome amount to lose :happy: