Brand new

s7jfcc5pq9
s7jfcc5pq9 Posts: 2 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello! I am brand new here, been using the app for 20 days so far. Just figured out how to get here…

So far the app has been helpful in raising my awareness and keeping track of my diet and exercise. I have not had any success in loosing any weight yet. Does this sound normal or has this happened to anyone?

I’m concerned I might not be using the app tools correctly because I was hopeful Id see some better results by now.
I look forward to any feedback, thanks!

Replies

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,938 Spam Moderator
    Welcome!

    Be patient. Stick to it!

    Have you gone through the guided set-up to figure out a good calorie goal? Are you using a digital food scale for everything you eat and logging it?

    Best thing to do is log completely and honestly, then after several weeks look at your results compared to the results you expected. Then you can make some changes to the number of calories you eat, and your diary can help you find out which foods help you fuel your body and fell full.

    Mostly - go slow, set good goals, be patient, and STICK TO IT!
  • s7jfcc5pq9
    s7jfcc5pq9 Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you! I think I’m staying on track with entering but it the interpreting part I may not be doing correctly. Should I be factoring in time of day I eat certain things?
    even if I’m staying within calories but occasionally going over % with macros, and sometimes calories per meal, is this an issue? I don’t entirely understand how to apply these things. I feel like I’m guessing at how to use the app.
    Also, I exercise almost daily. Should I not consume the extra calories my workouts add to my daily allotment? I appreciate any feedback,
    Thank you so much!
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,938 Spam Moderator
    If your primary goal is weight management (fat loss) the king and only real thing to concern yourself with for the most part is calories.

    Do yourself a big favor and spend twenty bucks on a digital food scale. They are easy to use. For things like oils or peanut butter, put the jar on the scale and tare (zero) the scale, then take out the amount you will use and the mass shows up as a negative value. You even get to lick the spoon because you've weighed it. Do some work the first time you pick foods from the database; there's some errors there, so make sure you're picking the right ones. After that, they show up in your recent and/or frequent foods.

    Macros can help. It's good to make sure you get enough protein, especially if you are doing strength training. Protein helps some people feel fuller for longer, so that's a good thing. Fat often does the same thing. For some people, carbs make them hungry sooner. That's not true for everyone. You will need to experiment. Focus on the nutritive value of foods in addition to (or instead of) macros. You could get your macros from Snickers bars (14 g of fat, 4 g of protein and 35 g of carbohydrate). Or you could eat the same 300 calories in balanced nutrition. That said, Snickers Bars are the old-school "power bar." They're cheaper and they aren't really any worse than many of the nutrition bars for sale. There's even some fiber in the nuts. You might be better off with a hand full of hazelnuts and an apple or banana. Maybe some avocado for the fat.

    Timing of meals doesn't matter for weight loss. I think that's a premium feature. It might give you insights if you go back through the information and find out what works best for you. I don't bother. I have weird names for my "meals," like "Coffee Time, Daytime Foods, Good Evening, How the Hell to Categorize, Intentionally Left Blank, and Mine Goes to Eleven."

    Going over for a meal is not a big deal. Even going over for a day isn't a big deal. Your body integrates calories over time, so as long as you are close to your goal for the week, you win. Some people "bank" calories for some days so they are available, for example, on the weekend. Also, if you set your target to have a 250 calorie deficit per day to lose a half pound a week, even if you go over your goal by 100 calories on a given day, you're still 150 calories in deficit. You will still lose weight, just a little slower.

    Add some rest days into your exercise routine for sure. Maybe do gentle things like walking on the rest days. If you're doing strength training, this is especially important as your muscles need rest to recover and rebuild.

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