brjustice2000

MFP is a tool. It is still up to each of us to do our part to lose weight. Losing weight in the beginning is easy. I've found that each pound is harder to lose. I learned that strength training helps to lose weight. Each lb of muscle you build uses on average 50 calories a day at rest just to exist. If you build 10 lbs x…

I plateau over and over. Losing lbs was easy at first but now it is very hard even when I have a 7000 plus calorie deficit for the week. Cardio is good for the heart but strength training can build muscle which burns fat. Your question of cut back or increase is tough to answer because everyone's metabolism works a little…

Don't give up. Don't think of this as a diet but a life style change. I still eat all the things that I like! The difference is in monitoring what I eat which equates to portion control. Some days there really isn't portion control because I have on occasion eaten an entire half gallon container of ice cream (low fat no…

For me, it is how my grandma raised me - have manners, hold the door for a lady, an elderly person, someone whose hands are full, a disabled person. Basically, it is the golden rule - treat others the way you wish to be treated. When I'm carrying stuff and someone holds the door open for me, I always say thank you. This…

I eat back some of the exercise calories in an effort to get to my basic calorie need of 2270 based on my weight. The more days you can eat your basic caloric need and still achieve your deficit goal, the less likely you will slow down your metabolism. My goal is a 1000 calorie deficit each day in an effort to lose 2 lbs a…

I looked at a weeks worth of your food diary. Consider drinking more water and reduce your sugar intake. I graduated high school at 145 lbs. A year later, I was about 187 and have been heavy every since. At 58 and a picky eater, I'm finally losing weight and keeping it off. I hit plateaus where not only do I not lose…

Bumps in the road are plateaus. I've lost about 36 lbs since March. I have weeks that I should lose based on calorie count but gain such as the last two weeks, some of that gain is more muscle mass from lifting weights. Since you don't like the gym, you can get the stretch bands to start with strength training. If you…

You are retraining your body so don't forget to retrain your mind as well. We own our thoughts and emotions and how we feel is based on our perspective. When I taught middle school, I would use the example of "The team just scored; how do you feel?" The students raised their hands and would say something to the effect of…

30 lbs makes a difference! My weight loss translates into just over 10 inches of waist line lost. Keep working for your goal. When you get frustrated as we all have, just tweak what you do because your body adjusts to the same old routine and will plateau.

Don't be surprised when you plateau. I tried eating light and once a week having the "cheat day" and hit lots of plateaus, meaning no weight loss and had weight gain some weeks when the calories eaten vs burned should have been a 2 or 3 lb weight loss for the week. If that is what you really want to do, more power to you.…

I was addicted to Diet Mountain Dew. Most diet sodas have aspartame which is bad for you and makes you hold onto fat. Start by getting off of it gradually. Trying to quit cold turkey results in horrible days with horrible headaches. If you crave soda, check out diet Cheerwine which doesn't have aspartame or sodium. The…

I wish weight loss was simply achieving a calorie deficit of 3500 calories to lose one pound. Last week I had a 10,285 calorie deficit which by the simple rule of calorie counting should have resulted in almost 3 lbs lost. I gained 2 tenths of a lb. The calorie deficit and weight loss rarely work out for me. What counts…

You can research and find out the calorie burn for the things you want and then create your own exercise as a cardio exercise. I did that for weight lifting and walking in the pool. Of course my body weight wasn't one of the ones listed. So I divided the body weights given into the calories burned and came up with 2.72…

Understand the frustration! Some weeks I have enough calorie deficit that I should lose 3 lbs but gain weight. This is more complicated than just counting calories. We have to watch sugars, fats, and carbs because too much of any of those can sabotage our efforts that week. Too much salt will make you hold onto to water.…

It is not what foods you should be eating. Your body is going to take fat from where it chooses; sadly, we don't get to choose. Usually your body takes fat from all over your body. Hang in there and keep working at it. Don't just focus on calories because you should watch sugars, fats, and carbs so you don't go over. I…

I meant to type hat I could not even do it for one minute. Sorry for any confusion.

If you are not used to exercising, and start a hardcore program (not sure if the 30 DS is a hardcore workout) you can hurt yourself trying to do too much in the beginning. Muscle soreness should come after working out not during the workout. I did split squats yesterday with adding 10 lbs to the previous weight, and today…

It is much more than counting calories. If you manage your nutrients - fats, carbs, sugars, salt, you will see better results. Last week I had a calories deficit of 4,745 and instead of losing over a pound, I gained 2.2 pounds. Looked back at my food for the week and had too many fats and sugars. This week a calorie…

You have to have a calorie deficit to lose weight; you must burn more calories than you need. This is not as simple as you need 10,500 calories to maintain your weight, you ate 10,500 and did 3,500 in exercise for the week and will lose one pound because 3,500 calories equals one pound of fat. My most disappointing week…

You didn't mention your starting weight, and please don't since you can use this info to think over what you are doing. If you eat processed food, you get a lot of salt. Read the labels and limit your total salt intake. Salt makes you retain water. MFP lets you track different nutrients and see your goal, what you have…

I use an Excel spreadsheet to track things daily and that will average some things on a weekly basis. My column headings are below. The formulas are put in using Auto sum from the formula section. After completing entries, I color code some of them to produce an easy visual to see how I am doing. You can make your own…

I don't diet, I eat anything that I want but just control the portion size. Sometimes, I don't portion control. I have eaten the entire 1.75 quart container of ice cream and still lost weight that week; I just don't lose as much. This is a lifestyle change that overall is healthy but I can still work in treats from time to…

2500 mg of sodium is an unrealistic absolute. Based on body weight and physical activity you might need more or less. I use 3000 mg because I weight over 200 lbs and do lots of exercise. Exercise means sweat which means your body will lose some salt. Avoid processed foods which are full of salt. Read the labels and buy low…

Your health issues make the road to success a little tougher to travel but not impossible to arrive at your goal. Absolutely involve your doctor. Sounds like doing exercise may be a little difficult. Even if you eat overall healthy, you have to watch your sugars. Fruit is full of natural sugars. I now only eat fruit as a…

No goal weight at all! My goal is 20% body fat which is considered fit by the medical community. The doctor was happy with my choice and said not to focus on lbs.

Look at more than being obese and a calorie burn goal. The key is to burn more calories than you take in. Your resting calorie need to maintain your weight is under 10 calories a pound. MFP can help you figure that out. if you weighed 200 lbs you would need almost 2000 calories a day just to maintain current weight. If you…

Extra calories over what you actually need make you fat regardless of the source. If you are strength training you need protein. Excessive amounts of protein are hard on your kidneys. Your annual blood work when you have your physical should show if your kidneys function in the normal range.

You can have MFP show you sugars as one of your choices like carbs, fats, protein, or sodium. Too much sugar from any source including fruit isn't good for you. I can have a calorie deficit for the week of 10,500+ calories but if I've had too much sugar that week, I will not lose the expected weight of 3 lbs (3,500…

Sometimes you just want to taste something and water isn't it. When you drink diet, look at the sweetener. If the sweetener is aspartame (not sure if I spelled it correctly) avoid it!!! Aspartame makes your body hold onto fat! I used to drink tons of diet mountain dew and now have it only as a treat. My new diet soda is…

You may want to start tracking your sugars! I had a week that by calorie deficit should have been a loss of 3 lbs but instead gained over a pound. You don't gain a pound of muscle a week. A personal trainer said look at your sugars. I had myfitnesspal show me the sugar intake and went back several weeks to find to my…