What I Know Now But Wish I Knew Then

iheartmy1dog

Seeing where I am now and looking back over this past year there are a lot of things I wish I knew about or did sooner. This is just my personal experience, everyone is different... But thought I'd share.

1. Have a support system-- it can be a struggle going it alone
2. Take before pictures and measurements-- it'd be nice to see how far I've come
3. Don't focus on the scale too much-- it's easy to get obsessed w/ it
4. Eat back exercise calories-- Not doing it over the past yr has hurt my health
5. There are better ways to gauge progress/health than bmi- measurements/BF%
6. Don't solely focus on calories-- Nutrients are important
7. Be flexible- You want something you can maintain throughout your life, not yoyo
8. Take a day of rest- Maybe you don't feel like you need it but your body does
9. Try to do it for the right reasons-- I wanted to be thin & happy, wish I had just wanted good health
10. Pay attention to what your body tells you

I'm sure there's more but these are just the things I could think of right now. The reason I post this is because I've lost a lot of weight but I'm not sure it's a success story... I'm deficient in some things, my hair stopped growing, have some other health issues, I've become obsessed w/ exercise and feel like my body is falling apart at 28, developed unhealthy thinking about eating, I've recently been told I have an eating disorder, etc. I think I'll have my success story... But it'd be nice not to of had this detour... So, for what it's worth, that's what I've learned and hope others don't make the same mistake

LillyWillow

You make some very good points. Thank you for sharing your story and wisdom. I'm sorry you have health issues and I wish you the best of luck!