What are your own weightloss tips/tricks

What are your own weightloss tips/tricks? By this I mean some that are personal to you, although they are not offical tricks.

For example:

I must eat something no later then an hour of waking up.

I eat a salad every dinner.

I drink green tea throughout the day.

I plan out my food the day before, and prepare it the day before so I don't feel panicked or rushed.  For example, I'll measure out my cereal and sandwich components, build up my trail mix, and pack my snacks the night before. (I have to fit in a workout, shower, packing lunch, and eating breakfast so if I'm not efficient with my time, I either have to wake up earlier or miss the school bus.)

Instead of giving into cravings, I acknowledge them and figure out how I can fit them into the next day's meals. 

I'm fairly automated in that I have essentially the same--enjoyable!--things every day.  The meals and snacks themselves change but it's basically the same formula. (I have three or four breakfast variations, lunch is a sandwich, dinner is very veggie-heavy.)

I work out in the mornings.  If I don't get it out of the way early, I will talk myself out of it later.

i actually COUNT my calories

My biggest "tip" was to realise that getting to the weight I want is not going to be quick...and there is no rush, because I am going to have to keep doing what I am doing to keep it off....forever :)

I make my meal plan the night before. But I choose one meal that I know I REALLY want to eat and work around it. Like if I know I want lasagna for dinner, I'll calculate that first and if it comes out to 500 calories then so be it - I'll just have a lighter breakfast and lunch. If I know that I wanna have eggs with cheese, bacon, and toast for breakfast.. that's higher in calories than usual, but I'll start with that and again work around it.. maybe only having a garden salad for lunch and soup for dinner, or just skip dessert.

1. Food diary on calorie count

2. Eat less than I burn - hopefully 500 calories less each day, but not always that much.

3. Food pyramid - tells me how many servings in each group I need daily - matches the calorie goal I have for  myself.

4. Select the foods I will eat the next day -breakfast is the same, then I pick dinner, then I work around whatever is remaining.

5. Lots of snacks, too - I usually eat something about every 3 hours.

6. Pack my lunch for work - i never go anywhere where I might get hungry and not have a healthy choice.

7. Try to exercise at least 5 days a week, at least for an hour - but it isn't heavy. Sometimes it's just walking for an hour (I am old and I break easily!)

8. Weigh myself every day - I need the incentive!

9. Buy new clothes when the old ones get loose.

I always keep at least 2-3 "free" foods in the house.  Things like raw spinach, broccoli, celery, broth soups, pomegranates.... things that you basically can munch forever and never need to add more than 100-200 to your daily  count.

Either whole grain cereal or eggs for breakfast

Lots of vegetables. Yesterday I cooked up a big batch of ratatouille. Very filling.

If I want something sweet after dinner, I eat prunes, or I drink hot milk with honey and vanilla extract.

Exercise and recording my food are the main things for me. I try to get 45-60 minutes of aerobic exercise every day; it's probably actually 5 days/wk. I ride a stationary recumbent bike in my home and use that time to read the paper, too.

Get enough sleep.  For me, that means at least 8 hours a night.  When I'm stressed/busy and not sleeping enough, my weightloss stops.  (And I suspect spending about a year in that state is a large part of why I gained originally.)

Don't deny yourself treats.  Take either the "maybe later" approach or the "small portion" approach, depending on what works better for your personality.  Forbidden foods are too appealing.  Ones you can have small amounts of (or can have later) lose that magic (though they may still be really tasty).

Move around.  My job keeps me on my feet for at least half the day, and that allows me to eat more calories than CC claims I'll burn and still lose/maintain.

Get at least 5 servings of fruit and veg a day; 7 or 8 is better.  That pretty much takes care of your fibre requirements, many vitamin requirements and keeps you feeling fuller and perkier than if you don't get enough fruit/veg.  Most of those servings should be veg.

Have a glass of milk a day.  Milk is the miracle "food" in that it fills me up and quenches thirst in a way that no other food/drink can do.  Plus calcium is good for fat loss.  I guess if you're vegan, this won't work, but if not, it's very helpful.

I plan my meals and snacks ahead of time. Pack lunches for the week and almost never vary.

Count calories. I don't log too much anymore because I have a very good idea how much I am eating.

Think about everything I put in my mouth.

Allow 2 cheat meals a week. Still say within a limit. But eat my desert.

Don't have junk food in the house.

Workout 6 days a week. Don't make excuses. Just get it done.

Drink a lot of water. Don't get my calories from drinks. Save it for food.

Eat clean/balanced most of the time.

Keep active in general, take the stairs, take the long way, walk on my breaks at work, park in the spot furthest away from the door, not afraid of hard work.

Don't eat artificial foods, sweeteners, fat free and sugar free foods, foods with a lot of preservatives. Choose fresh, whole foods when possible. Organic when I can.

Lift hard and heavy 3 days a week.

Try to get enough rest.

It might sound funny, but my biggest thing is not focusing on weight loss mentally. I don't really know how it works but when I think about it a lot, I don't lose a gram. 

I always exercise first thing in the morning (before breakfast), eat throughout the day and have my dinner no later than 6pm. If I am really hungry after that time, I just eat a carrot or some fruit.

When my motivation is weak, I just look at my pics before I fell pregnant. that always works :)

i celebrate each pound lost. im not even focusing on the long term because it seems too daunting. so when i lose a pound i consider it a victory and move on to the next pound.

also, sometimes I have to go over what I think my calorie intake should be. it absolutely gets me over a plateau. some days i dont count at all. i just eat small portions and listen to my body to tell me when ive had enough.

when i want sweets i have them. a small bite of dark chocolate or a couple of jelly beans really satisfies.

40 CALORIE NO SUGAR FUDGE BARS ARE PERFECT FOR CURING CHOCOLATE CRAVINGS!!