Something about diet / fitness you wish you'd known beforehand?

myheartsabattleground

Intensity, not time!

fr33sia12

That everyone's different and what works for some people may not work for you. And when you've found what works for you don't let negative people deter you from it.

pebble4321

myheartsabattleground wrote: »

Intensity, not time!

Time, not intensity!

I think you're talking about exercise though, whereas I'm talking about making changes to eating and exercise habits.

For me, the key is to accept that this is a long term (ie. life long) process. Not a diet, not a "journey", not a program, not a product.
Just healthy changes that I can stick to forever.

upoffthemat

That there isn't certain foods you have to eat or avoid to lose weight. Eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive, exotic, or intimidating... and you don't HAVE to eat healthy to lose weight. I choose to mostly eat healthy because I feel better when I do and perform better mentally and physically, but eating junk at times isn't incompatible with losing weight. Stop stressing over being perfect about it

Sued0nim

fads, of any type, are ridonculous

it categorically IS down to you if you're overweight or unfit - you are not a victim in your own life, it isn't because of this or that medical condition, it isn't because of this or that life trial, it's because you are not prioritising yourself and putting in the effort consistently

PoundChaser2

That you will never really get a break from dieting/exercising.

kristen6350

That it's how much you eat, not what you eat.

geminiswede

Just how important food scales are. I would've gotten one so much earlier.

Bad days happen, especially if you learned bad habits as a kid and never really knew differently. It is possible to keep these as bumps in the road rather than completely losing the path.

ARGriffy

That my boobs would become non existent!

Chef_Barbell

K.I.S.S!

Machka9

I just wish I had started using a food scale years ago.

cecsav1

That exercising can actually be fun, and I'd be grumpy on days I have to miss my workouts!

myheartsabattleground

pebble4321 wrote: »

myheartsabattleground wrote: »

Intensity, not time!

Time, not intensity!

I think you're talking about exercise though, whereas I'm talking about making changes to eating and exercise habits.

For me, the key is to accept that this is a long term (ie. life long) process. Not a diet, not a "journey", not a program, not a product.
Just healthy changes that I can stick to forever.

Yes, exercise:)

RainaProske

I wish I'd known that when they say it's hard to lose weight when you're older, they lie.

Orphia

That MFP existed a few years before I found out about it.

Gallowmere1984

That doctors are generally just as clueless as any random you could pick out on the street. They're just better at pulling things out of their *kitten* when asked a question that they don't have an answer to.

icemom011

kristen6350 wrote: »

That it's how much you eat, not what you eat.

That. Although i enjoy my clean, organic, home made food. But the real portions sizes were an eyw opener. Also, if i only knew, how easy it was going to be.

DresdenSinn

If your going into bodybuilding the earlier you start the better, it takes a long time to put on quality muscle mass the natural way.

Veryana

Just how bitter people will become when you can do what they have failed doing for years...

Enjcg5

How many calories are actually in stuff that I've been eating for years. Mind boggling.

Francl27

That I'd have to do something I hate (lifting) to have a tiny hope of achieving the look I was aiming for. I always thought it was just about eating less calories...

Didn't realize I would get so much loose skin either. So basically... that you have to be realistic in your expectations.

That it's perfectly ok to aim for health and not a bikini body (still struggling with that one... body image issues).

alyssa0061

Accepting that losing weight, for me, is far more challenging mentally than it ever will be physically

kshama2001

That fat doesn't make you fat. I blame Susan Powter for this.

TehLaughingDog

Pay attention to macros. That no food should be off limits for a lifetime and that flexible dieting works.

zyxst

I don't need a special diet to lose weight. It really is eat less, move more.

kommodevaran

I wish I'd known earlier that healthy food doesn't mean boring, dry and tasteless, and that losing and maintaining weight isn't that hard/difficult, because healthy food doesn't mean boring, dry and tasteless.

Nachise

I had to come to the realization that my perception of portion sizes were way off track, and that if I wanted to lose weight, I had to weigh, measure, and come to terms with that. It is no lie when they say you eat with your eyes, and my eyes used to tell me that what I weighed wasn't enough. I eat well, and I am still losing weight and not feeling deprived.

SallyKaPow

That the really important thing is how much I eat in the next 7 months not the next 7 days.

KateTii

I wish I had found about counting calories as a weightloss "method" earlier. I had always thought of losing weight being a nasty yo-yo cycle. Restrict severely and live on salad (RIP Pizza) and then a couple weeks/months later gain it all back - rinse & repeat.

I had stubbornly refused to acknowledge the weight that has slowly crept on since getting a full-time desk job. I was NOT going to go through the yo-yoing so many others had. Then I found MFP and learnt about calories and how to count them to lose weight. It clicked and 12kgs later i'm still going & happy!

zoeysasha37

I wish I had known that weight loss really just came from a calorie deficit. Calories in calories out.
There's no reason for any gimmick or fad diets. Just eat less then you burn. No need to torture yourself with the newest dieting craze

sardelsa

I wish I would have known that lifting heavy would give me the body and confidence I was always striving for