Myfitnesspal.com support thread 6!!!

[cinnamongreyhound]

A thread for all those wanting support and advice for using mfp website and app. Welcome to everyone new and those of us that have been around a while

Four tribe should obviously be four stone

just checking in, had a lovely day and starting to realize that the more I exercise the more I can eat. (I know it should be obvious)

have downloaded a C25k app but am going to start after half term so I've got a full 9 week go at it. I'm a bit concerned about just how many hills are round here, it'll be hard to find a levelish bit of road to keep me going 20 to 30 mins.

I've lost 2 pounds since starting MFP and 5 since New Year. slow and steady.

Thank you for the friend requests on MFP so far. I would send requests myself but I'm on the app and it won't seem to let me add by username only by Facebook or my phone contacts.

Chubfuddler, if you go to the 'add contact via email address' option, that's where it gives you the choice of adding by username. Have just added you, anyway. Good luck with MFP!

Oh thanks am a bit of a Luddite!

Coming back to the thread from MFP - I thought it'd be nice to share some recipes as I know that I'm not the only one in a food rut - whoever thought I'd get bored of steak and salad!

When we're being good I work through most of these recipes - DH particularly likes the spiced ones, which make him feel less like I'm punishing him

Easy Couscous Salad
Spicy Chapati Wraps - these are super quick and very tasty
Chorizo with couscous and chickpeas feels stodgy and comforting
Prawn Pilau v easy and tasty, a storecupboard meal too!
Salmon fishcakes can be made in advance and then shoved in the oven
Dhal
Sweet potato and chilli soup
Stuffed peppers a bit of a faff but good if entertaining.

I'd love to see some other people's diet recipes!

Thanks for the recipes, I don't really have anything low calorie just eat smaller portions. Hopefully someone will come along with some more ideas :)

Just started MFP today and want to sob into a non-calorific snack. 1,200 calories a day? How! I thought I'd had a pretty good day today - lots of fruit and veg, no biscuits or booze, and I'm at nearly 1,800. Clearly I need tips so am going to trawl back through this thread - but in the meantime. Agggghhhh!

markymark - MFP always seems to suggest 1200 or 1300 calories per day to everyone who wants to lose any amount of weight I think! If you don't mind losing the weight more slowly, or if you don't have a lot to lose, I'd up your target calories a bit. You can override what MFP tells you. I changed mine to 1600, which felt manageable and still forces me to eat significantly less than I was eating before. I knew I'd never be able to stick to 1200 or whatever it was that MFP suggested so there was no point trying and failing to stick to it in the medium/long term.

Tips that have worked for me:

• if you are a white wine drinker, drink 100ml of wine and top up with sparkling water (approx 80 calories per glass, and you can really make it last depending on how much water you're happy to add).
• do exercise regularly, it "wins" you more calories to eat
• watch the oil, mayonnaise and butter. These little extras eat a horrific amount of calories. I use small amounts in salads / sandwiches etc, but have cut way back on the amount I cook with.

Good luck!

Marky. Try to reduce your carbs which helps hugely with cal count.
I have a small amount of rice and maybe one thin slice of bread but no potatoes or pasta. I fill up on veg.

Bastard pizza box tricked me.
I thought it said the cals for 1/2 but it was 1/4
Weeps at eating 800 cals on something I didn't even enjoy.

Marky - I tend to bulk up on veg and add small amounts of strongly flavoured ingredients (sadly where the calories lie). Last night I made a Spanish omelette for supper which had half a fridge's worth of veg in it and 50g of chorizo for two of us. That way we kept the calories down and still had the flavour.

Look up a BMR calculator online and use the figures it gives you as your calorie intake. MFP suggests 1200 for everyone and its very hard to sustain.

Also, do the exercise. If you can't run then get out for walks, or do a DVD if you can't go to the gym. I can't sustain the low calories without earning some back through exercise.

Ledkr- that is frustrating. It's something I noticed this weekend on packaging too. The worst part is not enjoying it though, isn't it. Today is another day though, so onwards and downwards

I'm half a pound up today, which is annoying, but am half an inch down on my waist so am taking a win. It's such slow going for me once I'm under 10 stone. Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll be at target. Off to the gym again now.

I know what you mean, markymark - my first two days at 1200 I was woozy with hunger. I've never counted calories before and was shocked at how little it was. Anyway I've put my goal up to 1450 now, as I'm still exclusively breastfeeding. It still means I haven't eaten chocolate for weeks now - I never thought the day would come!

I've found things that make it more manageable are lots of exercise (which I've not done enough of), drinking lots of water (which I now do before reaching for a snack) and cooking things yourself (which I used to be too lazy to do, but now feels like second nature). I'm really hoping some of these habits stick when I go back to work, because I do feel much better for it!

Oh but I still butter my toast though, because life's too short!

Can I ask about the BMR thing? I'd that what you can still eat to lose!
I ok on the 1200 but it's starting to become a bit limiting.

Yes - your BMR is what you need to stay alive if you do nothing. There are multiples you can apply for levels of activity, but work it out and see what it comes out as before you apply a multiplier.

I think 1200 is far too limiting - and if I'm honest, far too low. I expect I'm not losing fast because I was too limited in my intake. I now make sure that 1200 is my bottom limit for calories in and do a shedload of exercise to make up the rest!

I'm a bit worried about my already crap metabolism grinding to a hault.
I do go over a bit at weekends tho so I guess that makes up for it.
Anyone got a plan for the weekend? I think I'm going to avoid the carbs to keep things low. I mean pasta bread and spuds btw not wine.

Ledkr - for me weekends tend to involve eating at someone's house / dinners out / going away for weekend / having houseguests (delete as appropriate) so I tend to go over too. Quite spectacularly in the case of last Saturday, and this Sat we have a BBQ party to go to, so I think I'll go quite over again.

I tend to eat a late (10.30/11am) cooked breakfast and no lunch at the weekend though, which helps reserve some calories for inevitable evening indulgence...plus I can fit in more exercise at weekends too.

I never got below 1360 and was at 9st 8 at target and was still losing. I was set to lightly active though. I am now on 1760 and am maintaining nicely. I went for smaller portions rather than cutting out anything particular but was very hungry for the first 3 weeks using mfp.

I find weekends easier as I eat breakfast later and we are usually doing something and I'm a boredom eater. Afternoons when ds2 and minded children are sleeping is a bad time for me!!

Cinnamon were you heavy before? How much did you lose a week?
It's the prep and cost that's hard for me. It's so easy to get a sand which or a bowl of pasta but less easy to prepare something else.

Started at 15st and was on 1500 and something to start with. I lost pretty much 2lb a week. 5 1/2st in 8 months total.

Have a sandwich but get a 400g loaf so the slices are smaller. Tins of soup are cheap and quick. I also have mug shots for lunch most of them are 200+ calories a pack. I have Cherry tomatoes or gherkins to bulk out a small lunch if I'm feeling a bit hungry.

Thanks for the tips - I did manage 1,200 yesterday but think I'm going to aim for 1,500. Seems a bit more realistic, but it did make me realise I'd been kidding myself about my previous 'healthy' diet!

It's my birthday tomorrow so no counting for me this weekend - onwards and upwards from Monday!

It sure does make you realise what you were eating before
I am due on and am ashamed to say I had a slight binge. A club biscuit and a ww bake well slice. I shall still log it so judge away lol.

Yikes!

I've just completed my food entry for today and it's much better than I'd thought. I bet I'll remember loads of other things I've eaten once I get into bed

Also, was feeling rather pleased with myself earlier. I didn't need to do the school run this afternoon but chose to take my two mindees (in the double buggy) on the 40 minute sch run walk anyway because I knew I'd be having cake this evening (it's my birthday and my family would not allow me to not have any).

We're going camping this weekend and I haven't really thought about what kind of foods would be good to take. So far, all I've got a pack a croiassants and a pack of pain au chocolat (for DS and my sister - honest!!). We're going to have very limited cooking/cold storage facilities...any suggestions?

As above mug shots. Tinned food often low cal.
I find I eat less camping cos it's harder.