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WranglerMichelle, if you enjoy that book, check out Marcelo in the Real World by Franscisco X Stork. It's also told from the POV of an autistic person. I enjoyed both these books. Nossmf, I hope to read The Martian soon. The queue at the library is still long. I recently discovered the books of Nancy Kress. Her sci-fi…

I haven't got a weigh scale for myself at home. I use one at work (always the same scale). It's a bother to go to so I only weigh when I'm losing and then only once a week (if I remember to).

Using a food scale was an eye opener for me, too. If anything can teach portion control, it's a kitchen scale.

Enter your stats into your MFP Goals. Enter a weekly weight loss goal (usually either 1/2 or 1 lb/week). MFP will calculate your daily calories to lose that amount of weight. Weigh and measure your food, enter it into your diary and stay within MFP's limit. If/When you exercise, add that and eat back around 50% of the…

Carrots and red peppers are high in Vitamin A. Tomatoes and brocolli are high in Vitamin A and potassium. Leafy greens and meat for iron. I find that by having a salad with a variety of veggies means having a high vitamin A consumption for the day. Add some leafy greens and it will help with iron as well. I need to start…

I'm over 50, don't watch my carbs or sugars, exercise reasonably, stay within calorie limits. As long as I do that, I can & do either lose weight or maintain. I've gained a few pounds recently but that's from overeating, not being over 50. Weight fluctuates by as much as 5 lbs by the day for some. There are many factors,…

Put your stats (age, weight, etc) into MFP. Then enter your weight loss goal (for example, 1lb/week). MFP will calculate how many calories you should eat every day to lose that pound. Eat that many calories every day and you will lose. When you exercise, you burn calories that were not in the calculation above. Therefore,…

Are you eating enough fats? You need fats to move things along. Drink plenty of water, especially if you've increased your fiber.

Exercise is for health, which is a great reason to do it, but it doesn't really do much for weight loss. Are you weighing your food to monitor the amounts? How long have you been tracking your weight loss? Weight will go up and down but the long-term trend will be down. Hang in there. The weight will come off. Keep doing…

Do you eat in the car between visits? Then maybe sandwiches, veggies on the side (grape tomatoes, carrot & celery sticks, radishes, etc), grab & go fruit (apples, bananas, quarter & core pears, etc), cheese, snack bars (Fiber One, for example), nuts, a carefully measured portion (or half portion) of a favorite higher cal…

I agree: a cup of green tea or weak regular tea will take the edges away. Are you avoiding caffeine or soda? The trick to long-term focus is finding the right path for yourself, which includes sustainable choices. It takes time but you will find your way. Welcome to MFP.

When you eat your food has no bearing on weight loss. Just something to keep in mind for the future. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks or so for your body to adjust to the changes you make and it retains water for awhile. Give it time. It'll start to happen soon. Also, keep an eye out on your sodium levels. That will…

I also agree that walking is the best. My step-dad walks everyday (he's 84) and loves it. Start with a distance that is comfortable to you until you adjust to the routine, then start to increase as you feel fit.

I also would say to slow down. It takes a few weeks for all of your systems (muscle, tendon, circulation, etc) to catch up with each other. Some will be able to handle the running more than others. Until they do, you can only run as slow as the weakest of the systems. You feel as if you are running slow but it may still be…

With 15 lbs to lose, set your weight loss goal to 0.5 (or, at most 1.0) pounds per week. Weigh and log all your food. Stay within the calories that MFP has calculated for you. You will lose the weight. Exercise when you can and eat back about half of the calories you burned. Trust MFP. It works. You can do this.

This. Make sure your weight loss goal isn't too aggressive and eat enough to fuel your body properly. The shakes sound like you aren't eating enough.

I like raw red cabbage in salads, as well as raw cauliflower. Raw broccoli is nice, too, but it needs extra dressing, I find. It seems to soak up a lot in the florets.

Welcome! Trust the program; it works. You can do this. We're here to help if you need us.

Perhaps a 1200 calorie goal is too aggressive? How much weight per week are you aiming to lose? You can do this. Make sure you've got a reasonable goal and are getting enough food/energy to meet your body's daily needs.

Sugar from fruits and vegetables are counted in MFP but aren't counted as sugar intake in healthy eating. In general, the sugar allowance on MFP is meant for processed sugars and fruit/veggie sugar can be ignored (unless you're under a medically supervised diet with other restrictions). If you want, you can turn off the…

That does seem strange. Maybe double check your goal entries? Perhaps there's a typo?

It's the best running advice I've gotten. I still use it and it works every time. The hard part is not getting frustrated at what I see as a "slow" pace. Sometimes we are our own worst obstacles to success. Keep reminding yourself that speed doesn't matter; getting it done matters.

Walking is the best exercise, so don't fret. Maybe add a walk after work? Most of weight loss is portion control (not overeating). Exercise is for health; not weight loss. You can still lose weight while you heal, then work on including exercise. Heal first. You're doing great.

Don't lose hope. It took awhile to gain the weight, so it'll take awhile to lose it. Look at this as a lifestyle change and be patient. It will work. There's an active and encouraging group for women over 50 here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/22731-over-50-womens-club You're on the right track. MFP, combined…

Did you set a weight loss goal into MFP (ie: lose 1 lb/week)? If so, then you should eat all of your 1400 calories. You'll still lose weight because it's already been calculated in. If/When you exercise, log the activity into MFP but only eat back about half of the calories burned. Common thought is that the MFP activity…

Start slow so that you don't overwhelm yourself with changes. That leads to frustration. Change one or two things, keep them going for a week or two, then add another one or two changes. Keep working towards the ideal in slow steps.

Once you see the weight coming off, the motivation will continue. Then as your energy level increases, you get more motivation. Reading the success stories here are also motivating. I also find that a good group here on MFP can be motivating because their successes motivate me. It's a life-style change that motivates you…

For workout: hand towel, shorts, t-shirt, sports bra, socks, shoes. For pre/after shower: shower shoes, soap, shampoo, fresh underwear. Miscellaneous items:Gym membership card, a lock for the locker, a shower towel, ipod (or some device), deodorant.

You can do this and are off to a great start! If it's difficult, slow down. You probably feel as if you're already going really slow but the biggest mistake people make is going too fast for their current ability. Then they give up. As a rule of thumb: if you can't speak a short sentence out loud while running, slow down;…

I'm also a graduate of the program and highly recommend it. Just so there is no disappointment for you, C25K will have you running 30 minutes straight in 9 weeks, which may not (probably won't be) 5K of distance. Speed isn't important at this point. Build up your stamina and speed will come later. For encouragement, help…