errollmaclean Member

Wow! That escalated quickly! I always wonder why people post their own special post instead of scrolling through at least a page of the forums to see if someone has asked the same question before. Or why people don't read the stickied posts that answer basically everything. When I first started I read EVERYTHING for a…

Sounds like a good strategy to test things out. By the end you'll have more information to decide on the best direction. There's a post in the original link I posted "Which lifting program is the best for you?", which is worth a read as well.

What's your lifting plan? A good structured program will help make sure you're not spinning your wheels. Start your lifting and calibrate based on your results. Eventually you'll be able to decide what you want to do with your calories based on the results you're getting. I don't think you need to worry about a bulk/cut…

I'd recommend reading the stickied posts at the top of each forum section. These posts will give you a grasp of the basics so that you're not pointing people in the wrong direction. Again, bulking and cutting, isn't what you think it is. It's not reckless abandon and then starving yourself. It's controlled calorie surplus…

There's no need to rebrand recomp as "main-gaining". It already exists. Gotta love the fitness industry always trying to find an angle to sell. The reason to do a bulk instead of a recomp is to maximize muscle gain. Also there is not just a single "bulk" that he talks about as force feeding yourself. Bulking is a strategy…

I would start by reading the stickied posts at the top of the forum: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300326/most-helpful-posts-goal-gaining-weight-must-reads#latest Full of the basics/very useful information. After that, find a proven lifting program to follow (also in the link above). I'd suggest…

Dietary fat intake has no relation to body fat. Dietary fat is essential for hormone production and regulation and vitamin absorption. Also, bulking is used for a reason and not a myth. It's a way to optimize muscle gains so that when you cut, if done properly, you lose as little as that muscle as possible.

Make sure you're using a digital food scale. Accurately logging your intake calories is the first major step. As long as you're logging accurately any other issues are much easier to address.

The food scale will definitely help. Accurate logging is the most important thing.

From what I've read, muscle loss starts after 2 weeks. But some things are just out of your control, so not really worth worrying too much about. I've had to rebuild lost muscle many many times due to work or illness. It's just one of those inevitable things that happens. If it bothers you, there are always bodyweight…

Definitely fiber. All-bran buds are my go to as they're the lowest calorie highest fiber/easiest thing I've found. I mix them with a protein shake, so basically like having a bowl of cereal. You just have to keep experimenting and make a note of what leaves you feeling hungry and what doesn't. It's a process and sometimes…

Do you use a digital food scale?

It's ok to be your own critic, but don't be your own worst enemy. You have to be with yourself 24/7 so it'd be much more useful to be a cheerleader for yourself. Even right now you're so focussed on the negative you're ignoring all your positive traits like they somehow don't count because of the current problem you're…

Body composition (how much fat vs how much muscle you have) plays a big part in how you look. There are lots of pictures of girls weighing more but looking better because of how that weight is distributed. So it works the other way as well, more fat less muscle can drastically change how you look even with the scale number…

It's totally understandable that you're feeling low, you're dealing with a health issue. Health issues are largely out of your control. Like when you can't workout because you're sick or have a broken bone. You did the right thing by addressing it with your doctor and then did the right thing again by talking to your…

You can do it! Just add and remove stuff until the totals are what you want. Start with stuff you enjoy eating and then look up foods high in (protein/fat/fiber) whatever you need to add more of. It takes a while but is worth the investment, since you'll learn about the different macros and foods, and how to balance your…

Yes. Even ice cream.

Most likely. It's the most common mistake that happens. The other 2 most common mistakes are over estimating exercise calories and using inaccurate database entries.

Do you use a digital food scale to weigh your food?

The best time is usually morning. Also if you track your weight everyday and watch the pattern throughout the month, you can see how much you fluctuate and realize not to freak out as you go up or down. You want to watch the trend over time. This will also allow you to see how accurate you are being with logging your…

I never get super defined, but I really enjoy some definition. Is it worth it? I like it as a goal, instead of just a number on a scale. It keeps me working and paying attention to my calories.

Love the rucksack idea!

When your weight loss slows. No point in dropping them if you're still losing on your current calories. You want to lose weight on the most calories you can.

This! Also the links at the top of the forum "most helpful". They've got everything you need to know.

Like others, I wake up early and do mine first thing in the morning. That way no matter what happens with the rest of the day, at least I've got my fitness on track. It also allows me to put the energy from my morning caffeine to good use.

You have to go to the diary setting/icon at the bottom now or in the side bar on the left of the screen. I'm so used to the old way, I go to my macros accidentally at least twice a week, lol.

My brother was in the Canadian Army. His bootcamp was pretty hard core. You're going to be burning tons of calories so a little extra body fat might not be such a bad thing. It really depends on what you want. If you want to get rid of the fat, a calorie deficit. If you want to add muscle eat at maintenance and lift, but…

You can calibrate by seeing what your weight does over time. If you're losing faster than three rate of loss you selected, then change it to active. If your weight loss slows down, then lower the activity level. You can also change your calorie goal manually of MFP isn't giving you accurate calories. Assuming your calorie…

Clean Eating is basically an old term. It's what filtered out to the general public decades ago before better strategies were created. It describes a highly restrictive diet that places foods in good and bad categories based on inaccurate and sometimes arbitrarily criteria. It's largely unsustainable and causes people to…