My number one dieting tip- what is yours?

Crochetluvr

Dont skip breakfast. You need to jump start your metabolism after being in bed asleep all night.

sarann111

So many great tips so far, but mine would be that if you can't fight the temptation, avoid the ability. I don't have cheat days, to me they would be a reminder that I'm not allowing myself what I really want. It takes time, but it's better to change a craving than to indulge in it; satisfy a sweet craving with fruit enough times and your body will eventually associate the two (it did for me anyway).

emmamcblain

Involving others throughout your weight loss is much more beneficial then flying solo, IMO anyway.

bluefox9er

eat less, move more. that is all.

LondonEliza

I don't have one 'no.1 top tip' but under the umbrella of "it's a lifestyle change, not a diet" -
To me this means: Control your food portions, move a lot, lift a lot, drink a lot more water!

amortize20

My first tip is: appreciate (and eat) every homegrown vegetable and fruit that comes from your garden and/or field (if you have it/them).
My second tip is: learn to cook healthy but tasty meals and snacks! So you know those are good for you! You prepared them!!!

^^^^^ THIS

I have learned that fresh food is so much tastier than processed and also that i can cook, quite well in fact

Luckydrd

My tip is tracking. Whatever I ate, I counted. It opened my eyes to the amount of food I was eating

Michelleypoo82

As long as I eat (mostly) healthy foods, I can eat all day, exercise, and lose weight!

lizzynewm

1. Fill your house with healthy food! I snacked like crazy today, but I was still under my calorie goal because I snacked on fruit, wasa crispbread, low cal protein cereal, etc etc. there were also unhealthy things that my parents eat, but when i give myself the option, i go for the goods!

2. Get as excited as you can! Use the internet for good! I follow so many tumblr health/fitness blogs and in my free time I'm always looking up workout videos, exercise routines, recipes, subscribed to Shape magazine... motivation only comes from within, but sometimes you need a spark of inspiration every so often to re-ignite that flame, especially if it's a long term thing. so search for motivation! MFP itself is a great place for that!

edit.. how could i forget? 3. Eat a lot, but eat a lot of healthy. I see a lot of diaries with only 3 or 4 different items of food consumed, but they're all crazy high calorie. I'd rather eat all day long and eat lower calorie things than take one trip to taco bell and be done for the day. :P but if you're into that, then hey, good for you. but if you're like me and love eating, follow this tip! if you look at my diary, you see that i eat a TON of food throughout the day, but i always stay around 1300-1500 because it's all (well, mostly all..) healthy stuff!

sorry i got preachy there, but i stand by it all~!

amZhn

If you don't buy it, you won't eat it:
Clear out the junk from your fridge and cupboards and fill them with good healthy options and variety. If you do have a craving, chances are you'll grab something that's available...

This. It's so hard to though when you have siblings who don't want to eat healthy and all they do is eat junk.

jfan175

Dont skip breakfast. You need to jump start your metabolism after being in bed asleep all night.

This absolutely false, and has been proven so in numerous studies.

samandlucysmum

Plan ahead.

samandlucysmum

Self Control, I have a family of 8, I keep the snacks locked away, "out of sight, out of mind" and only get them out for school lunch preperation. Instead, I have a bowl of fruit in view, and a large bottle of made up sugar free squash.

ericgAU

Plan, plan, plan!!

wellingfamily507

Find other like minded individuals, and get moving, having someone to exercise with really helps me stay motivated, we chat as we work out and the time flies by, we keep track of our exercise times and try to increase the over all time each week...I feel great, and I am enjoying the workouts! Also drink that water! I drink 3 -1 liter bottles dailey.

yksdoris

It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.

Being super-good one day does nothing if I overeat the next. Yes, even if I excercise as compensation: it takes at least an hour of hard cardio to get rid of that one bag of chips. I think this was the hardest one for me: making sure that all my days are the same, that I don't go into see-saw mode as I normally would... seriously, getting my daily "normal" up to 1200 calories a day is sometimes still a challenge seeing as before I would some days eat maybe 700, other days over 2000.

Fruit is not as good for me as I thought. Sadly, neither are avocados and nuts. Beef jerky is loads better than I thought though, so long as I drink water, not beer to go with it

easy does it: Don't panic, don't rush, don't overdo it with cutting calories and don't overexcercise. If I weaken myself with hunger or injuries, that means my body will first have to recover and only then can I continue with my plan.

Realistic goals are important. This means both time-wise and weight as well. I take after my mother and she takes after her mother. We are all short and the "classic" hourglass figure: this means I actually look best if I'm on the mid or heavier range of normal. I don't need to be the slimmest version that's considered normal for my height, I want to be healthy *and* look good.

finding someone to do it with me - a firend or SO or colleague, in my case it's my fiancé - helps enormously!

poptastic

This works for me:

Stop eating when you are no longer hungry, rather than eating until you are FULL. A subtle but important difference.

(it was hard at first, now it feels normal)

^^ This! Also not to just keep on eating until there's nothing left on the plate - it's OK to leave some!

Umeboshi

Don't give up. That is the #1 most important thing.

Melroxsox

eat clean as possible, and exercise exercise exercise! !!!!!!

gatorginger

I learned that skipping meals is not the answer to weight loss but eating everything in moderation

Elf_Princess1210

Find an exercise you like doing. I've also stopped using the term dieting. I tell people that I am making a lifestyle change.

Elf_Princess1210

I forgot to add, if you happen to over eat, don't wait until the next day to get back on track. Start with the next meal

kfitzpa

Eat to live, Don't live to eat

kristen6022

Portion sizes. Just because it fits in a bowl or a plate doesn't mean you should eat the whole thing.

Snacking. Never, ever sit down on the couch with more than you should eat.

It's not a diet.

Move.

pookaness

Don't give up the things you love, if you want cake eat the cake. Just make sure you keep some calories free for it.

KatFierce

Breakfast is really that important! If I have a green smoothie, then some broccoli and egg whites with cheese for breakfast I have a WAYYY better day food and energy wise than if I wake up and have nothing, or something super sugary/carb-loaded.

And to just get the exercise in, if I dont do atleast a little workout earlier in the morning then I keep putting it off all day and it wont get done. If I wake up have a little something to eat, get in some activity, then I am far more likely to workout again, take the kids for a walk, be generally more active all day.

peachNpunkin

Walnuts and berries. They fill me up, without pooching me out.

ivyslocum

Kitchen scales are more important than bathroom scales :flowerforyou:

The angels sang when I read this..... Can I borrow it on some of my pages please?

MaraDiaz

Don't live where you're sick. Don't work where you're stressed. And don't date skinny men with a high metabolism who won't stop saying, "You sure you don't want some of this? It's really good."

lisa46219

Eat healthy, eat clean, move your body, and keep enough calories set aside for wine :happy: