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Gigielijah
Gigielijah Posts: 1 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I’m new to MyFitness Pal and would appreciate any support and/or encouragement you can provide.
I’m seriously overweight and realize I have to make some changes. I’ve never was taught how to eat correctly or make wise food choices. The majority of my life, I pretty much ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. And any activity has been few and far between. What I’m asking for is help with making major lifestyle changes. It’s easy to say, “do this-not that” or “eat this-not that” but when your life has gone a particular way for such a long time, you realize you can’t do it alone and need to cry out for help. This is my cry today.

Replies

  • CDuke45
    CDuke45 Posts: 2 Member
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    [quote="Gigielijah,
    Hello I am with you and we can be one another's support if you would like. I am no health specialist obviously because I am here to however, I am willing to share recipes and encourage anyone wanting to do better. You got this.

  • abbyhodgkinson
    abbyhodgkinson Posts: 7 Member
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    Hey, I know how you feel I'd love to be your support but I have no idea how to add you as a friend lol.....
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,256 Member
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    I would suggest NOT making "major lifestyle changes", actually. Changing every single thing all at once rarely succeeds for the long term. It's just too easy to throw the whole effort away when one tiny thing goes wrong. I'd focus on smaller changes that you can do consistently. Get one step integrated every week or two and go on to the next. Track your food. Switch to non-caloric drinks. Add a fruit or vegetable to every meal. Make a meal plan for the next day. Walk for 30 minutes. Find some reputable sources and learn more about nutrition. All of those things will add up to major changes and be much more likely to become long-term habits.

    After all, how do you eat an elephant?

    One bite at a time B)
  • MaggieGirl135
    MaggieGirl135 Posts: 986 Member
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    I agree, makes changes slowly, so they can “stick”. A good first step is to log your foods without even trying to cut down on calories. You will learn how to use the food diary part of the app that way. Then, after a few days, go to the goals section and set some!
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,348 Member
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    abbyhodgkinson wrote: »
    Hey, I know how you feel I'd love to be your support but I have no idea how to add you as a friend lol.....

    What works for me for adding friends (using the browser on my phone or my desktop to consult the forums):
    - tap on the username of the person you want to add: a window will pop up
    - tap on 'view profile': you'll be taken to their forum profile
    - edit the web address of the page by removing 'community.' at the beginning: you'll be taken to their profile where you should see a friend request button
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    The key in losing weight, and take this from someone who has lost 230 pounds, is to make small, SUSTAINABLE changes. this is a long term effort. not a sprint. you will not lose weight fast. you will not lose weight every week. you will have weeks on end with NO weight loss. its normal. trust the process.

    my main tips:

    learn how to weigh (on a food scale) your food properly and find ACCURATE database entries now. I don't know what your starting weight is, but at first you may have a lot of room for error. but as you have less to lose, you don't. If you learn how to do things properly from the beginning, it means you don' have to RE-LEARN how to do it later.

    Find an activity you ENJOY. You don't have to be a runner (ew- though I have begun. and i hate it. I much prefer other cardio). You don't have to work out at all to lose weight (weight loss happens in the kitchen). BUT... physical activity does have a LOT of benefits. Both mental and physical. It can be as simple as a leisurely stroll a few times a week. And as you lose weight, you may find (I did), that you WANT to do more. Simple, little things like parking a bit further out in parking lots. Taking stairs instead of elevators. walking to your mailbox instead of pulling up to it in your car as you are pulling in your driveway. Small things. Every bit counts.

    Understand that you do not have to give up your favorite foods or any food groups to lose weight. You DO need to learn how MUCH you can eat. Portion control. This goes back to my first point. For the most part, I eat the same things I always have. Just less of them. I eat burgers and pizza and chips and cookies. Just ... not all in the same day ;) well, I might could get away with it if I planned it out REALLY well. And stuck to the plan with NO deviation. Maybe. LOL

    You will have 'bad' days. Whether its a holiday or just a ... bad day. Life happens. you will go over. It is NOT the end of the world. You will not ruin your deficit with one bad day. The problems come in when that one bad day becomes two, becomes 3, becomes a week, and goes on....

    You've got this. Take it one day at a time, and each day, try to do a little bit better. Don't try to do everything all at once. Don't try to make 1000 changes all at once. Most people who burn out, do so because they try to do too much, too soon. start small. build from there. You did not gain the weight quickly. You will not lose it quickly. Better to lose it slowly, and KEEP IT OFF, then lose it quick, and gain it all back and more!

    I've been at this a long time. It becomes a part of your life, and like any other habit, you don't think about it much, really. Your eating habits slowly change. You weigh and log your food. Your activity levels (usually) change, at least to some degree. You become more mindful of what you are putting in your shopping cart and body. My one (or two) words of caution is to make these changes slowly. Most people who go 'All in' head first and full steam, burn out quick. Your first couple of weeks, maybe even first month, most people will lose a fair amount fairly quickly, but most of it is water weight (usually from a natural, not intentional, reduction in carbs). It does slow down, as your body adjusts. It's normal, and is SUPPOSED to happen, so don't get discouraged. Also, don't set your calories too low. The fastest rate of loss (1200 for women and 1500 for men) is not the best rate of loss. Although very tempting to set it to lose faster, it will make it harder for you to maintain and stick to your calorie goals because you will be ... well, hungry. Be kind to yourself, give yourself a few more calories, and you will still lose weight and be less likely to deviate from your plan and therefore more likely to succeed. :)

    Useful Links
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

    and basically ... all of these :)

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-health-fitness-and-diet-must-reads#latest

    With recent changes to the forums, its not as easy to get to peoples profiles profiles anymore. The easiest way (from a computer) is to replace the user name (like in the url below) with the user name of the person you want to add. I dont care if you add me, but I will warn you, I am not the friend for everyone. I am very supportive, and off and on all day, so see most things, but I swear like a sailor and ramble incessantly about my life, and not just about diet and weight crap. I have an awesome group of friends who are pretty much the same. You are welcome to board to crazy train and hop off if you so choose. https://www.myfitnesspal.com/profile/callsitlikeiseeit

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