TIPS AND TRICKS: WHAT WORKED FOR ME :)

Anyone who read my first "NEED FRIENDS!!" post will know it's my second time back here after a junk food relapse. Mourning the diet that once was, I found myself openly consoling an ice cream tub way too often. Was going to write this down privately to remind myself what worked for me at my best (59kg/130 pounds) - thought I may as well share it.

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- Get up when you wake up.
You know sometimes you over sleep and end up feeling MORE tired? (I know, how the hell does that work.) I would say I enjoy that but most of the time if I'm still in bed at 11am I'm not even sleeping. just rolling around like some large land mammal in the sun. Sleep is SO important to diet and weight loss. My habits left me on a vicious cycle that saw me become almost nocturnal: sleep all day, huge energy surplus all night. The hardest part was just getting up some days, but when I did, my sleep habits improved so much. I stopped craving junk food, slept with no problems, woke up refreshed, and felt totally energised.

- Ditch the coffee habit
Recovering coffee addict here. Usually I needed the energy, and while it helped, I really felt the crash after a little while. My dentist also noticed it was staining my teeth and causing bad breath, and my doctor attributed my raised cholesterol to my coffee habit (I didn't know that could happen either...) I phased it out and started with two cups of green tea each morning instead. The difference was almost instant. I felt super energised but without the crash, and as green tea naturally stimulates metabolism, I'm sure it helped my weight loss.

- SLOW DOWN!
Remember that old wives tail about how you should chew each piece of food 42 times? I could never figure it out, but turns out it's partly to stop you eating too fast. Makes sense! The reason I ended up over eating is because I didn't give my body enough time to recognise it was full. That's why so much of the time I didn't start feeling bloated and sick until a little after the damage was done. Keep some water on the table and take a few sips in between every few mouthfuls. It will help you slowly feel fuller without actually eating too much. Depending on the meal size, aim to drink a certain amount of water - This will help stop you wolfing your food down and you'll be surprised how you might feel full with food left over! - I definitely was.

- Miracle Noodles
Maybe you've heard of these, maybe you haven't. I'll tell you now, they're not for everyone, but if your serious about weight loss they're worth a try. "Miracle noodles" (or shirataki noodles) are 100% fibre and no starch, wheat, carbohydrate, gluten, sugar, or calories. Noodles? 0 calories?? Yes. They're made from a natural fibre called glucomannan that is shaped in to noodles and consists literally of just fibre and water. They are flavourless and take on whatever you cook them in - If you love pasta serve them with pasta sauce, if you crave asian food use them in a stir fry, add them to soups.. you name it. There are a few differences - the texture is slightly different and a little chewier, and the smell is a little odd at first. But at 0 calories they are SO handy if you want to splash out on your favourite higher calorie sauce.

- Don't always make exercise feel like exercise
God, it was so much harder venturing out the door in sweats and running shoes knowing the arduous activity ahead of me.. After a little while I started counting every step and although I felt good afterwards, I didn't enjoy it. In fact I dreaded it. That's not the kind of exercise I could maintain. Sure, I lost weight, but I would have put it right back on when I undoubtedly stopped. I noticed a fast paced, casual, bare foot walk along the beach with the dog or friends did so much better. Not only did I look forward to it, but I didn't even realise how far we would walk. We'd turn to walk home and go, wow, we walked for ages! Was much nicer concentrating on chatting to a friend then counting each painful step - and although less vigorous, I know it's something I can realistically maintain. with that....

- Be realistic and inspire YOURSELF!
If you're 300 pounds and have a picture of a victorias secret model on the back of your door for inspiration, think carefully. That's not to say you won't get there, have absolute faith that you will! But at my heaviest, I lusted after picture of girls in skinny jeans and vacation photos of friends sun bathing on the beach.. On my good days it inspired me. On my bad days, it just made me feel hopeless. I went from "I'm going to look like that!" to "What am I thinking, I'll never look like that." This time around, my inspiration is not someone else's skinny bikini body, but my own. Working hard and slowly watching your own body transform is better motivation than any tandoori tanned runway model that resembles a stick insect.

- Look at the mirror, not the scale!
This is something I say sometimes to my friends here when I see a "scale says I just put on 2 pounds!" status. If you hadn't weighed yourself, would you notice the difference? Would you see that looking in the mirror? Of course not! Don't let a little speed bump stunt your progress. Likewise, if your happy with what the mirror says, tell the scale to get lost! Hope some of this has helped and feel free to add me.