Okay people.. so i'm fairly new into this 'diet' idea. so one question i have been meaning to ask...

What do you know now that you wish you knew then??

Basically, what are some things (tips, 'tricks', etc) that you wish somebody would have told you back when you first started a diet and had to figure out on your own.

It can be related to food, exercise, etc...

I would have quit the sugar in college and never become fat and tired.

The cupcake fad would not have even affected me.

I would have saved a lot of money on low-fat milk that would spoil before I drank it all.

Drink a lot of water before you eat, it will help you feel full faster, also wait 20 minutes after eating to decide if your still hungry.

I never would have tried to eat diet or low fat food. I would have gotten a good food scale right away.

I would have told myself that it will take longer than I want to lose it all. I started in September, hoping to be finished losing in March. Its April and I've still got months left to go. I would have prepared myself to be in it for the long haul.

I would also tell myself that holidays and such are NOT about the food. There are countless holidays that I would let myself eat all I wanted (my birthday, hubby's birthday, 4th of july, summer bbqs, thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, New Years, Valentine's, our anniversary...the list goes on) and those come around so often, that I never had the chance to lose anything until I stopped pigging out at the holidays.

That sleep is probably the #1 most important thing for weight loss.

I wasted 20 years trying to diet and stop bingeing at the same time. Finally I broke the bingeing cycle by not trying to diet at the same time and 4 years later started the diet that I was able to stick to now that I wasn't tempted to binge/diet/binge/diet.

Stop the BS and buckle down and do it. No one is buying it and you are just hurting yourself.

Make it a lifestyle change and not a temporary miserable diet.

Not hating myself and learning to love myself was big (at ANY size). Loving myself through my journey and not when I'm x weight was important.

Focus on the mini goals and break it up to smaller challenges: a on plan day, an on-plan meal, 30 minutes of exercise a day.

Learn to use the scale as a TOOL and not let it ruin the day. Focusing on the NSV (non-scale victories) was huge too!

Take more fat pictures. I wish I had more before pictures to look at even though I do have plenty .

Stop comparing myself to other people. There is always someone prettier, younger, richer, thinner, smarter than me. Likewise, there has to be someone who is envious and comparing themselves to me too. (this goes back to loving myself and gaining confidence)

Progress not perfection. Don't go for the all-or-nothing approach, you will lose steam and feel frustrated.

Maintenance requires vigilance too.

There are no absolutes in life. People can change with the right motivation. I never thought I would ENJOY exercise but now I feel restless if I go a day without it.

Yes, I would tell myself to not give up after not seeing the results I wanted right away. For me it takes longer but if I hadnt have kept going after things got rough then I would have never seen the results that I see now, So I would say give yourself time and you will see results one day

That weight training would change my life and I would look far better 20lbs heavier with heavy lifting and cardio intervals. That focusing on gaining athletic strength, rather than weight loss, would bring better body composition results. And that healthier alternatives taste just as good.

Other people will give you "principles," but having done this for just under three months, I can give you a few "regrets":

I regret paying for supplements of any kind.
I regret buying low-cal dessert replacements that just gave me more cravings for the "real thing."
I regret diet soda.
I regret meal replacement bars before I discovered fiber bars.
I regret eyeballing my portions, especially grain portions like cereal.
I regret allowing myself more than one cheat day in a row, ever.

Most of all: I regret every binge, every time I gave up mid-workout, every day I did less than my best.

I wish I would have written a couple of letters to myself during the weight-loss journey, mostly about all of the benefits to which I was looking forward and describing my excitement and goals. Then, on days when I felt miserable and wanted to give in, I could open a letter to myself from several weeks/months earlier to reinvigorate and regain that initial excitement and discipline. It's really, really easy to forget how far I've come.

Plus, I would have taken pictures of myself at each 5 pound loss so I could see a difference. I've lost over 30 pounds, but I still see my reflection in the mirror as exactly the same. Photos would have helped.

moderation. that is all

-that there is no sense in throwing in the towel when weight loss didn't happen for me for one/two/three week(s)...this leads to gaining it all back
-that a diet is not about depriving myself and being hungry all the time
- that there is such a thing as 'skinny fat', and without exercise, that is what I'll eventually become
- when I get hungry, I don't have to eat RIGHT THAT SECOND (I won't die if I'm hungry for a little while, I had to get used to that)
- just because it's x's birthday, doesn't mean I have to eat the cake/pizza etc. If I want results, I can't give in to temptation at every opportunity
- drink lots and lots of water, at least 2L/day, when exercising, more!

If I could only go back 10 years and tell myself:

1. Stop trying to evade eating healthy by buying all diet or fat free versions of the crap...just eat clean. Veggies, fruits, lean meat, whole grains (limited) low fat diary though... Unlike every other "diet" I've been on, you won't find diet pudding in my fridge or diet bars or soy crisps in my kitchen. I used to finish every night with sugar free ice cream...no more. When I do endulge, its real ice cream, and its an occasional treat. I also watch the carbs. They seems to trigger binges for me.

2. Work out even when you fall of the "diet" wagon. Workout with the main goal of improving cardiovascular health. Losing weight from it is just a perk.

3. All or nothing mentality will always leave you with nothing. Because "all" means perfection, which is just not possible.