AnnPT77 Member

It really isn't mostly about how accurate MFP or any other calorie calculator or even fitness tracker is: The good ones, including MFP, are based on solid research studies. The numbers they spit out are basically the statistically average calorie needs of people with the same demographic details as the software asked us to…

If you're like most of us, vacation is a week or two out of the year. Honestly, that's a drop in the ocean. What we do the overwhelming majority of our days on repeat - our routine habits of eating and exercise - that's the ocean. The majority of our days delivers the majority of our results. I'm not suggesting letting…

Hello and welcome! The blogosphere, tabloids, and so-called reality TV will try to convince you that you need to do some complicated, extreme thing to improve nutrition and health. Honestly, it's not that complicated. Most of those sources just want to sell you their publication, supplement, diet or exercise program . . .…

You are worthy enough. Your intention signals that. You can do it, but you do have to commit yourself to it, and mean it. You don't have to fix everything at once. You can start with one small positive habit, practice it until it's routine/automatic, then pick another. A great start would be something like tuning in your…

If you're repetitive, I hope you're using the Meals feature in addition to the good tips above. Even a super-complicated day would only take me maybe 10 minutes tops to log, and that seems like a small price to pay for losing from obese and maintaining for darned near a decade since. Most days the time investment is…

Yeah, to me, that's the thing: We need to find new, permanent, pretty-happy habits we can follow the overwhelming majority of the time for the long term, in order to avoid regain. Our whole weight loss process doesn't need to be about finding/practicing those habits, but IMO some of it should be. Maybe you need to count…

My favorite tip will always be this: Make a plan that's as easy as possible to follow, while still gradually leading to your weight goal. Too many people arrive here with the idea that they want to lose weight fast, so they cut calories to the bone for aggressively fast loss. Often, they think they need to adopt some…

If you need to increase your protein intake, whey is a good choice, as long as you don't personally have some kind of allergy/sensitivity to milk/whey, and aren't vegan or fully plant-based. If you get ample protein from your food, it's not necessary to use a protein supplement at all. Excess protein is just expensive…

+1 to what they said. I ate every delicious - carefully estimated - exercise calorie all through weight loss, and for 9+ years of successful maintenance since. A few things to know, though: If you're adding exercise manually by typing it in to MFP, make sure you're not double-counting. Set your MFP activity level to your…

Recommendation: Very slow fat loss via calorie deficit, a good progressive strength training program faithfully performed, good overall nutrition especially but not exclusively ample protein, and work on improving posture (there are exercises for that, too), be patient, persevere. If you want to drink the alcohol, do so .…

It's only been required on all US labels since 2021 IIRC, from regs published in around 2016. Quite a few US entries in the database are older than that. I'm torn: I'd like to see diverse dietary requirements for health conditions supported better, but I'd also hate to see a lot of foods that are in the database deleted…

Hello and welcome! It sounds like you have some pretty realistic goals. You probably have no idea how refreshing that is to read, when it's all to common to see post here from people wanting to lose 10kg by their wedding next month, or some such thing . . . and I'm only exaggerating a little, if at all. 😬 IMO and IME, this…

Hello, and welcome! It sounds like me a few years back, to be honest. I finally got routinely active in my late 40s after full-bore cancer treatment, but stayed overweight/obese for another dozen years. Finally, at 59 I committed to weight loss, losing around 50 pounds in just under a year. I've been at a healthy weight…

Hello, and welcome, Doris! I'm Ann, 69, retired, an MFP long-timer, hanging around to maintain a healthy weight, good nutrition, and reasonable fitness after using MFP to lose in 2015-16. My experience is that this can be a good tool for those it suits, as long as we commit to using it. Health improvements are possible at…

Can you find some middle ground between tracking all the time, or going off the rails? For example: If you've been tracking for a while, you probably have some feel for meals that fit into your calorie goal. Can you set up a pattern of those meals on repeat, so you don't need to log all the time? I'm not saying eat the…

Eat foods you enjoy and that keep you feeling reasonably full most of the time, plus find affordable and practical, that add up to the right number of calories. Bonus if the combination of foods also average out to good overall nutrition over a few days to a week. It's that simple . . . but not easy every single second…

Y'know, life is about balance, or so I think. You did well. There are rewards in being slimmer, no question, and you'll doubtless find ways to enjoy your overall way of eating while also achieving your weight-management and health goals. The quality of life rewards from finding a good balance . . . they can be huge. Good…

I am weak. In my defense: There was a sale. It's a whole cheese, but it's a mini-round, just under a pound. As I've posted before, it's my favorite cheese 😋

Individuals are individual. Your calorie needs shed no light on OP's. That's especially true given your demographic differences. I'm glad that what you've done and are doing is working for you, sincerely. But that doesn't mean OP needs to do the same. (She doesn't need to do what I do, either.) Different tactics work for…

More from the 30 days to perfection theme, this time wall Pilates, from a company so very eager to get that ad out there that no one comes even remotely close to proofreading. Even an AI-written ad would do better than this: Or maybe the August 10 head-turn is to stare, but the August 30 turn is being underwhelmed by what…

The Biomi probiotic folks are still at it with the crazy ads. I saw one with a medium-aged bearded guy as the subject recently, but didn't screen grab it quickly enough. They're aggressively touting their GLP-1 benefits, comparing themselves to "Ozempc", presumably misspelling to delay Novo Nordisk's legal team. 😆 I missed…

This is pure speculation: I know for certain that MFP has had people working on improving accuracy of the food database. It's a slow behind the scenes thing. Most users don't seem to be noticing the improvements, but I've seen some signs of it. Here's the speculation part: I'm guessing that some entries are deleted or…

Macros matter. Micros matter. You asked about macros. I assume that's what you actually meant. 😉 For many people, the MFP default macro percents are a reasonable starting point, as long as they don't try to cut calories to the bone in pursuit of aggressively fast loss. There's no getting adequate nutrition on too-low…

See the comments below for an evidence-based calculator that can help verify protein needs, plus some general rules of thumb. Snacks with protein: hard-boiled eggs, cheese sticks (particularly the 2% milk ones if your calories are limited) Greek yogurt (nonfat if reducing calories) with minimal sugar or just put plain…

Nutritarian, in the formal sense? No. I'm not. I'm pretty serious about getting overall good nutrition, eat a lot of plants, am long-term vegetarian, eat mostly whole foods . . . but unapologetically hedonistic aging hippie flake that I am, I don't like strict rules even a little bit. If I had a relevant health condition…

One warning: If you're under 18, you're not even supposed to join here. Calorie and nutrition needs are different for bodies that are still growing/maturing. If you want strength workouts, maybe take a look at this thread, where many MFP-ers share programs they've found helpful. Despite the title, it does include some…

I don't believe in hacks, honestly. As context, I used MFP to lose from class 1 obese to a healthy weight starting nearly 10 years ago, have been at a healthy weight for 9+ years since loss, after around 30 previous years of overweight/obesity. If someone has a meaningful total mount of weight to lose, it's not a quick…

I'll answer this based on when I was losing (vs. now in maintenance). I'm not a big bread person, so I didn't eat a lot of that. I figured out that for me, bread was more of a convenience feature - such as to hold together a sandwich - vs. an inherently desirable food. I know not everyone feels that way, for sure. I still…

I'm aware of the term "eggitarian", but I don't think it has a universal exact definition. I'm assuming it implies ovo-vegetarian? But I'm not sure what else might be included. Background: I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian, have been for over 50 years. I do eat a lot of dairy, but I think at this point I could get adequate protein…

There are some great nutrient-dense choices mentioned in posts above . . . but I'm thinking that if you're struggling to gain weight, you may need suggestions that aren't very filling. Getting in the calories for weight gain can be a challenge for some, if their appetite isn't big. People vary in what they find filling.…