Hello im new, plz help!

Hey everyone. im April, 19 years old and new to this site.. i have been wanting to lose weight for awhile now (especially since after my daughter was born, ive still not lost all the baby weight and its been over a year!) but am really confused on the foods im supposed be eating or how many times a day are we supposed to eat and what size portions?? ...also, how much excercise should i be doing? im trying to only drink water now and eat less , also going for more walks since its summer.. any help would be great :-)

you seem to be doing everything right. portions are supposed to be the size of your fist. i.e. that much pasta or that much cereal. i find using a small glass or a mug helps with the portion size this forum seems to use that too.

for exercise aim to do walks about 30 minutes a couple days a week. or everyday if you want.

well CC (Caloriecount) is big on nutrition, it recommends that females have no less than 1, 200 calories per day, that number is made because that's about how many calories you need to have your daily recommendation of everything, (calcium, vitamin A ... etc.) There is stuff in the Tools section that will tell you about how much you burn in a day, how many calories you should have in order to lose weight at about 1.5 pounds per week.  So CC wants you to be nutritious, now whether you can or not, whatever. 

Make sure you drink about 2.5 litres of water, the actual number varies from person to person, I have been trying and can't really make it to 2.5 so do your best XD

There is no set number as to how many meals per day you should have, some people prefer 6 small meals a day over 3 larger ones, apparantly it boosts your metabolic digestive rate ... I also heard spicey foods will do that a bit as well. the more you snack, even on raw baby carrots, your stomach is still going and going.

what size portions ... ok well there is a calorie assistant thing on your "My Account" section, or just on the website you can look up foods and see how many calories are in them, thisi s where you calorie count, and depending on the calories is the size of your meal. Get it? ~.~ like I can of campbells soup without milk is 70 calories, I just made mine with water, so I have a massive bowl of soup for 70 calories ... you also have to search for yourself things like fat free milk, not 1% but like ... the most watery fat free skim milk you can find, and fat free cheese slices ... and weight watchers brown bread(which you can't find everywhere) things like broth soups, vegetables, lots of them, fruits and stufff ...... ya k bye ^_^

Hi April,

I am new to this site as well and I hear you on trying to loose weight after having children.I am 29 this year and have a 7 year old and 3 year old.I lost most of the weight I gained after my 2nd one,but I have sat at the 60 kilo mark for 2 years now.

I never understood Calorie Counting then I was reading a book done by an Australian Doctor and for the first time I really understood it.Then I  found this web site where you can put what you eat and exercise down and it keeps track of it during the day.This web site is very easy to understand which I think is a big bonus!!

I have been doing this site for one week now and lost 1.5 kilos.I am more aware of what I eat and I try to limit what I eat most days by counting the points.

For the first time this year I feel better and I am enjoying wearing my jeans.

I am even going in a marathon at the end of the year.

Just been conscious of the amount of Calories has been all I needed to get started.

You are on the right track....

Andrea...

There aren't a lot of rules, but this is how it works:

You can keep track of the calories you consume by logging your food and you can keep track of the calories burned by logging your activity. In order to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you consume.

Technically, you can eat whatever you want, you can fill up on candy bars as long as you do not go over your calories for the day, though not recommended:), but if you are eating calorie dense foods, you will probably not feel satisfied as your portions will be extremely limited.

As for how much you should eat, it depends on what works best for you, but it's said that eating 6 small meals a day is best rather than 3 large, as it keeps your metabolism active.

That's what I do, and I rarely feel hungry and I am toning up quickly.

As for the foods you eat. I don't know how disciplined you are, but I shoot for 6 small meals/snacks a day, none exceeding 200 calories. Depending on how low the calories are sometimes I eat 6-12 times. I rarely eat meat, but I eat lots of fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables are not only full of vitamins and minerals, but most are very low in calories, and high in fiber. Food high in fiber will help you to feel full, satisfied at a low calorie cost, so you can eat more throughout the day!

I make fruits and vegetables the spotlight of my diet. Which helps me keep my calories low without feelings of deprivation.

Eating meat is okay too, but a serving size of meat should really be about the size of a deck of cards, and organic chicken is about 30% lower in fat than those poor factory fattened and farmed ones. I usually stick to small portions of fish or sea food. Shell fish like mussels, clam, etc. are super low in calories and mostly protein.

Whole grains are a definite. Stick to Whole Wheat, brown rice...things like that. Personally, although it's not the most nutrient dense food, I really like the Sara Laa 45 calorie a slice bread. It tastes good and allows me to eat sandwiches yummy sandwiches under 200 calories.

Anyhow, this is a long explanation, sorry about that. Finally, watch out for hidden calories:

cooking oil, cream in your coffee, condiments.

And keep in mind that veggies can be dressed up with lemon juice, light/low calorie butter, worcestershire sauce, all sorts of stuff. Invest in condiments!

As for exercise, walking 1 hour a day for 8 weeks can help you lose 20% of your belly fat. Doing hills and inclines can help you lose the fat and tone up. Jogging and sprinting are the fastest, but can be hard on your body (I have learned the hard way). A little strength training is good for you. The more muscle you build, the faster you will burn fat...plus look really hot!

Good luck!