Weight loss and Fitness - Myfitnesspal

gonegirl

Hey, anyone else out there using Myfitnesspal.com? It's free and lets you track what you eat and your exercise.  Was wondering if anyone else on the board uses it and would be up for being friends on the site.  I sure could use some encouragement from other breast cancer warriors working on getting healthier.

Right now I'm about 217 pounds and with all the chemo and then surgery, I've decided I really need to cut back on the pounds to make it easier for me to just get around (the chemo really, really weakened me).

Appreciate anyone's feedback.

Rock on healthily.

Susan

DLL66

I use it & love it. I was worried about gaining weight from being on tamoxifen plus my BMI was just outside of "healthy" range. I am down 25 lbs & 3 pants sizes since June. I definitely feel like I have more energy.

If you want my MFP name, shoot me a PM. 

Blessings2011

Hi, gritgirl - I have both "Lose It" and "My Fitness Pal" on my iPhone, and I'm still getting used to both of them.

I just finished a 9 month weight loss program (Medically-supervised Optifast) in which I reached my weight loss goal.

HOWEVER - heheheheh  - exercise was always a part of the program, and truthfully I have not exercised since August. AT ALL.

For some reason, the idea of counting calories going in (and subtracting the equivalent amount for doing exercise) sounded so much like Math, it was very daunting for me.

Let me take a look at the MyFitnessPal program again...I didn't know you could have friends on the site!!!

DLL66

With MFP there is no math. The app does the math for you.

Blessings2011

DLL66 - I know!!!! It informed me that I was about 3,000 calories over my limit yesterday!!!!!! 

Anonymous

I just (re)started yesterday.  I use it on my iphone and find it to be the most convenient, easiest and helpful method. Somewhat similiar to the philosophies of Weight Watchers.  If you record what you are eating, you are more aware and tend to do less "mindless casual eating".  ( Yes, I'm a professional dieter

You tend to eat similiar foods over and over, so after awhile most of it is stored in there for you and logging your daily food is a breeze.  Plus I like that it encourages me to exercise too.

gonegirl

if anyone would like to friend me on mfp, i am of course gritgirl

Anonymous

gritgirl ~ just sent you an invitation!

Anonymous

Oh ... and my photo for MFP is kind of a joke. It's my "does this sweater make me look fat" face. 

Ihopeg

I have been using My fitness Pal since last January. I have have lost 43 lbs!! I love it! Although its not easy... I walk on treadmill 5 days a week for about 3 miles a day. I also do yoga and pilates. 

chrissilini

I've been using it since last January and love it. I've lost 37 lbs so far. I'm not done. Once you get the hang of it it's really easy. The one thing I had to adjust in the beginning is that it set my calories too low. I think I put in I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week and that just wasn't realistic for me. One pound works better and I still upped my cals some. Cn't have too much of a deficit!



Feel free to add me. Same screen name.



Good luck. You'll do great!

Hortense

I got My Fitness Pal a year ago and was surprised by how much I learned about my eating habits as I entered what I was consuming that first week. It helped me be far more conscious of exactly what I was eating and how many calories each entry was. Now I check packages, not just for satuated fat amounts which I had been doing for years in an effort to keep it as close to, or under, 10 grams a day, but for each food's suggested portion sizes which tends to be far smaller than I had realized.

I actually counted each square of Kashi's Autumn Wheat cereal one day and discovered that I had been pouring more than twice its recommended amount into my bowl each morning. Now, I put in only the recommended amount which I know by eye and top it off with a ton of fresh fruit and breakfast holds me well until lunchtime.

I don't use MFP all the time, but it certainly is a useful tool. I also got a pedometer after I finished chemo which I started wearing regularly to get an idea how far I was walking each day. It was discouraging. I really wasn't walking nearly as much as I had thought, so I looked for ways to incease the steps I took.

I don't always wear it, but I have a much better idea of when I haven't excersized enough. The only days I got above 7000 steps were the ones when I went to the gym.

gonegirl

i used the site years ago and lost a bunch of weight and brought my cholesterol down by 20 points because i finally was getting a clue as to what had more cholesterol in it.  at this point i'm thinking i'm going to need to track my food for the rest of my days.  i've lost some weight since chemo (i gained 20 pounds while on chemo, 10 of that from water retention due to steroids).  i never had an issue with not being hungry on chemo, and i let myself eat what i wanted on chemo, obviously.

glad to see all the other users on here.  sure helps me with motivation. it's been frustrating.  i need to stop weighing myself and instead pay attention to how my clothes fit.  weight can go up and down on a dime depending on water weight.  plus, if i can just stop gaining, that would be a huge bonus.  nice to meet you all.

susan