New member and stuck already

Demson
Demson Posts: 2
edited October 5 in Introduce Yourself
What do i do, do I look at the list of foods and look at the values of each thing such as fat, calories, protein and try to make up a meal from that? I really don't know where to go from here, can anyone help?

Replies

  • margurithrt
    margurithrt Posts: 28
    Enter what you ate, check to see how the portions match-up with what you've eaten. change the portions if needed. Look at what you ate and then decide from there where you need to go in terms of balancing out your calorie sources (fat, protein, carbs)
  • skierxjes
    skierxjes Posts: 926 Member
    You record what you eat. Try to stay at or around your daily calorie goal. Try not to go over the daily allotment for sodium. Drink lots and lots of water.
  • sk2775
    sk2775 Posts: 699 Member
    Welcome to MFP. If you are just starting out, just start logging in all your food intake. Keep it simple. So in the food tab, just go to add food for each meal and input what you ate. The main things that I focus on every day is amount of calories and sodium amount. I tried to stay under for those values and not worry too much about the other ones.
  • rthompson81
    rthompson81 Posts: 305 Member
    Also, if you're super new to this, you might just try recording what you eat for a few days, without worrying about the numbers. Then you can get an idea of where you need to go and not feel overwhelmed, and make gradual changes.
  • marylou1976
    marylou1976 Posts: 106 Member
    depends what you are eating, if it's a ready meal sometimes they are in the database, if your making your own meal go to receipies and add all the ingredients and how many it serves and then you can add to your diary, for things you eat all the time this makes it a bit easier, also you can add things like cup of tea with milk and 2 sugars and make it a recipie saves you adding all the ingredients each time. hope this helps a bit!
  • hazelnutflav
    hazelnutflav Posts: 391 Member
    dont worry you have come to the right place to get help and all of the support you will need there are pleanty of folks here who have "been there done that" and are willing you help, here are a few things i learned and i hope this helps you too.

    first thing:
    1.how many calories are you planning to consume daily?
    from that daily total make a meal, snack, bkfst, lunch, dinner.

    2.drink at least 8 glasses of water daily.

    3.log everything you eat BEFORE you consume it, that way you know how many calories you
    will have left after each meal.

    4.workout at least 30min a day and gradually increase it as you gain more strength and energy,
    keep in mind this is not a competition take your time slow and steady wins the race.
    the extra calories you gain from working out be sure to eat them back
    the body need fuel for energy.

    5.log in everyday make/add friends who have the same goals as you and learn from one another.

    6.ask for help when you need it.

    and that is pretty much it hope this helps you to get started and keep in mind rome was not built in a day, you can do this.

    good luck on your jorney :)
  • _Sally_
    _Sally_ Posts: 514 Member
    Also, if you're super new to this, you might just try recording what you eat for a few days, without worrying about the numbers. Then you can get an idea of where you need to go and not feel overwhelmed, and make gradual changes.

    ^^^ This gets my vote.

    This is not a short-term diet. You need to simply get into the habit of measuring/weighing your food and portion sizes and logging them. Once you get into this habit, it is much easier to make changes from there. The key thing at the beginning is to just measure and/or weight your food portions and log everything.

    Good luck! Stick with it, even when you don't log things "perfectly"... if you don't know the cals of something, you can just add a few hundred calories with the "quick add" option. You will get the hang of it and it will become second nature to you soon.
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
    First of all.. relax! :)

    Secondly just enter the items...some days you may go over calories or sodium or fat or carbs...others under so usually it all balances out over a week!

    Drink as much water as required... if you workout (and you should try to incorporate physical activity and log it - especially if your activity level is set to sedentary) you'll need more. You can also gain water intake from things like fruit and veg and other water rich foods and drinks so don't worry if its not all "water" per se.

    MFP recalculates everything according to your current weight and exercise done for the day... this helps you make sure you know how many calories/sodium/fat/protein etc you CAN (you don't have to!) eat back!

    I tend to eat at least some back...more to maintain adequate nutrition! Also, try to lose weight steadily and no rapidly as it will stay off longer and be patient... You may hit plateaus... these are normal things.

    :)
  • Demson
    Demson Posts: 2
    Thanks fo rall the replies everyone, exercise, that is difficult, I have the rare form of Chronic Estrinsic Alergic Alveolitis, I am wheelchair dependant when I goout, say to Tesco's etc, aroufg th ehouse I manage with a cane though some days just going into the kitchen leaves me in pain, struggling to breathe and very weak.I also need 24/7 oxygen. The only exercise I have been told to do is gentle leg raises or movign my legs side to side.

    Back to MFP, If I say go into Tesco and buy something to eat say for lunch how do I know the satrch, carb, protein content etc as I have noticed there are some things that do not hold this information. Do I just buy it, take a chance, check on here and if its too much just not buy it again? I also seen a page on here that listed foods and you could click on them to see the details but now I can't find it?
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
    You can add the values in yourself where it says add your own food or "can't find it in the database? add it here."

    You'll be pleased to know... a lot of tesco food is on the database... add me and give me a shout if you're struggling!
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