newbie to myfitnesspal

I usually log after I eat. If I log at the end of the day all the food I've eaten throughout the day I'm bound to forget something. My scale is broken so I haven't weighed since starting. Weighing can be addictive I'd shoot for once a week, same day same time. Zumba is like a dance thing? Cardio? Find something as similar as possible on the list and use that, that's what I do. Hope that helps.

Hello and Welcome! I do not weigh myself weekly because I have such a long journey ahead. I instead measure my inches on several spots on my body each week and see my success that way. I do loose some pounds, dont get me wrong. However, my biggest feel good moment is when I get the tape measure out and chart on a piece of paper how many inches I have lost in just 1 weeks time!! This does work being on here. I get inspiration every day to go exercise because everyone else is doing their's....so I have no excuse to not do mine. I try to give mass support to all my friends and be an active member of there cheering section because we all need the support.....Hello, that's why we are here. My friends , without them even knowing it, push me daily to get on the tread mill and move my body. Please feel free to add me as a friend if you would like and Good Luck ! We can do this !

Welcome and Good luck, if you have a smartphone you should download the app to your phone as I found this is helpful with adding your calories as you eat certain things. I try to add my meals as i pack my lunch the night before so, my food is at least partially entered for the next day. if you do have a smart phone the scan feature is great. It will allow you to scan just about any food with a bar code and it will automatically give you the details to add in your food diary. You just adjust the servings based on how much of that food you are actually eating. . As far as weighing yourself, that is totally up to you and your comfort level. Some weigh in once a week and some weigh in more often such as daily and that's a matter of preference. Your weight goes up and down daily so, be aware that you may not see the results daily so, weekly may work for you. However, I weigh in every few days but, I only enter my weight in the system once or twice a week. I like to see the impact of my food choices every few days or so but, that's my preference. Anyways, good luck and feel free to add me if you want additional support. Take care

Hi Newbie to My Fitness Pal,

I promise you that you will get hooked on my fitness pal...I started playing around with it last June 2011 and did not take my fitness pal serious until maybe early August. I began to actually log everything I ate and was amazed at how much food I was eating. I was blown away at the calories a day I was eating. Some days I was to shame to log the food in. I promise my fitness pal will make you get yourself together. After walking 5 miles 5 days a week and wasn't losing like I should have, I started following the daily recommendations from my fitness pal and has lost 26 pounds to date. The holiday season pushed me back a little, of course you know why, good food for the holidays...but I'm back on track. If you really want to drop the weight and serious about it follow My Fitness Pal. NOTHING I MEAN NOTHING ELSE HAS WORKED FOR ME...SOOOO THANKFUL FOR THIS APPand WEB. It has truly taught me a lesson about food calories and content. Hopefully I will lose another 25-30 pounds OR MORE this summer. GET STARTED AND STAY WITH IT...YOU WILL BE AMAZED.....

I've found the best way to track is to plan out all the food that you KNOW you're going to eat that day. Go ahead and log that in first thing in the morning. That way, if you're craving something later in the day, you know if you have the calories to "spend" or not. It's not foolproof, but it helps. (Like yesterday, I burned dinner & picked up takeout...had I known that would have happened, I would have skipped out on the Dove chocolate bar earlier in the day.)