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What I'd do differently if I started mfp again...

Oishii
Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
edited October 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
1) For a couple of days I'd eat like normal and record everything, just to get a clearer picture of what I was eating.

2) For a couple of weeks I'd try out what mfp suggested as maintenance, and see what happened.

3) If I wasn't already losing, I'd set to lose .5 lb a week. I'd do this again a week later if I still wasn't losing, etc.

4) If weight loss stalled, I'd return to step 2.

Why? We are all different and the mfp figures don't work for everyone. Some find their maintenance calories are far higher (my case) or lower than predicted. Also, going from 1200 calories to maintenance can make it really hard to know what to eat to get enough calories, or you may suffer from what I call 'Christmas Syndrome' when it feels like reaching goal is like Christmas and you can eat whatever you like!

Hope this helps someone out there. Hope it helps me too if I (fingers crossed!) have baby weight to lose again :laugh:

Replies

  • Mom2rh
    Mom2rh Posts: 612 Member
    I would take before pictures and before measurements.
  • PennyNickel14
    PennyNickel14 Posts: 749 Member
    I would have

    1. Learned how to adjust my macros and what macros are displayed.

    2. Gotten MFP friends and gotten involved earlier. It's made a huge difference.
  • claire_xox
    claire_xox Posts: 282 Member
    I really wish I had recorded how I ate beforehand too!

    My only other thing would be that I wouldn't tell people I'm doing it! I get bagged out a lot,
  • LilMissFoodie
    LilMissFoodie Posts: 612 Member
    Yep, this is exactly why as a dietitian, I would always start with small changes (that, and it obviously makes the whole process easier on the patient and their lifestyle!). But then, have you seen the posts from people on here saying things like 'the dietitian told her to cut down her coke from 2 litres to 2 cups per day, as if that's going to help her lose weight'?. HELLO! That's like almost 1000 calories you are cutting out! I'm definitely on the side of cutting back bit by bit rather than straight calorie deficit. It's not as fast, but that's what I would call a true lifestyle change (it takes a loooooooong time to truly turn what started as a diet into one).
  • mbond6
    mbond6 Posts: 27 Member
    I would say modify don't ratify! I have put alot of effort into little results and little effort into great results.
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
    So true!!!! Then when maintenance hits you really have an idea of what you could be eating. Plus it eliminates the question of am I eating too much or too little. "Starvation Mode" becomes a non-essential term!

    D
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    Yep, this is exactly why as a dietitian, I would always start with small changes (that, and it obviously makes the whole process easier on the patient and their lifestyle!). But then, have you seen the posts from people on here saying things like 'the dietitian told her to cut down her coke from 2 litres to 2 cups per day, as if that's going to help her lose weight'?. HELLO! That's like almost 1000 calories you are cutting out! I'm definitely on the side of cutting back bit by bit rather than straight calorie deficit. It's not as fast, but that's what I would call a true lifestyle change (it takes a loooooooong time to truly turn what started as a diet into one).

    I certainly wish I knew this 6 months ago.

    When I started to lose weight, I was excited, but I did way too much too soon. There is no way I should cut my calories from 2300 a day to 1200 a day just like that. No wonder I gave up after a couple months.

    I am starting to lose weight again, but it is coming off a lot easier now than it did when I first started.
  • DWilbanks
    DWilbanks Posts: 420 Member
    I would have taken before pics and probably record every bite as the other poster said.
  • iluminadaonix
    iluminadaonix Posts: 79 Member
    I would taken before pictures and have pals sooner
  • _Ben
    _Ben Posts: 1,608 Member
    I would take before pictures and before measurements.

    Luckily I have some before pictures which Im very happy with, but no measurements. Would have been nice to have
This discussion has been closed.

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