Post something that you found out while on your diet or just in general that could help others in theirs using the line "I never knew....." Then explain if or how it helped you.

I'll go first.

I never knew alcohol affected my diet this much.

I'm not a lush, but once or twice a week I like to have a few drinks with the girls. I stopped drinking for a week, and this horrible plateau I've been on for months has finally budged!!! I lost 6 pounds this week.

It's not just from the alcohol, it's also because when we drink, we eat unhealthy snack. So in cutting out one, i'm cutting out both.

I never knew how different exercise would really make me look and feel. i had never done it and thought i never would. it has toned me so much already and i am STOKED!

I never knew how quickly you can lose your ability to run. I was a running queen from like July to December. Stopped 15 Jan. Tried the other night. Did NOT go well. I need to start the C25K almost all over again!

I never knew how much cooking at home would help me! I control what goes in my mouth and I feel a growing sense of accomplishment that helps me stay on track when my healthy meals taste good.

I never knew how big my portions were! I cook dinner every night for my man and myself, and I was eating ridiculous amounts of healthy foods. I also never knew how much I really was eating until I started writing it down religiously. Those 'just a bites' can really add up.
And to agree with you, dizzysoi, I never realized how many calories my drinking could add up to.

I never knew I would be running 5km after training for just a month and a half! It's run/walk intervals but still!

I never knew how much better home cooked meals taste and are for you than eating out.

100% agree with dizzysoi. I didn't drink from Jan 1 - Jan 15 and there was a huuuuuge difference! But, as they say, we should only be making changes we can stick with and that is most certainly one I cannot keep forever.

I never knew it was humanly possible to pee as much as I do when drinking this much water.

i am genuinely shocked how nightly sit-ups affected my waste line so fast. as a 250 lb girl, i had no idea sit-ups would actually make a difference. after 3+ weeks of sit-ups (starting at 75 a night, now at 200 a night), i am super stoked to notice a gradually slimming tummy.

I never knew all these things the other posters have been saying.. I need to start paying more attention!!!

hah j/k I do agree with the portions bit.. I ate way to big of portions, I am glad I am measuring it is helping a lot!

I never knew that if you gave up junk food and processed sugars for a couple of months, how badly your body would react if you reintroduced them. Ooooh boy, my stomach did not want that stuff anymore!

Not to mention I never knew that you could taste the greasy film fast food leaves on your tongue. Not appetizing! Why did I ever eat that stuff?

I never realized my perception of weight loss was so wrong! I always figured as long as I was working out, the weight would come off. I never considered how huge an impact my diet had on my weight loss. Sounds stupid- I know! But really in my mind, if I was working out and had a relatively decent diet, then I should be losing weight. Turns out I needed to focus more energy on my diet than my exercise.

I never knew (more like believed) that increasing my calories would bring me out of a plateau (more like I was starving myself). Yay for eating more and losing more!

I never knew that dieting chips away at your lean muscle and that exercise is so important to retain that muscle and lose only fat. I also never knew how detrimental yo-yo dieting is and the more you do it, the harder time you have losing weight.

I also never knew I could easily survive on 1400 calories a day. When I was first calorie tracking, an 1800 day was a low day, probably followed by a 2300.

I never realized how much crap food I eat until I started keeping track of it. basically nothing held nutritional value, no wonder I never got full!