... what I know now. I would have started differently. There are a couple of things I would have done right off the start. Things that would have smoothed and eased my weight loss journey.

I'm sure you all have some too. Here's one of mine.

Today, I'm tidying my kitchen. Clutter does not help me think wisely and make good decisions.
The junk is gone. I'm chopping and prepping salad fixings. I'm preparing serving sized morsels for my lunches. I'm batch cooking chicken.

I wish I could have a tidy kitchen! Unfortunately, I have 3 kids that go back and forth so I can walk into a clean kitchen and an hour later there are crumbs on the floor, dishes in the sink and the garbage can is full, lol.

The main thing I would have done differently, considering I had known the "secret", lol would be to have started this a lot earlier than I did. I had no idea of the concept of counting calories or portion size. When others would lose weight, the million dollar question is always "how did you do it"? and the million dollar answer is "watched what I ate and exercised". I watched what I ate, too. Actually, I'd stare it down for a while and then viciously break open that package of cookies, lol.

I didn't know it was going to be this easy. It is hard, but easy if that makes any sense. The hard part is just waiting for the weight to go away, but making good choices food-wise and counting calories is a lot easier than I thought. The exercise is somewhere in the middle. I started out loving my stationary bike and hating the treadmill and now it seems the other way around. That bike seat can be rough on the behind. I hope to take off a little more of the jiggly so I can go to the gym and try out the elliptical. If it were an ordinary gym, I would just go but this is my husbands academy gym, so his co-workers are there and I am just not comfortable enough to wear shorts and a tank in front of everyone.

I would never, EVER, have used small deviations from plan (or what I thought of as "complete failures" back then) as excuses for quitting entirely with the idea of "restarting on Monday".

Years and years went by while I told myself I would get serious and "start on Monday". And years and years went by where I would design a very rigid plan and the moment I ate something off-plan or didn't get in my scheduled exercise I would completely FREAK OUT (because I'd ruined everything, dontcha know), binge like a mad woman and then tell myself I'd be "perfect" again starting on Monday.

Ridiculous and ineffective in every way. It's not about being perfect every single moment for the rest of my life -- it's about being able to mentally adjust when I've made a less-than-stellar choice, being honest with myself (I get on that scale every single morning even if I drank a bottle of wine the night before, no hiding!), and then quickly and mindfully returning to my plan with a focus on moving forward (no punishing myself). It's about overall consistency and commitment. Those two qualities do more for me than my dogged perfectionism ever has.

Never buy into the "I'll start [restart] on Monday" idea. It's a black hole.

Tyler, I used to say that all the time too! Why on Earth anyone would WANT to start or restart a "diet" on one of the most stressful days of the week is beyond me. Not knocking those that have and stuck with it but for most people, I think maybe it has something to do with the unconcious mind setting up for failure and excuses out the you-know-what.

This time, I started on a Saturday. During TOM. And it has lasted longer than any other attempt.

I'm kinda new at this, I started exercising in early May and didn't start counting calories until the beginning of June but for me this is the longest I've ever stayed on a program. But still I'm doing pretty good. All previous efforts were over within a couple of days because "I was really bad and ate something that ruined EVERYTHING and now I'm a LOSER and I obviously CAN"T do this." So I waited for the dreaded Monday when I would be good again. I started counting calories on a Saturday too, how funny is that? And I love Mondays because the scale always says something less haha.

All this good and bad, you'd think I was committing some kind of crime lol.

I used to do this all the time, except when I would slip up I would tell myself that I had no self control and I would never lose weight so why bother? For me, being able to forgive myself for a bad choice then moving on has been vital in me staying on track.

BTW I started on Feb 10th which was a tuesday, On that day I remember saying I would start next week, then I thought about how dumb it was to wait so I decided to start right then.

I like the term "less-than-stellar" . Yes, we can have a less than stellar day without ruining everything. We can have a less than stellar moment without ruining everything.

Another thing that took me a while to appreciate is water. Boy oh boy a cold glass of water is a good thing!

I'm only a few months in, but for some reason, I just KNOW it's gonna stick this time. Can't explain why, but I think you all understand, seeing as you've all done so well.

I started the week before finals week, with a month left to go of my first year of med school. Made it through 2 rounds of exams! I also wish I had started sooner and wasted less time thinking "I'll start next week".

I also wish I had know how amazing it feels to nourish your body with healthy, delicious food and how much harm I was doing to my energy level/mood/health by eating crap. Not to say that I'll never indulge in anything again, but man, I can't imagine ever eating like I did before.

It's hard to get our heads around exercise. We're already tired and weary and we're supposed to do what? More activity? But it works. I do have more energy, I do sleep better.

I'm in agreement with Tyler. The dreaded "cheat" that became a week long binge only to be "restarted" on Monday...Oh and the 5 pound gain that really wasn't fat because it took SOOOOO many calories to equal a pound that the only reasonable explanation was it was water weight...LOL And when 5 became 10 then 100+ pounds, is that still water? Oh NO, there is no way a person could eat that many calories in such a short amount of time. Oh brother, the lies I told myself...and the myths I believed...(I can and have consumed 4000 calories in less than an hour, so yes IT CAN BE DONE.)

I don't know HOW I ever lived like I did. I just can't believe I kept waiting until tomorrow. I can't believe that I let food control my life. I can't believe how I let myself down. Sometimes I can't forgive myself for how I tortured my body. It is something I struggle with. I wish I would have known how remorseful I feel now that I can finally see what I was doing.

Loribell I think you said it all girl.

I totally agree.

I would have started sooner ~I think we all would have.
I actually would have cared sooner. There was times I could have just totally cared less.(BAD WAY TO FEEL!)
Because I was so Insecure reglardless ~with my weight/teeth/thin hair~I could name dozens of things I could care less about/but yet made me insecure when I was younger But I do care now that I am older.
I am so thankful for the day I saw my doctors scale say 259.9~Which made me care and totally freak Out!
Then I went to the library depressed afterwards and saw a girl I knew and she had lost a very noticable amount of weight and I asked Her the question "HOW"? she told me she was counting calories and I acted like I knew what she meant and decided to type it in on google and then found 3fatchicks there after. IT WORKED OR is WORKING.
I Am so dang thankful to her and 3fatchicks and my doctors visit for opening my eyes.
even though I have many "if I hadda known moments" I am so thankful for all that I know now.

GOODLUCK EVERYONE~WE CAN DO THIS!

Hey Lori: NO SAD FACES!!! You did it! You made it! ANYONE who can stick it out long enough to lose 100+ pounds AND maintain is worthy of nothing less than total admiration. From me anyway. I mean 20, 30 even 50 lbs is GREAT, but 100 and over? I could see how that would just feel enormously overwhelming and I can't sit here and say that I could do it. Girl, let go of the guilt and and go ahead and forgive yourself. We have ALL been "food ignorant".

And SusanB just HAAAAD to bring up the water, lol. Just kidding Susan. I hope to come around with the water thing, but it is just BLECH! to me right now. I have wondered whether I should try Crystal Light but then I believe I will just be prolonging the process of growing to like water. I will drink it after a workout and when it is hot out, but that is about it. Maybe it is the quality of water and I just haven't found good water yet. Or maybe that is a myth I am just telling myself and I am just being a brat b/c of the sugary drinks I've been living off of for the last 10+ years.

About water? I can't do tap ... We lug in bottles of distilled. At work I can drink ice water because I'm thirsty but ... I want my water to taste nuthin' but cold!

Oh and another one? I so wish I'd bought some dumbells sooner.

I like mine very cold also. What I have been doing is rotating two different bottles that I previously bought from the store, I think one was Dasani and the other Deer Creek or something like that. Anyway, I fill them up from tap and put them in the freezer. By the time my workout is over, there is an icy film around the inside of the bottle and very cold water inside that. I still don't like the taste so it very well could be the tap. And I do notice a difference in brewed tea or coffee when it is tap as opposed to bottled. There was something going on at some of the state buildings downtown which is less than a mile from me with a water scare. I forgot what they found in it. I think they fixed it but who knows. They were urging state workers not to drink from the fountains for a good while. Forget the neighborhoods in close proximity. They told us pretty much nothing.