WOW. I suck already. Any advice?

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dasweetbloood
dasweetbloood Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Today was my first day using myfitnesspal, and I devastatingly ate almost 700 calories over my target amount. Am I always going to be so horrible at this? Does anyone have any tips/help/ advice? I have two big problems, the first being I don't have a smart phone and am not near a computer most of the day so I am unable to look up food or chart as I go. The second, worse problem for me is that I have severe binge issues. Especially when I'm stressed, sad, bored or alone. I just eat and eat and eat. I don't know how to stop myself, it's worse than chain-smoking. I won't even be hungry, but rather I just compulsively put food into my mouth. Someone, please give me some nugget of wisdom to help me change.
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  • Drastiic
    Drastiic Posts: 322 Member
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    First off, what are your calories set at right now and how much do you weigh?
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    As you get experience you will get better at estimating. It also helps to preplan your food for the day if you can.

    Don't be too hard on yourself. The goal is "healthier" not "perfect" for most people.
  • afj89
    afj89 Posts: 17
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    >> Am I always going to be so horrible at this?
    Nope, you get used to how much you can have and your body will adapt to the new intake. IE lose weight!

    >>I don't have a smart phone
    No biggie, just make a note of the kcal you consume during the day. My diet is as simply as can be... Eat the target kcal and no more. It's simple science that says you will lose weight if you consume less than what you need to maintain weight. It doesn't matter if you eat those kcals as entirely double cheeseburgers (Although this isn't recommended and you won't get much food due to fat content (1g of protein = 4kcal, 1g of carbs = 4kcal, 1g of fat = 9 kcal!)

    >>worse problem for me is that I have severe binge issues. Especially when I'm stressed, sad, bored or alone.
    Ok, you will get used to the cravings, Just be strong and it WILL get easier. My best two tips are to drink a pint of water/squash/diet soda when you're hungry. It fills me right up! Alternatively if you're at home, brush your teeth! It works surprisingly well, and you get nice teeth from it!

    By doing the above, I've lost 3.5 stone the back end of last year. I'm not back on the same diet as of 6 weeks ago and I'm down 11lb so far. Hope this helps :)
  • Danielle_2013
    Danielle_2013 Posts: 806 Member
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    Today was my first day using myfitnesspal, and I devastatingly ate almost 700 calories over my target amount. Am I always going to be so horrible at this? Does anyone have any tips/help/ advice? I have two big problems, the first being I don't have a smart phone and am not near a computer most of the day so I am unable to look up food or chart as I go. The second, worse problem for me is that I have severe binge issues. Especially when I'm stressed, sad, bored or alone. I just eat and eat and eat. I don't know how to stop myself, it's worse than chain-smoking. I won't even be hungry, but rather I just compulsively put food into my mouth. Someone, please give me some nugget of wisdom to help me change.

    I can TOTALLY identify. For me what worked was choosing to follow a fairly strict plan. If it wasn't on my paper, it wasn't going in my mouth. I am terrible at trying to control myself and practice moderation, so that helped. I chose the 17 day diet.
    Next, I had to tell myself (over and over and over - still doing it), that food was simply fuel. I have a tendency to believe something is going to taste way better than it does. I would mentally go over things saying "I want to feel better more than I want to eat ____". " I can have it, but I don't want it".. this kind of thing. I didn't even say "you can do this", because I didn't feel I really could.
    What really helped though is cutting out sugar and bad carbs and instantly feeling better all over. I learned to pay attention to my body and want those victories more than I wanted the instant fix of whatever I was obsessing about.

    I've lost 55 lbs and I have 100 to go. You can add me as a friend if you like and we can do it together. :smile:
  • Lyndzer
    Lyndzer Posts: 41
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    for starters replace your snacks with healthier choices (oranges, apples, fuits & veggies, I find precutting and bagging them makes them easier to just grab so you cant make excuses later)

    and try to be more aware, think "do I really need that or am I just bored?" ect. you have to retrain your mind

    try to remember eating that *fav snack* when you arent hungry will make you feel good for about 5 min, making healthy choices is going to make you feel good alot longer than that, and I know it is hard at first, but as you go , if you stick with it, it DOES get easier :)
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    A rule of thumb that seems to work for me: 200 calories is an amount I'd eat if I was feeling peckish but not full on starving.

    Take nuts, for instance. If I'm feeling peckish, I'd have a small handful of nuts, not a massive bag. That's about 200cals. Or mini scotch eggs: I might have 3 or 4 if I were peckish. About 200cals again! A packet of crisps? Well, if I'm peckish, a 25g is just under what I'd want to eat... I'd rather have a bag and a half... 1 bag is about 125cals!
  • NinjaChickie
    NinjaChickie Posts: 118 Member
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    The first week I used the site seriously, I used it more as an eye-opener to see where I was at with calories.

    Then just started to make adjustments and find alternatives to what i was eating
  • HelloSweetie4
    HelloSweetie4 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    First off: change your attitude about it! Don't say "wow I suck" say "ok i didn't do so well today but I will do better tomorrow!"
    It's only your first day on MFP, and this is a journey, you will get better as you get used the the program.
    Get yourself a little notebook to put in your pocket or purse and everytime something passes your lips write down exactly what it is and how much you ate. You can log it into MFP later. Many people count calories by just uses a notebook, MFP just makes it easier.
    Like I said, this is a journey, a life-style change, not a fad diet. It will take you a while to figure out what works best for you. Don't let yourself get discouraged, just pick your head up and do better tomorrow. Collect MFP friends for support. When you are craving something bad, post it on your profile. Your MFP friends will try to help you curb the craving.
    Try to slowly replace and reduce your binge eating. Go for a healthier option at first and keep working at it until you've trained your body to eat less and healthier. It takes time and a lot of effort.
    Finally, drink water! One of the biggest challenges I found when I started was drinking the full 64oz every day. Once I was able to do that, everything else got easier. I have my own rule that I will not drink anything else (except my 1 morning coffee) until my water for the day is consumed and this is a great motivation for me. And I keep to that rule, even on weekends when I'm going out with friends and know I will be drinking alochol.

    These were just things that worked for me, give them a try if you think it will work for you too. Also, feel free to add me as a friend. I'm on here all the time.
  • pearsy67
    pearsy67 Posts: 104 Member
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    Don't get too worried about it, especially early on. Use MFP as an educational tool, use it first to learn about your existing eating habits and then to track your changes.

    Log everything, and use your own judgement as to what are your target killers as far as food goes. You will probably find that a small change in a few meals or snacks goes a long way in affecting your totals.

    Once you have your volume of food and calories under control, work at looking at the balance of what you are eating. You can display up to 5 columns of nutritional info, use them. Start hiding columns that you are good at and expose the worst ones like sodium and sugar ( they are my Achilles heel :-(.

    It can take a while to change life habits, so just take it a day at a time and stay focussed on the ultimate goal rather than the day to day ups and downs.

    Cheers
  • ChristySeeksBalance
    ChristySeeksBalance Posts: 43 Member
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    You could try planning your day the night before. Just switch to tomorrow and enter the food you plan on eating. That way you can work with the nutritional information and get it where you want it to be. Then pack it all in a lunch bag, or set it aside in the fridge. It really helps me when I'm off track to have things pre-planned.
  • mangobadango
    mangobadango Posts: 294 Member
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    Today was my first day using myfitnesspal, and I devastatingly ate almost 700 calories over my target amount. Am I always going to be so horrible at this?

    No, you will not always be so horrible at this. You are making an effort and learning how many calories are in everything and how to eat. This is a huge learning process and no one is perfect at it the first time around. Just keep trying.
  • ImperfektAngel
    ImperfektAngel Posts: 811 Member
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    Before MFP I had a notebook I would wrtie all my food in, it worked great for me!
    Make sure you are eating the right amount of calories for your goal weight, some people on here dont eat enough.
  • kalynn06
    kalynn06 Posts: 368 Member
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    Nope. You learned something that will make eating better easier in the future. I actually think it's helpful to just eat what you think is a good diet for a week, log it and learn before you start seriously restricting calories and messing with your diet. That way you learn the calorie traps that you weren't aware of before. You also give yourself perspective.

    From personal experience, even though I've counted calories before, when I started here,I logged food for 2 weeks before I started fussing with calories or macros. It gave me a better idea of where I was and made me less afraid of eating above 1200 (I changed my goal to be higher based on goal weight TDEE). Since I was regularly eating 2x my goal intake. I realized that it took me over a year to gain 10 lbs eating like that, so I was unlikely to gain 7 overnight if I ate an extra apple while eating at any calorie deficit.
  • dmwiseman
    dmwiseman Posts: 34 Member
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    Wow, I relate too! First off, you do NOT suck. Be able to identify all those triggers for your eating proves that you really want this. I had a bad day at work today and came home and took a nap instead of walking, then I got up and raided the relish tray my husband brought home from work. Just writing that makes me laugh. I would have raided the ice cream drawer before. To worry about some pickles and olives seems a little silly. Anyway, it is a transition and small steady changes. You can do this!!

    I think I'll go for a walk now.:happy:
  • ashleymichaud
    ashleymichaud Posts: 119
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    I think it gets easier as you go. I had to slowly wean myself off the calories and trigger foods before I could even think about trying to eat at my target amount. Maybe try slowly whittling the calories down. It will get easier, especially when you start learning appropriate portion sizes and nutritional contents of different foods. Just give your body a little time to adjust, you'll do just fine :)
  • Kebby83
    Kebby83 Posts: 232 Member
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    Log your food the night before (include something bad for you - I did at first....and still do...but it gets easier to decide healthy instead of junk!).
  • tami101
    tami101 Posts: 617 Member
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    Don't feel bad, my first day on here I had a bacon cheeseburger for lunch, when logged it in I was out of calories for the day!!! I didn't eat again but I was so hungry!!! The next day my boyfriend brought take-out chinese over for dinner! I had no idea how many calories were in general tso's chicken! It was something like 1800 cals!!! Not counting the eggroll and the rice! It's a learning experience. You will soon learn portion size and how to work foods in your daily calories. (exercise, exercise, exercise) Btw, I lost 2 lbs. my first week. =)
  • sunnie326
    sunnie326 Posts: 721 Member
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    Everyone is giving you great advice. I have days that I go way over. I just start fresh the next day. So what? I am doing better than I was before I started this. As you become aware of how many calories are in certain foods, you will begin to ask yourself.... do I REALLY want that? Do I want to waste that many of my calories on that one thing? I filled my fridge with fresh cut fruits and vegetables. I just took a couple hours and cut everything up all at once and now when I feel like I need to snack, I just go grab some fruits or veggies. If I just have to have chocolate, I have one small piece. Don't be so hard on yourself. It is a gradual process and you will get there. I wish you luck!!!!! Not to mention....This is a great source of support. So many on here have been where you are now and understand. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!
  • cessnaholly
    cessnaholly Posts: 780 Member
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    When I started I ate like normal and just logged whatever it was. That gave me a starting point to start making changes to my foods. Slowly I started replacing items and lost 20 lbs. Now I am doing a lot better. It takes time and it gets better. Don't give up. Give it 6 months.
  • rjo921
    rjo921 Posts: 130
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    OK...first of all you are way too hard on yourself. This is a journey...a change of life...it is not going to happen in one day.

    Regarding stress eating....I can totally relate. It is something that you just have to work on....try to find other things to get you through those tough times....drink some water....take a brief walk....talk to a friend....something to get your mind off of food.

    You have made a positive step in joining this website...so first of all be proud of yourself for that. There are plenty of people here who want to see others succeed! It really is a one day at a time process. You will get there....you have to believe that. :flowerforyou:

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