I'm finding out what I really eat!

I've started using the website My Fitness Pal and find it an eye opener to see exactly what I do eat! Anyone else using it?

[Artsoru]

I'm also using the App! Its crazy how all the calories add up if you don't pay attention isn't it?!

On the other hand its nice to see what you burn off too! I also have a pedometer app which helps me towards my 10,000 steps a day!

Sophie

[spindrift]

Hi, I started using My Fitness Pal, and it is scary how those calories add up. It certainly makes me more aware of what I am eating.

[elliebath Maintainer]

So right! For thr first few weeks I found it really helpful to plan my day up to 1300cals and I lost 8lbs , then I had a weekend with family visiting, and thought Id just eat "normally" that day, same as them (they are all slim) so we had a salad lunch (but with small slice quiche), an afternoon ice cream in park, homecooked dinner of coq au vin, potato, veggies, fresh raspberries, cheeseboard , few glasses of wine...etc.. not exactly gluttonous but it added up to a whopping 2400 cals !!!!! What an eye opener. But we had a lovely day so this week I just have to be extra careful. Wish me luck

[Christine18]

This app is amazing it allows you to be aware of what you are eating. I would recommend it to anyone who is trying to lose weight.

[fenbadger]

I'm not going to knock this - if it works for you it's fine and go for it. What astounds me is how we've (I include myself in this) become so far from knowing what is "good" and what is "bad". A healthy balanced diet is what gets "prescribed" for all sorts of conditions with only some being restricted - like coeliac - . Why have we let ourselves get into this. I've managed to lose 2 stone but it's taken over a year. I understand from the medics that because it was slow, it's more likely to stay off - and it's too easy to get caught up in magic promises of losing 7lb in a week. Nearly all diets do that as it's spare water that goes, and comes back on when you stop the diet. The other truth I've discovered is that once the weight is off you can't go back to the old ways, that's how we got there in the first place.

I take it you think it's worth recommending

[iangoulds in reply to fenbadger]

You under-rate your achievement. 2 stone!!! That's fantastic. Well done. What is the secret?

[fenbadger in reply to iangoulds]

There's no secret or miracle cure. I think you answer yourself. - persistence.

Portion control is a tired phrase but it works. Don't drop the size quickly, go down 10% at a time, not straight down to 50%, Be VERY careful when eating out as gourmet food is often smothered in cream, salt oils and fats and sugar - actually much the same faults as processed food. I cook from fresh and don't add much "seasoning". It is a bit boring/bland but imagination can help.

Don't stop everything you like, just keep them as rare treats.

I have 3 meat free days a week, when I have meat it's 2 oz, with plenty of washed pulses (that helps reduce the gas producing chemicals). 4oz cheese a week and it's half fat. Watch out for "lighter" products, they can be counter productive, like the cheese has more salt.

It if you like cheese it might be worth using a stronger flavour as you can get away with less in a sandwich, but it makes a salad look a bit bare.

I think the best tactic has been to stop snacking between meals. It's hard to start but after a while I did not miss it.

I had a look at My Fitness Pal and it's ok, but seems a bit restrictive.

You know what you take in is already too much, so look at ways of cutting it down without becoming a fridge raider. Just moving the last meal earlier in the evening is said to help as you store late meals but metabolise the earlier ones.

Hope that helps and I wish you every success.

[iangoulds]

Yes-a great app but I can't keep up the daily discipline. I do it for a few days then lapse...((. I MUST make it a part of my daily routine.

[fenbadger in reply to iangoulds]

Oh, that was the other thing. Don't be in an impossible hurry. If your weight stops rising that in itself is a cause to celebrate, and once it drops, however slowly, that's better than rising. It's been a long time and won't win stars at w**ghtw*tch*rs but I'm better off than some folk who have been doing groups for decades.

[fenbadger]

Could always try a work out youtube.com/watch?v=w-d6vWM...(Not working as expected?)