myfitnesspal.com support thread 4

[jchocchip]

old thread here

Support thread for those of us trying to log our food and exercise on myfitnesspal

Thought I'd be brave and start the new thread off!

My weight loss varies through the month lisbapalea, unfortunately I've never lost a stone in a week . I find I sts or gain upto a kg when I ovulate and when it's totm but I then lose that gain plus another kg most times. I'm now maintaining and I still gain but just only lose the gain the following week and nothing more. I have a 2kg window that I want to stay within and a month in I have done it.

That's sounds sensible sparkleshine, at least you've acknowledged it :). Hope you get to your 6st soon, would love to see photos sometimes it's hard to see yourself as you are/were. I don't think I realise how slim
I am now having been so overweight for so long!

Pirates It's a real pain isn't it. I went to spoke to HR about how bored I was and just got told to hang in there until the office moves have taken place as i might get a couple more lawyers to work for. I work for 7 as it is so i'm not sure that any more will help unless it's (a) a different subject in law, i.e. litigation or (b) the one extra lawyer produces shed loads of work on his own. I am seriously thinking about the local job option......

Smelly Fab news on the job! If that doesn't inspire you to eat well and exercise loads then nothing will! Boredom deffo makes you gain weight. The vending machine in the kitchen makes sure of that!! When I'm just sitting there with nothing to do, I clock watch til snack o'clock and then clock watch til lunchtime. I deffo think things are getting VERY stale at work. If they dont sort me out something more "challenging" very very soon, i am going to make the move. I would be so nice to be home by 5.30pm if i worked locally.....

2kids Well done on getting into a 14! :o

lisbapalea Well done on the 2lbs off! Saturday sounds very yummy! :o

Pink How does it work when you're on the 5:2? I briefly read on the MFP forums that you can eat what you like and then have 500 cals on the fasting days. Does it mean LITERALLY anything you like on the other 5 days?? I am very intrigued by this! Not sure how it can work if you eat just what you like for 5 days!

Sweetheart Hello and welcome! Feel free to add me on MFP - same name as here. :) Weekends are really REALLY hard to control food and drink-wise aren't they. I really struggle with drinking too much wine at the weekends too. Nightmare! I cannot wait for school to start in September - i am craving my normal routine and all this entertaining the kid malarky is very hard!!

Wheredidiputit Wow - a WEEK in advance?! That's dedication! :) I do have a 5 week menu planner on my notice board but since DP has been on a health kick and literally only eats stir fries during the week, i've not been following it at all. Especially as i'm trying to reduce my carbs so cant have half of what's on the menu anyway. Plus also, DD is extremely fussy and probably wouldn't eat it either! ERK!! I dont whether to carry on with the menu system just for myself and my fussy DD which will no doubt mean i will be eating more carbs than i would like or do I just to keep cooking a different dinner for us all.

Sparkle Wow, well done on the (almost) six stone!!! That's amazing!

:o

I'm doing the same as Pink, RGPargy. Experimenting with the 5:2, but otherwise sticking to my MFP levels. I someimes plan for a fast day, then it doesn't happen (due to daily plans rather than willpower at the mo) and then I know it's still OK as I'm under my MFP cals.

The general idea is that you don't really make up for the cals you didn't eat on the 2 fast days with what you eat on the other 5 days. I'm finding that 500 is fine to stick to if I've planned ahead and it has really helped me sort out my hunger levels and my portion sizes as I feel fuller quicker when I'm eating now. Even on the other days, it seems to have a knock on and I'm choosing my meals and eating well enough, without going over too much without even trying.

It is a bit of a head-wreck, though, to eat 'normally' and have more than what MFP says when I'm on a 'normal' day following those occasions that I HAVE managed to have a 'fast' day. I keep thinking I'm spoiling what I'm doing. Time will tell.

I'm also secretly concerned that it can be a fast (no pun intended) way for some people who might be that way inclined, to start restricting what they eat quite severely on more than 2 days a week. I've already read about people saying "Didn't get the loss I wanted this week, so am going to have 3 fast days next week." So far it all seems in control, but I wonder if there are people out there for whom 2 days will become 3, then 4, then all the time.

Yes almost 6 stone. That's not even to my ideal BMI though. To get to the top of my BMI range (though we know that's not a perfect scale to go with) I have 22lbs to lose. One thing I wish I'd done was measured myself!

I watched that programme with the 5:2 fast days. It's something to think about, but I can see how it could work short term and how people could get carried away. Can't imagine lasting on 500 a day and I certainly wouldn't excersise on those days.

Also congrats to those who have lost this week. It's a great feeling. Well done!

Oh i see, so you basically still stick to your cals on your normal days but then go uber low on 2 days a week. I can also see how it could out of control for some people too. I will be watching with interest!!

The Horizon programme didn't talk about limiting your cals on a 'feed' day. It just talked about eating normally. As in 2000 cals or whatever the average daily requirement is when you aren't dieting. I'm not keen to go that high as it feels out of control, but it does let you fit in a treat or two you couldn't otherwise have.

I managed to stick to 500 easily as long as I planned ahead. I had a piece of salmon with a mega plate of salad. A bit boring as I had that twice in one day, but it was 2 lovely meals that fitted in without feeling like I was fasting.

I'm hoping to do the same again tomorrow. If I 'fail' then I just stick to my MFP cals and don't sweat it!

Hello everyone, been doing fine with cals etc. I aim for 1200 but some days I have to force myself to eat a snack which will bulk things up. Still doing wii fit every day i am off. Didn't manage on Tuesday but I could have done with a fitbit at work as I never stood or sat still the whole morning haha.

Well done sparklemummy. My friend has lost 5st and the before and after photo's are amazing xx

Hi everyone. I'm aiming for 1lb a week but can't get out of the habit of jumping on the wii fit most days and my weight goes up and down like a yoyo, though the trend is down at the moment. I've done two days of lifting at the gym this week (before my swim) and wonder how that will affect things. Maybe will do the parkrun tomorrow, that always sets me up for a relaxed Saturday eating wise!

Rg Is it just that the fee earners find it easier to use technology these days? I know in my first trainee legal exec job I had to do my own typing, then when I had to dictate in my next job I found it less productive. In my current job we had dedicated wp ops but these days they never type, all the officers type their own reports or use vr software and we now have handwriting recognition too. Have you thought of moving to fee earning yourself? Would your firm sponsor you to do ilex? I really enjoyed my 2 years of day release at mid kent college!

My dh is trying the 5:2 he never counts calories usually, and lives on coffee and tea on his fast day and blows all his calories on an evening meal! He lost 6 lbs the first time but put most of it it back on, he seems to be sticking to it though and weighing everyday so I am waiting to see how it goes for him!

Can I join this thread please? Just started my using mfp this week and am hooked already. Have about two stone to lose. Am looking for help with low cal snack ideas that dont cost a bomb!

Well done to you all on your weight loss so far

Hello camt good to see you here, the more the merrier! add me on mfp if you like, same name as on here. I've still got at least 5 stone to lose but plodding along and doing it slowly to avoid the dreaded excess skin. The weight training is going to help tone everything up...

my low cal snack of the moment is cherry tomatoes, will soon be picking my own from the greenhouse...

Hello all and welcome to all new joiners! Feel free to add me on mfp, my name there is petd.
Well, it is still going ok here, I am now just over half way to my goal, having lost 18.7kg so far!
Mind you, my first goal only puts me just inside the healthy bmi range, will probably keep going for a bit once I reach it)

I have read up on the 5:2 thing after reading about it on here but I don't think I could do that. jchoc I will be interested in hearing about your dh's progress
I struggle to stay within the 1700 odd calories I am allowed most days. I guess I am just a foodie, that will take a while to change I suspect.

I don't think I could fast 2 days a week even if it meant I could eat what I wanted the other 5! I genuinely have a smaller appetite now than when I started and I think that helps me to eat less and make lower calories more sustainable (I say lower as I was almost 15st when I started and was gaining about 1lb a week so must have been consuming 3000+ calories I would have thought). I agree that if you have a tendancy to be a bit controlling that you could end up fasting too much but also that if you are a binger and perger (sp!) it could also lead towards that too. I hope it works out for those of you that are giving it a try though.

Off to (hopefully) sunny Hampshire tomorrow morning, so looking forward to a week away with my boys! Some ice cream will be consumed but I won't be going mad and a week without weighing will be interesting, although I didn't weigh last night or this morning and wasn't too bothered :). I'll be taking my phone so still logging and sticking my head in here too to hear everyones progress. I am faaaaarrrr too excited about going to Peppa Pig world too!!!!

I can do the odd day, here and there, but I think I've given up on trying to stick to that diet plan. I'm back to happily counting my cals normally.

I know where I stand with that. It works.

JChocChip Yes it is most likely that the lawyers are finding it easier to do things themselves these days. I quite often do overtime in the WP department too, covering those on holiday or off sick, and mostly I have nothing to do! I haven't thought about fee earning myself. I think the only feasible thing i could do would be to be a paralegal. I dont think they would be too happy to put me on a day release to college - I only work 2 days a week! I'm not sure that paralegals get paid as much as a legal sec, actually..... PS - Mid Kent college (which is just literally up the road from me!) has now been bulldozed and turned into new swanky houses. The new Mid Kent College is now situated in Gillingham!

2kids I know what you mean - I find Fast days were taken over a bit by me thinking about food all day and waiting to be able to eat, so I've gone back to straight forward MFP cal counting. Although it's helped me realise that I can manage on less cals without keeling over, and I did one day last week where I had about 750 cals and felt fine. I also find exercising on fast days no problem.

I think most people don't count cals on the non-fast days but don't seem to eat to excess.

RG I totally agree with you re drinking - after overindulging last night I'm going to try a few weeks without drinking as it always ruins my efforts every weekend.

Signing off for 16 days while I go to Florida. I weighed this morning and I've lost the 1.5 stone I was aiming for before holiday :) I'm not dieting on holiday but will try to remember to log into MFP every day so I don't lose my progress. See you in 16 days and good luck with the weight loss everyone :)

Have a great time Eight... Sounds fab!

I'm a bit disheartened, because I've spent the last 5 weeks counting my cals and when I work it out I've only lost 3lb. Better than all the weight I'd have put ON if I wasn't paying attention and being careful over the summer hols though. I've chosen not to count this weekend, but start again with a vengance tomorrow as I've got one more week before school is back to see what I've achieved.

Then it should get a little easier. I'm more active at work, so will be able to up my cals a bit. And all the extra exercise can only help.

Plus - I'm in this for the long haul, not just a quick fix.

2kids like you say, much better to have lost over the hols than to have gained - which would be easy to do with day trips out, ice-creams, no routine etc. The slower it comes off the more likely it is to stay off too. I'm guessing you haven't got much to lose?

I've just ordered Jillain Michael's 6pack in 6 weeks dvd!! I'm a bit scared but I have been going to quite hard exercise classes regularly over the past 4 weeks so think my fitness has improved, and it gets rave reviews on Amazon...Will let you know how it goes once it's arrived. It sounds ideal for me as I don't really need to lose much weight numbers wise, but desperately need to tone up my midriff area as I have a horrible muffin top and is where any extra weight settles.

Enjoy Florida Eight I'm totally jealous!!

Had a weekend with brownies at pack holiday. I've weighed in later and with heavier clothes on. Stayed the same x

Have a wonderful time EightToSixer, hope you manage to keep your progress :)

I think you have done well 2Kidsintow! I am a childminder and walk a lot term time so have always put on weight in the school holidays so to lose is really good. You should concentrate on those lbs that you haven't put on added onto the 3 you have lost

Next week should be a bigger loss than you expect groovee!

Pinkcustard. Jillian will get rid of your muffintop

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted for a while lots of stuff going on at home so my mind has been diverted. Still, it all seems to have been good for the weight loss, and I'm now probably at the same weight I was when I was 20.

I don't know whether to stop now, or go for another half a stone, I think I'm very influenced by super slim celebrities and what we see in the papers and I do think it's influenced me in what I regard as being slim or a little on the heavy side. It's when I read things like Nicole Kidman weighs in at 8 stone or something like that and I think well she looks lovely I'd like to be like that. The sensible side of me says you're never going to look like Nicole Kidman in a million years, but then the other side of me wants to have a beautiful figure and look great in a bikini.

I'm waffling sorry. Well done to everyone on their weight loss and particularly those who are exercising, I'm still only walking the dog a couple of times a day.

Hello! Not been around for a while either, been in Greece for a week and put on about 2lbs. Considering the amount of wine, bread, calamari and baklava that I imbibed during the week, I'm very pleased it wasn't more! Started on MFP again yesterday, and felt headachey, tired and hungry like I did when I first started. Hoping that'll pass soon.

Seeing photos of myself on holiday has made me realise that I mustn't get complacent about my loss so far, and I do still have a long way to go. I must've been massive before to look as big as I do minus two stone. :(