My fitness pal

[SingingGerbil]

Just finished day 2 of this. It says I should be eating 1200 calories per day. I reckon I need to lose about a stone as I am five foot and last time I weighed myself I was 9st 9lb . Do Boots still have scales as I don't have a set. Has anyone else used this programme and found it helpful? Also, any ideas for "snacky" things that are low in calories.

[princessalbert]

MFP also says that my calorie allowance for the day is 1200. I think it defaults to that amount for most people.

You need to workout your TDEE www.free-workout-routines.net/tdee.html

I have used MFP in the past to log my food and exercise. It does help, in that it make you more accountable - it's not so easy to cheat. also the forum on there is useful for tips and hints.

I don't know if Boots still have scales. I only weigh in naked, first thing in the morning - so I doubt Boots would appreciate that. You can buy a decent ish pair of electronic scales for less than £20.

[fedupandfifty]

Mfp fantastic. It's easy and you can factor in exercise. It's non-fussy and stops mindless eating.

Good luck with it.

[STIDW]

I don't use the forum but I like the MFP application, although you have to be careful because the database is compiled by the community and the calories aren't always accurate.

For snacks I find eating something fairly substantial means I'm not continually wanting to nibble e.g. 0% fat yogurt with fruit, a tsp of nuts, seeds and oats that I roast and keep in an airtight container. I add 1/2tsp natural sugar substitute such as honey, maple or agave syrup. A tasty alternative is a crisp bread covered with a spread made by pulsing quark in a processor with herbs and roasted peppers or cooked mushrooms. The spread can also be used to replace butter in sandwiches.

Sometimes for a treat I have a pancake, muffin, carrot cake, banana loaf or scone. They have less calories than cakes and if you make them yourself they tend to have less calories than bought ones. I use wholemeal flour with fruit and reduced amounts of fat and natural sugar substitutes rather than refined sugar. In the past I used to make mini muffins and scones (50-80 calories) but I found they weren't satisfying enough.

[jendot]

Mfp is fab
I realise that when calorie counting I was really underestimating how many calories I was actually eating! I haven't yet failed to find something I have eaten (or equivalent) in the database.

[fedupandfifty]

Help! I can't find the graph facility on mfp anymore! That's the best bit! Has it been upgraded or something?

[citruslemon]

MFP is fab. I use my Wii fit board to weigh myself. Am sure though that local Boots has machine that measures your body fat too so will have a look!

[FernieB]

I use MFP and I also have a 1200 calorie limit. I find it easier if I enter everything I intend to eat for my meals in the morning and then I can plan it properly. I then know how much I have left for snacks and if it's not been entered in the morning I don't eat it. I also weigh myself on Wiifit but you can get scales at mot supermarkets now and they're not too expensive.

[Mercedes]

Hi Fedupandfifty

You may have found the graph already but just in case I have just checked...You will find the graph in reports - you choose weight.

Hope this is helpful

[fedupandfifty]

Thanks Mercedes:I'll look that up.

[Elainey1609]

Mfp is great been using it for a few years. So easy to use, makes you realise what you have been eating.
Great to add friends to which helps with motivation and support.

I bought scales from asda for £10 work great.
Feel free to add me
Elainey1609

[Hardie94]

Mfp is great it gives a recommendation on how many cals you should aim for x ready meals are good for geting portion sizes x and I find that snack a jacks are a good snack as they are filling x

[weesazz]

I love and rate MFP. I sensibly lost a stone with it for my wedding and am now back using it to shift the baby weight.

Admittedly it's harder this time round as i can't get to the gym like I used to so I'm having to be really disciplined with food and its taken the pleasure out of eating, but hey, if it works...

[50ShadesofGreyMatter]

Don't just go with the 1200 default that mfp gives you.

As princessalbert says you need to work out your tdee and go from there. Everyone has a different calorie level that they can eat and still lose weight on, there is no one size fits all!

I've lost 33kg in 16 months using mfp and eating around 1650 cals/day.

The higher you have your calorie level while losing weight the more you will be able to eat to maintain, this is very important long term.