swimmchick87 Member

Several years ago, the first time I lost a big chunk of weight, I started in early May at 192. I'm a teacher, so I didn't see any of my coworkers over the summer, and since I started in May I'd only lost a bit when school got out. By the time August rolled around, I'd lost 20 pounds and I was pretty miffed that not one…

If you look in the fitbit group there are a few responses. I actually didn't end up getting anything. I figured out that the issue is that when my fitbit says it's around 30-35% battery life, it dies very quickly soon after. As long as I don't let it get that low in the first place, I don't have any issues. I've solved the…

I've been getting takeout 1x per week. I do extra walking to make up for it. Today I ordered wings and they were just not that good. Previously I might have just thrown them out saying it's not worth the calories. With budget cuts and all I really need to save money and I don't want to waste anything, so I ate them, but…

It's supposed to mean that the calories have been verified/are correct. I think a certain number of users have to verify the entry as correct to get the check mark. However, I find that even the entries with the green check marks aren't always accurate. I always double check before just selecting an entry.

I have a basic fitbit that doesn't measure heart rate and I find that it's very accurate for me. For me one of the most eye opening things was how sedentary I can be on non-work days. I had myself set to "lightly active" on MFP because I'm a teacher. This was fairly accurate during the workweek but on weekends I'd get…

I march in place in front of my TV. Not all of the time, but often- to get my fitbit steps. Especially on days where I'm home all day and wouldn't get much movement in otherwise. I'll walk for 10-20 minutes, sit down for a bit, walk again, etc. It's helped me tremendously. I'm so used to it now that I can't really sit…

The only thing that helped me long term was eating more calories in the first place. It sounds counter intuitive but it worked for me. A long time ago I read the book "Brain over Binge" and that helped me. It's controversial as the premise is that binging is a biological response to dieting and not something that's caused…

I have done the yo-yo thing more times than I can count. I like to think that I learn something new each time to make me more successful. Looking back at the first time I ever tried MFP, I really had no idea what I was doing. Some things I have figured out through trial and error: 1. 1200 calories will never work for me. I…

Many years ago I lost about 30-35 pounds doing weight watchers. I was getting fed up with it and decided to take a break and maintain without counting anything. I still exercised and was careful not to overeat- just ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was full. At first, it worked and I was incredibly impressed with…

I have mine enabled. It's much more accurate and I also find it motivating. I have my fitbit synced and am set to "lightly active." I find that I get a negative adjustment if I don't get up to at least 7500 steps for the day. I definitely don't want to lose calories so it's very motivating to me to get at least that amount…

This is something I've done a lot of work on and am still working on it. I'm a serial yo-yo dieter. I can lose weight, and have even lost up to 30-35 pounds, but then I regain it (sometimes plus more) and have to start all over again. I like to think that I at least learn something new every time and I am continuously…

I've definitely lost weight as expected eating junk all day long. No, it's not healthy, but calories in- calories out works. Just the other day I was looking back at my diary from the last time I was at a much lower weight, which was a few years ago now. I was appalled. I was eating 1200 calories per day, but there were…

I plan everything. I try to have a mix of healthy foods and treats every day. I will not stick to this only eating "healthy food" all day every day, or even only allowing "treats" once per week or something. I've been on a huge ice cream kick for at least the past 2 months. I like that a serving is still satisfying and…

Not a healthy food, but I think the cookie butter from Trader Joe's is very blah. I'd waited so long to try it because of the calorie count, and then I ended up eating one spoonful and throwing it away! I guess it's a good thing, not like I needed another high calorie dessert anyway... As far as ice cream, it took me a…

You should set yourself as sedentary and then log exercise calories separately. 1,000 steps is very sedentary, so I'd be careful not to overestimate the gym workouts. I am set as "lightly active" and I have my fitbit synced with negative adjustments enabled. Typically I need at least 7500 steps in order to ensure that MFP…

I had a similar issue with MFP calculating my deficit wrong. I posted about it (not in this Fitbit group) and no one believed me :/ . In my case MFP was giving me almost 150 extra calories per day for no reason. I have my goal set to lose one pound per week and they only calculated about a 350 calorie deficit per day for…

I am in the minority with everyone I know IRL, but I find the lockdown situation to make weight loss significantly easier. Previously, it was almost always social situations that messed me up, and now there are none of those. If it wasn't that, it would be caving to someone bringing treats to work or deciding on the way…

You just have to experiment with it and see what works for you. I only do walking, so I don't worry so much about eating exercise calories back. I usually get around a 100-150 calorie adjustment for getting my 10,000 steps in. If I really want something extra, I do use those calories (or walk a bit more if I need more…

This is very similar to what I do. I stay within my calorie limits and try to be more conscientious of nutrition, but I eat a lot of food I like every day, including snacks and treats. The biggest thing that made the difference for me was also changing my goal to only lose 1 pound per week. I simply cannot stick to 1200…

I do both. For me, IF helps me stick to eating in a calorie deficit much more easily. I used to make myself eat breakfast because I thought it was "healthy" even though I'm never hungry in the morning. It was very freeing when I realized I don't need to do that. Very rarely I will eat breakfast if it's some kind of special…

I am confused because intermittent fasting is basically what you're describing- keeping your hours of eating limited. Were you trying to go entire days without eating? Lots of people do IF by eating every day but only within a certain eating window- usually 8 hours, sometimes less. I've had great success with skipping…

I have my settings set to "lightly active" and I've found this correlates to roughly 7500 steps per day. There is some variation depending on how I get the steps, but roughly. I have negative adjustments enabled and mfp will take calories away if I don't reach that 7500 number. That motivates me greatly to not just have a…

I maintained for awhile doing that, and then the weight started creeping back on. I think it's hard to estimate because even just 100-200 calories every day really adds up over time. Thankfully I don't really mind logging. I do estimate when I go to restaurants. I'm bummed when they don't have calorie info available, but…

I am just counting calories and walking. I am losing just fine, but I started with a lot to lose. I think I'm going to have to add in exercise to lose/maintain as I get smaller. I didn't want to overwhelm myself with too many goals/"new" things at once and I know eating less is the most important thing for weight loss…

I have had success with it. I recognize that for me it's just an easier way to stick to a calorie deficit; I don't think there is something magical happening because of IF. For me it's significantly easier to wait/tell myself I can have the food I want, just later, than to eat earlier in the day and end up hungry later…

If you were set to "lightly active" that sounds about right. That's what I'm set at and I don't get a positive adjustment until around 8,000-9,000 steps. I have negative adjustments enabled and mfp will take calories away unless I get at least around 7500-8,000 steps. You may be getting a slight under adjustment if you're…

I march in place in front of my TV to still get steps in. It was a bit of an adjustment, because back when I was working (not from home) I would easily get 7K steps at work. Now I've gotten used to it and can only sit and watch TV for a little bit before I feel the need to get up and move. Now that the weather is nicer…

After awhile of using my fitbit, I learned which step counts roughly correlate to which calorie amounts. For example, typically 10,000 steps for me means that my calories burned throughout the day will end up at around 2150-2200. It's not exact (there is variation depending on how I got the steps), but roughly. To get…

For years I would go on MFP, stick with it for a month- 6 weeks and lose ten pounds, then fall off the wagon and regain that weight plus more. Several years ago I decided to do WW- this was the old points plus system. It finally worked for me and I got down to a weight I was much happier with. A few months in I figured out…

I tried the cheat meal thing for a long time and it just did not work for me. I could maintain it for awhile, but it eventually it would lead to "cheat week" and so on until I fell off the wagon all together. I've had much more success this time around by raising my calorie goal every day. I ditched the 1200 cals and set…