AliceDark Member

Welcome! First, I'm going to recommend a couple of really helpful links: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1 http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1 The first covers accurate logging and some…

Welcome! If you have specific questions, please feel free to post them! Our forum members are really willing to help. First, I'm going to recommend a couple of really helpful links: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1…

You didn’t do any damage in that time frame, so don’t worry about that or beat yourself up over it. Just move forward and concentrate on practicing healthy habits from now on. You may see a jump of a pound or two (or three) on the scale as you increase your calorie intake. Don’t freak out. This isn’t fat gain. If you see a…

Some fluctuation on the scale is totally normal, especially when you're weighing at a different time of day. However, gaining 16 pounds in 8 weeks sounds like actual gain and not just fluctuation. What method are you using to measure your food? (Food scale, measuring cups/spoons, eyeballing?)

When you say that you want to gain muscle while losing weight, what does that mean to you? If it means you want to get stronger and lift more weight, you can absolutely do that. If it means you want to see more muscle definition, you can absolutely do that. If it means you want your muscles to look larger, that's really…

"Lean mass" is going to include everything that isn't fat or bone, so that includes organs, muscle, tendons, etc. What everyone has told you is correct -- body fat scales aren't precise. I wouldn't stress too much about accurate measurements, because the body fat scale probably gave you a good ballpark estimate of where…

That site is trying to sell you detox kits, along with a bunch of other really overpriced supplements. It’s always a good idea to try to figure out whether someone is trying to sell you something before you take their advice.

If you’re trying to compare the intake you get from the IIFYM site vs. what you get from MFP, keep in mind that they account for exercise calories differently. I think IIFYM incorporates your anticipated exercise calories into your daily goal whereas MFP has you eat back dedicated exercise calories. Because of that, your…

For the dinners, I'd find an entry for a similar meal from a chain restaurant and use that. It should get you in the ballpark anyway. For breakfasts and lunches, I'd pack things like protein bars, jerky, non-refrigerated fruit or vegetables (apples would be great, and things like carrots should be fine out of the…

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634529/why-did-the-number-on-the-scale-go-up-this-week-heres-why#latest

Have you seen this thread? It talks about some of the common reasons why people see temporary gains on the scale: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634529/why-did-the-number-on-the-scale-go-up-this-week-heres-why#latest

A couple of other things to remember: 1. It's really common for people to see large water weight losses when they first start a diet. It's even more common to see those if you've done things like added a laxative tea and drastically cut sodium. So, you're not seeing a 10-pound fat loss. A lot of your weight loss is water…

Is that to lose 2 pounds per week? You don't necessarily have to lose that quickly. I'm at 1300 calories right now and some days I want to eat my houseplants. Wouldn't it be a better idea to lose a little more slowly and not make yourself miserable?

As I said earlier, when I cut I have to go pretty low-calorie. But I'm also human, so I like pizza and chocolate, so I eat those things every week. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to stay in my deficit. Here are some things I do: 1. I calorie-cycle, so I go lower than necessary on weekdays so I can go higher on weekends.…

Well, that's not necessarily true, unless you know what the OP's calorie goal is. (I don't). She might have it set too low. When I try to lose weight, I have to go pretty low-calorie, and it would be impossible for me to stay there for an extended period of time, so I have lots of techniques I use to help. She might be…

You're looking for low-calorie, high-volume foods, not necessarily "healthy" foods. Search the MFP forums for "volume eaters" and a lot of threads will come up -- lots of people here eat this way.

I think the challenge you're going to have is that 3+ pounds a week isn't going to be a safe or sustainable rate of loss. How quickly you CAN lose weight depends on how much you have to lose. Unless you're trying to lose over 100 pounds, you're not going to be able to safely lose that much. Additionally, the rate at which…

I do the reverse -- go slightly lower on weekdays so I can go higher on weekends -- and it works really well for me. As long as you're getting adequate nutrition on your lower days, it's fine to track to a weekly calorie goal instead of a daily calorie goal. Try it out for a month and see how it works for you.

It's helpful to have a list of other self-care activities ready so you can choose a different de-stressing technique when you need to. You've probably spent years teaching yourself that food is a good means to reduce your stress and make yourself feel better (because food IS effective at those things), but you probably…

That's probably true. Now that I'm thinking of it, I guess carob was more of the 70s, and my weird food memories are all of the 80s/90s. It was just fat-free and low-fat everything as far as the eye can see.

I don't think I've ever had carob, but I was traumatized by Snackwells "cookies" as a child.

How is your fat intake? These things could be completely unrelated to your diet, but they also could be a clue that your fat intake might be too low. What everyone else is telling you is 100% accurate -- be patient and give your body time to adjust. Seeing the same number on the scale for a week isn't statistically…

Your diary has a lot of entries that look like someone else created them -- 1 serving of beef stew, 1 serving of spinach lasagna, 1/2 a tuna salad sandwich, etc. Are you creating those recipes using the recipe builder? If not, I'll guarantee that they don't accurately reflect what you're eating. It's certainly possible…

When you hear things like this, you should be asking why. Is there really a huge difference between a block of tofu and a scoop of soy protein powder? If the answer is "because processing," really think about how much processing it takes to turn soybeans into tofu compared to how much processing it takes to turn soybeans…

Yeah, that sounds like it's in the right ballpark. Make sure that you're not logging any of the activity you estimated to get to "lightly active" as extra exercise, because that'll be double-counting it. If you do start going to the gym or doing any additional activity that wasn't included in your day-to-day activity, you…

Actual fat loss will show up on the scale sooner or later. By not having nacho night, you're basically just avoiding some very temporary water weight gain. As long as they fit in your calories, have the nachos.

I use an entry that reads "Coffee - brewed from grounds," which seems to be accurate. Honestly, though, when I'm logging coffee I worry less about the actual coffee than I do about any cream/sugar that I add. As long as you're logging your add-ins, you'll be just fine.

True. So is fat. I feel like this comes up more often with women, especially women who still have some of that "fat makes you fat" 1980s dogma in their brains. Occasionally I'll see newbies who are female, maybe a little older, who are "gaining weight" on a high-protein/low-fat diet and I'll think "is there a way to ask…

Nobody logs 100% accurately. It's just not possible. Everyone has some source of inaccuracy that they could tighten up if they needed to. The people who are pointing out some of your sources of inaccuracy aren't doing so because they're perfect and you're not; they're doing so because you asked for help and they can see…

OP, are you familiar with the hunger scale? For lots of people, that shaky/nauseated feeling is a symptom of extreme hunger. If you can learn to recognize hunger before you get to that point, and eat something before you get there, you might be able to avoid crashing. Just like others have suggested, it would be a good…