cheryldumais Member

Welcome!

Usually when people start their adventure they are in a big hurry to lose everything FAST. They cut back drastically then start going to the gym daily pushing really hard. I did it for years. It wasn't until I was 59 years old that I realized I had to take my time. It took me 2 years to get to goal. The first year on MFP I…

If you like Asian food I would say fresh ginger. I never could get the right flavor until I realized what a difference it makes. That and Sesame oil.

As @annPT77 says we are all built differently. The amount of muscle you have and other factors make a big difference in how much you should weigh. I'm 5'5.5" tall and 63 years old. I lost from 251 to 143 and had folks telling me I was too thin. I've gained about 15 pounds (YIKES!) and am working to get that back off. My…

Most of us struggle with eating too many calories rather than too few. I would suggest you concentrate on things with more fat and protein to up the calorie count. I don't know the Mediterranean diet so hopefully someone who does will comment.

Mainly you connect by commenting on the boards or sending friend requests to others. Some of us request that you comment in the friend request with why you want to connect as your friend list can become overwhelming over time. Just keep coming back and you will eventually find like minded folks to connect with. Welcome…

Welcome. Often when it is too hard you are setting too steep of a goal. If you have only a small amount to lose you should be trying for half a pound a week not two. That's a very common mistake. While 1200 calories a day can be done it isn't easy to sustain over a long period of time and can make it hard to stick to the…

I've done a lot of low carb diets over the years. I had the most success losing weight initially on them but always ended up gaining it back because I got sick of not having potatoes, rice and bread. I finally lost weight and kept most of it off a few years ago when I counted calories to get to goal. The reason low carb…

@Jimb376mfp That is an amazing and very inspiring transformation! Congratulations.

After my first year on MFP I hit a plateau and couldn't lose for about 3 months. I was on 1200 calories. I have no idea what was going on with me. Logically I should have seen a loss but being fairly sedentary and 60 years old nothing seemed to be moving. Finally I went on a diet break for a week (should have done 2). I…

Sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words:

I left WW in 2015. I had been a member for about 15 years online only but my weight had changed little. I did meetings in the 1980's and lost some weight but the program had changed drastically by the time I left. I went to Calorie Count (now gone) and started losing then transferred to MFP and continued on to lose over…

When I started out I thought about the cheat meal thing and I did in fact use them a bit but I was very careful. I had 100 lbs to lose and wasn't able to think of never ever eating anything nice again or going out to eat at all. It took me 2 years to reach my goal. When I did cheat meals which was about 1 a month I would…

I agree with making sure you are getting enough protein. You may be losing a lot of water and could need some extra electrolytes. There's nothing wrong with checking with your doctor as well to ensure nothing else is going on. We all find it a bit of a challenge when we start out but if you are faint and weak that sounds…

When I set myself up on MFP I set it for Sedentary. Even then I don't really see any calories assigned to me for walking in MFP until I reach around 4,000 steps. It shouldn't hurt you to allow them to connect as MFP already sets an amount of activity expected for whatever activity category you selected. Most folks suggest…

I feel your pain. I have walked for exercise for the last three years but somehow this year just can't handle the cold. I'm gonna break down and join the gym. I'm thinking swimming etc.

I would try a good probiotic. They have helped me despite others who say they do nothing. I suffered from H-Pylori a while back and perhaps the drugs for that killed my good bacteria. Anyway it's worth a try. Good luck I know it's miserable.

I've had CFS for a long, long time. Losing weight and beginning a very gradual walking program has improved my symptoms a great deal. I started out walking 4,000 steps a day in two lots of 2,000. I can now walk as much as 15,000 if I'm careful. It's not vigorous exercise but I feel so much better! Don't give up, there is a…

Congratulations on taking a healthful approach to dealing with this. I wish you better luck in love in the future.

I agree I gain on 1500 calories a day! My maintenance calories are around 1350/day.

I was type 2 diabetic but just really borderline. I started eating better and walking and am now off all meds for sugar and my readings are normal and have been for a couple of years. I dropped 108 pounds originally but have gained back about 14 in three years so I'm working to get that back off. Don't overwhelm yourself…

I think @AnnPT77 hit the nail on the head when she speaks of reduced muscle mass. I am the same age and height as she is and maintain at a much lower calorie level than she does. Her avatar picture more than explains the difference between us. She is very active and muscular. I am not. The answer to the age question I…

I really liked The Beck Diet Solution by Judith Beck. It's more about changing your behavior than anything else. Gave me some ideas about why I was overeating and some strategies for working on it. Another one I liked was Thin for Life by Ann Fletcher. It's about people who have lost weight and kept it off.

I hit a plateau that lasted 3 months. I had lost over 80 lbs at that point and was very frustrated. Someone on here recommended a diet break which means you eat at maintenance for a week or two. I did that then the scale started moving again. I lost another 20 lbs. When you get down close to goal it becomes harder and the…

Don't allow a hypothyroid diagnosis to upset you. There are a ton of us on here who have had to deal with the same issue and lost weight with no problems. I lost over 100 lbs too while hypothyroid and on synthroid for it. It is just a small part of my day and did not stop me from losing weight. I was however one of the odd…

Be sure you are logging everything you eat. If you are then I would suspect a new food of some sort for which you are making a logging error. For example I used to eat alot of Boom Chicka Pop popcorn. It says 7 1/4 cups is 250 calories but when I weighed it I found that was way more in grams than the 50 it was supposed to…

Right now the best thing in my life is that I am retiring March 31st! I can't wait. Because of the weight I've lost I'll be doing things I would never have considered 10 years ago. Hiking in the summer maybe snowshoeing in the winter. There is a big wide open area of opportunity out there for me now. Can't wait to get my…

I have a Garmin vivofit 2. It's been awesome. It's from the cheap end of the scale and I bought it about 4 years ago. They are up to Vivofit 4 now. I love that the battery is good for a year or more and tracks steps and sleep. Those are my main interests. If you want heart rate monitoring etc. you can find that as well in…

Most people head to Keto because they have heard they will lose alot of weight fast. What you actually lose fast is water. If that is your sole reason for keto then I would suggest not bothering. If you find the lifestyle appealing and feel you would be happier without carbs then give it a try. I have been hypothyroid my…

Probably a combination of water retention and extra food in the digestive tract from Thanksgiving. It will pass. Hang in there and don't let the scale dictate your mood. I know easier said than done.