vingogly Member

I reduced my calories by 50/day in early December, and kept my activity level constant; the graph shows what my weight looks at maintenance (right around 183 lbs). It has been fluctuating up and down within a two pound "window". For those who are struggling with this, it looks to me like you have to keep things constant…

I've learned I'm not one of those who can internalize good habits and then rest on my laurels. I'll need to weigh myself, use MFP to track my input and activity, and focus on portion control for the rest of my life. I've done this by seeing my efforts as a permanent lifestyle change rather than a "diet". I'm using Apple…

I make healthier choices and stay within my calorie limit. I monitor my protein and fiber grams to make sure I'm getting enough. That's about it.

I always go by grams where possible, and weigh everything. As others have said, there are a lot of junk entries in the database that have been contributed by users. If a number is too good to be true or seems off, check other entries in the database as a cross check. If I search for something I've eaten before (say, a…

Get a food scale and measure/weigh everything. Observe what you've measured and learn portion control. Log everything you eat and be honest with yourself. Monitor your calorie intake during the day and adjust as needed. Don't set goals you might not make (like lose 40 lbs by the holidays). Don't use food for emotional…

Decide why you're really here. Write down your motivations in the form "I want to do __ and __ to achieve/improve __ and __ so I can reach my goals of __" and put them up where you can see them often. Mine are: I want to maintain my ideal weight and fitness to Improve my health and quality of life so I can reach my goals…

Noom has its pluses and minuses. I've used it twice, basically as a break from MFP. Good opportunity for accountability, and decent psychoeducational articles (I have a background in clinical psych so none of it was news to me) -- but as others have said, their database is terrible: kept losing custom items and recipes I'd…

I've been a MFP user for several years, and decided to try Noom for four months. My subscription is nearly at an end; it's not really intended for long-term use. I think it's great for those who need the learning, accountability and reinforcement it provides - but for really long term use, you can't beat MFP, in my…

I've had the EatSmart Pro digital food scale for several years (19.95USD on Amazon). You need a scale so that you can learn portion sizes. Also, with something calorie dense (like nuts, for example), you can easily be off by enough calories to halt your weight loss by "guesstimating". I'll second the things other others…

I typically go 150-200 cals for morning and afternoon snacks - hunk of cheese, handful of nuts, piece of fruit, Fiber One bar, etc.

I found that cutting out things like chips, cakes, ice cream, most fast food for a while helped me appreciate the taste of other foods, and the satisfaction I get out of them. Your palate changes somewhat, so that you can appreciate foods that aren't heavy on sugar or fat or salt. Some things I still have difficulty with…

You don't need to get every single item at every single meal absolutely correct to succeed at this. Make good choices from the selection, choose the closest items from the database, estimate portions, and don't make yourself crazy worrying about it. If you're concerned, add a 25%-30% fudge factor to the servings.

Speaking as a retired mental health professional -- disorders (including eating disorders) are defined operationally: put simply, if they're causing problems in your life, they're disorders. That means they're interfering with your ability to lead a normal, productive, happy life, or they're having a significant impact on…

For those who are new and struggling with the app, there are a bunch of how to videos on Youtube that might be helpful: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=my+fitness+pal+app

Since you're concerned, I'd suggest getting a weight trend app for your computer or phone. It smooths the data and shows you the true trend in your weight without the "noise" due to daily ups & downs. I use Happy Scale on my iPhone, there's Weight Tracker for Windows phones. TrendWeight is a trend tracking site you can use…

Just use your favorite recipe, and use reduced fat ground beef (and/or Italian sausage), reduced fat ricotta, and reduced fat mozzarella. Read labels on your sauce ingredients, and choose one that has lower calories. If you make your own sauce, use stevia instead of sugar and watch the added fat. If you sautee your…

Your answer's right here - the real battle isn't over what goes through your lips, it's over what's going on in the three pounds of grey pudding at the top of your head. Quit focusing on losing weight and focus instead on changing your relationship to food. To succeed long term, you have to address the psychology of…

Seven pounds of fat is 24,500 calories. The laws of physics say there's no way you're going to lose that much fat and muscle in five days - unless you cut off part of your body (which is what liposuction amounts to). That's the reason people are saying it's just water loss. I did a medically supervised liquid diet back in…

My grande Starbucks coffee is sweetened with stevia, and lightened with three tablespoons of half and half, which is 60 calories, and well worth the calories to me. The calorie-laden things they sell at Starbucks (Venti Peppermint Mocha: 540 cals) are desserts for people who don't like to drink coffee. Some of the things…

That was a general question to the thread's readers in general, I wasn't trying to contradict you.

You can see how rates of obesity in the USA have been steadily increasing since 1990 on this page. Adult obesity rates exceed 35% in seven states, 30% in 29 states, and 25% in 48 states. https://stateofobesity.org/adult-obesity/ This in spite of the fact that "...Americans spend more money in dieting, dieting products and…

Because he holds classes for weight lifter bros doesn't mean he knows what he's talking about. Anyone can google articles and set himself/herself up as an "expert". I use half-and-half in my coffee, have no intention of giving it up, and it didn't keep me from losing 70 pounds (or keeping it off).

Approaches that don't require a food scale or counting include: https://www.intuitiveeating.org/ https://www.thecenterformindfuleating.org/ http://diet.beckinstitute.org/ I don't believe in a one size fits all approach to weight loss. I've used principles from intuitive eating, mindful eating, and cognitive therapy in my…

Keep at it, learn from your relapse, don't get discouraged, and you'll get there. My last drink was the night of January 8, 1992 - going on 27 years ago.

What you're describing is a problem with consistency, not accuracy. I have had an EatSmart Precision Digital Bathroom Scale with lighted display for several years ($20 on Amazon). The scales I had before were neither accurate nor consistent. Consistent means you get the same weight every time you step on (or at least most…

Looking them up in the MFP database, one Green & Black dark chocolate praline has 53 calories. There are about 3500 calories in a pound of fat. From their site, a box of pralines contains 17 pieces. To gain *one pound* of fat, you would therefore need to eat 66 pralines above and beyond your maintenance calories - which is…

Yeah, I did a medically-supervised liquid only ultra low calorie diet in the late 80s. Lost a lot of weight quickly. Of all the times I dieted, that was the fastest I put the weight back on after I went off the diet. It seems like an easier, faster way but I'd advise anyone to think long and hard before they go that route.…

I have their sampler. <3 Haven't been to Italy, but an Italian-American friend says they have vinegar bars where you can sip a variety of drinking vinegars.

If you're used to having certain foods frequently during the week, you need to transform them in your head from Everyday Eats to Special Treats. For example, I like full-fat ice cream (forget Halo and ice milk crap!) but I don't keep it around the house for everyday eating. Every couple of weeks, I'll go out and get a dish…

I have an EatSmart scale, and I had to prop it against the wall in my last apartment. Try recalibrating as described in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73GGzANxKvk Make sure you put the scale in the same exact spot each time. If you have tiles on the floor, position the scale feet so none of them are directly…