If you could offer ONE piece of advice you've learned the hard way to someone, what would it be?

So most of us have made mistakes doing this whole Weight Loss thing. We've tried a bad diet, tried diet pills, maybe we put ourselves in Starvation Mode. Whatever.

If you could offer ONE piece of advice, something you'd learned yourself to avoid, to the people on this site, would it be?

My piece of advice...

Log your calories, semi-regularly. It's just way too easy to lose track of what you're ACTUALLY eating when you don't log your calories. Logging keeps you honest and helps you keep control of what goes into your mouth.

Definately a good one!

My advice is...

I find eating off a smaller plate helps with portion control? I had no clue what a 'normal' portion was and was blindly logging estimated calories of food portions which were actually double what they should have been!

Also, drink water when you feel hungry. If you're still hungry 20mins later then it is actual hunger so maybe eat a small snack to stave off a binge?

Just one piece of advice?  Look at my avatar - "Don't Panic".  Weight will fluctuate, you'll eventually go out to dinner at an unfamiliar place without online nutritional info, there will be parties with booze, snacks and cake, you'll occasionally go on vacation, label reading can get confusing, you may get sick, you may not be able to exercise every time you want to, you may plateau.

Panicking only makes any difficult or stressful situation worse.  Stop - Breathe - Stretch - Breathe some more - and focus.

Mine would definitely be to not let yourself go hungry, don't cut back too drastically. If you feel deprived all the time, then your weight loss efforts will fail. You need a weight loss plan that you can live with.

I haven't lost too much yet around 6-7 lbs, but I got great advise from my cc friend and it motivates me everyday:

'For a moment, put the thought of weight loss out of your mind. You just spent the past week living a healthy lifestyle. You were exercising almost every day and not going overboard on food. That's fantastic!

Everybody's body is different. The weight will come off - you just have to be patient. The "slow going" part you're dealing with right now is setting you up for an easier time once the weight is gone. You'll have been doing this for so long that it will be a breeze to continue your lifestyle change.

DON'T GIVE UP!! Just take one day at a time :) :)'  

I've got lots but I suppose the one I wish I'd learned earlier would be

Make it easier for yourself to eat well than to eat badly

Plan ahead, buy the right foods, don't buy biscuits 'for the children'... make your healthy diet more enjoyable than the alternatives.

My advice is to own who you are, and take personal responsibility for whatever physical condition you are in.  The first step to a healthy lifestyle is understanding what needs to change. 

Stay motivated! Don't give up! It gets easier with time.

It took you a number of years to gain weight... it's not going to come off overnight. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Be informed and don't fall for/rely on "diet" food. Eat real food (in proper portions).

Exercise! Get active! 

The number on the scale shouldn't determine how you feel about yourself and your progress.

It's ok to say NO to food and it's ok to NOT clean your plate.

procrastinate your cravings. ' i want to eat this now but ill have it a little late or tomarrow or the day after etc'

my advice best piece of advice is not to rely on weight alone as an indicator of your body improving. Take into account body fat% and inches. So also using measurements will help. i know i had a month i didnt lose a single pound but lost 2 inches off my waist. Now i will take that any day!!! Also factors like how much energy you have, how strong youve become etc. I know that I couldnt run a block when i started this journey. I can now easily run  2-3 miles. I know personally in the past I ve put way too much  emphasis on the number and its caused me to quit and lose all that I gained. So to stay motivated use multiple things to measure success.

My advise would be, If you are one of those people who run around a regular grocerie store, and find it hard to avoid buying junk, then start shopping at a natural/healthy store like Trader Joe's. My wife and I tossed out all our junk food, and started doing ALL of our shopping there, and I must admit, as someone who has always eaten junk food and candy for the past 23 years, I REALLY enjoy this healthy eating thing. And the fact that the only food we have in the house is healthy, it's hard to fall off track.

And also as a side note, try to find an active hobby, like bicycling, or rock climbing, Indoor rock gyms are becoming really popular around my area.

My advice is to love yourself. Have compassion for yourself & kick out the shame! Everyone eats too much sometimes. It's nothing to be ashamed of! Eat what you want, stay healthy & keep on keepin on!

My piece of advice.............. First, all of the advice and hard lessons learned that everyone shared is priceless. I appreciate your honestly and your willingness to share vaulable information for a greater cause.

LOL!!! Now my advice. I believe it is important to adopt a support group. It is fruitless or very very hard to go at it solo. Online support groups, work-out partners, family participation,etc. Are all very good and have shown to make a difference. I had a workout partner when I initially lost my desired weight. I lost it quickly and stayed on track easily because of the constant support and encouragement in my corner. No matter how strong, disciplined you may believe to be. A support group works!!! This time around, I was not fortunate to have a physical workout partner in the gym w/me. So I turned to an online support group. And I love it!!! I am so focused despite having to workout alone. I know I can always check in and chat w/my friend from cc, get much needed questions answered, what more can a person ask for (AND FOR FREE). Thanks to every member on CC. And Good Luck

ONe - You didn't gain the weight overnight and thus it will not come off overnight.

two - sodium is the devil - for me anyway...  be mindfull of what you're eating, don't just look at the calorie content on the nutrional label, look at everything.

three - take it one day at a time, and if you mess up, binge or make a bad food choice, forgive yourself and start fresh the next day.

Four - even if you do not have support and encouragement at home, from friends or family, you are the one who has to travel this journey.  Be your own support system.  (THANK GOD FOR CALORIE COUNT!!!)

Five - This is more of a tip on how I've delt with plateaus...  Eat at maintenance, while still exercising at least 30 min/day for one week, then restrict your calories again.  I restrict to no less than 1300 cals/day, and no more than 1700 cals/day. maintenance for me is 2000 cals/day. :)

 

The one thing that kept me going above all others:

There is a tomorrow.

No matter how much I ate today - or how little I exercised - I will have another chance tomorrow.  I've told myself time and again 'Screw it, I'm done with this healthy lifestyle crap,' and then gotten up the next day and told myself 'Just one more day.'

Be Patient, weightloss is not linear, just keep on keeping on, it WILL come off.

And indeed, don't PANIC, if you ate one day over your limit, so what, step right back on the wagon and keep on keeping on, so you lost a day *shrug* this is a choice you made for the rest of your life, it will happen.

And so we are back at: Be Patient.........

To santonacci: 42

Learn to have fun with it.

This is a new lifestyle, not a quick fix!  It shouldn't be the most stressful thing, worrying about every little thing that goes into your mouth and what could be going in your mouth instead. 

Living life should be a blast.  Exercising should be a delight, not a chore.  Eating should not stress you out, it should give you plenty of pep.

Don't let a bad day, week or even month cause you to throw in the towel! Try to give up the "All or Nothing" approach!

This is the mistake I've made time and again! I'll do good for years, lose the weight and keep it off and then I'll just crash! I'll have had enough and I'll eat whatever I want whenever I want. At that point I just lose all ability to keep going as if by having a bad day or week destroyed all those years of hard work, when looking back it was only a few lbs of weight gained. At that point I give up and allow ALL the weight and then some to come back on.

So this time if I have a bad day I'm not going to let it defeat me in my mind. I'm going lose it and make sure that even if I fall off the wagon.. 20lbs is easier to lose than 120lbs!

Original Post by soliwit:

To santonacci: 42

 "Workers of the earth! I bring... good tidings of peanuts! And beer! "

Original Post by santonacci:

Original Post by soliwit:

To santonacci: 42

"Workers of the earth! I bring... good tidings of peanuts! And beer! "

Meh, the movie wasn't all that.

Movies are never as good as the books..

I must say it wasn't nearly as cheesy as the British TV series that was done.. lol