New need help

rachel804allen
rachel804allen Posts: 5 Member
in Getting Started
Hi, I have alot of weight to loose and have done lots of yo yo diets. I want to try a calorie deficit as feel this is going to be a healthy option for me to do. How do you find out what your calories should be for a deficit? Also any hints on keeping my will power going will be much appreciated really want to get healthy, thanks

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    edited October 2023
    Well, first educate yourself about weight loss.

    This is myfitnesspal's explanation of how it calculates your calorie goal which includes a deficit needed to lose the weight you ask it to lose, i.e. asking it to "Lose one pound per week" would include your deficit to attain that goal.

    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

    Enter your stats in the Goals section, then use the numbers it gives you and log food and exercise for a long enough period of time to establish a good baseline data set, like two months.

    The numbers are all estimations. You have to run your own experiment to see how you do.
  • Shimmeringedge
    Shimmeringedge Posts: 1 Member
    Hello Rachel, We all know its not just about numbers and calculations. There is also an emotional and mental aspect to weight loss. One can be educated about wieght loss till they are blue in the face. As we all know it takes will and a little help to see it through. Its important to start of small with very small goals and milestones. Here is a simple calculator that might help with getting an idea of where to start.

    https://www.thecalculator.co/health/Quick-Weight-Loss-Calculator-62.html

    It is simple and easy to use. For myself I have found the main culprit for weight loss is not knowing the calories of food consumed. Once you get an understanding of Calories in the food you eat as well as their Macro Nutrients which are Carbs, Protein and Fat's and how they can work in your favor for more efficient weight loss. Hope this helps a little. You got this!

  • Rockymountainliving
    Rockymountainliving Posts: 27 Member
    edited November 2023
    It's also important to log the calories correctly. It is easy to go over by 500 day by choosing incorrect entries, eyeballing vs. weighing food and "forgetting" to log things like olive oil used for frying, salad dressing, ketchup etc. then not lose weight and get frustrated. You also don't need to jump in with lots of exercise. Just walk a bit more. For me, lean meats in the air fryer helps hunger and is low calorie.

    As far as the willpower, don't keep food at home you can't resist. Your family has to help with this. It won't kill them to not have the 3-4 foods around you can't resist.
  • frhaberl
    frhaberl Posts: 145 Member
    As mentioned above MFP will set a calorie goal for you based on the information you enter about your weight, age, height, gender, and activity level. The link provided by cmriverside will help you better understand MFP's approach if you want to do the research. There are other resources that can be found via a quick google search, but my advice is to not do that search and not put a lot of energy into finding "the right" calorie target (yet). Take what MFP gives you and focus your energy on learning how to accurately log your calorie consumption. Once you have been accurately logging your calories for 4-6 weeks, you may decide to tweak your calorie target, but I would resist all urges to do so any sooner than that.

    As far as maintaining willpower, I think it's most helpful to make changes that limit the amount of willpower you have to exercise. All changes will take some level of willpower to maintain at first, but you will probably find that some changes will quickly become habit and require less energy to maintain than others. I try to limit the number of changes I undertake at one time, and if it's still taking high levels of willpower after 2 weeks of being consistent with the change, I reevaluate whether there is a different way to achieve the same goal in a way that will more easily become a habit (or even something I enjoy!). There are some food changes that I've discarded (after a decent try) because the amount of time and energy it took to maintain them was not "worth it". One example would be a food/meal that I met my nutrition goals, but the rest of the family wouldn't eat and it was either more time consuming to prepare or expensive for me to justify having just for me. I "give up" on that food/meal and look for an alternative with similar nutritional benefit that my family will enjoy (or that I will enjoy enough to justify making it just for me). Figuring out that something is not sustainable for you is a win, not a failure.

    I also find that delayed gratification is a bit easier than deprivation. If I tell myself "you can't have that", I feel deprived and have to keep using willpower every time the urge to eat the forbidden food hits. If I say "you've planned to have that later this week" I only have to use enough willpower to resist eating it earlier or more often than I've planned.

    Having someone/something else to motivate you to do something is also a great willpower saver. I do enjoy walking, but there are days when it would take more willpower than I have to get me out for that walk. Most of those days my fur children provide the motivation with expectant and excited looks and dances towards the door that makes up for my lack of willpower. Add to that the walking challenge I signed up for and my competitive nature that does not want to fall behind, and I rarely miss a walk.

    Hope these tips help. YOU'VE GOT THIS!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    Rockymountainliving wrote: »
    It's also important to log the calories correctly. It is easy to go over by 500 day by choosing incorrect entries, eyeballing vs. weighing food and "forgetting" to log things like olive oil used for frying, salad dressing, ketchup etc. then not lose weight and get frustrated. You also don't need to jump in with lots of exercise. Just walk a bit more. For me, lean meats in the air fryer helps hunger and is low calorie.

    As far as the willpower, don't keep food at home you can't resist. Your family has to help with this. It won't kill them to not have the 3-4 foods around you can't resist.


    IF only!!!!

    I have a whole lot more than 3-4 problem "trigger" foods. :lol:

    I think you could also take the kids' and spouse's treat foods and put them in a cupboard or plastic bin and label it "Tom and the kids" and then tell yourself that it isn't yours. I don't steal from people, in general. I don't think it's really fair (and will lead to unnecessary conflict) if the other members of the household are expected to go along. They should be able to have foods they want and like regardless of what I do. If I tell myself that food is not mine, I won't "steal" it. It's theirs.

    Same trick at work. If I don't bring it in, it isn't mine...which goes for donuts and birthday cake and stuff like that left in the break room. I have to draw my own line in the sand as an adult.
  • Sparkuvu
    Sparkuvu Posts: 2,698 Member
    Go in this section to getting started most helpful posts. The very first one, FREE weightloss plan, is priceless and absolutely the pure truth. Number 10 riding the craving wave is also very helpful for me.
    Other thing I would do is honestly log your regular, current eating for about 2 weeks before you start and get a food scale to do it. Get at least the basic knowledge of reducing 500 calories each day will cause you to lose 1 pound a week and apply that to what you found that first two weeks.

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