10 pieces of advice you would have told the old you ?

1. call an intervention.
2. - 10. Smack his fat butt around and make him swear he won't put us through that crap again.

This would be to my 18 year old self:

1) Diets don't work, but you don't know any other way
2) The other way is calories in vs. calories out
3) Always know what you're eating
4) Keep up with the walking, try other types of exercise, too
5) Ignore your mother when she says lifting those 5lb weights will hurt your back
6) Learning to cook for yourself - good job
7) Don't let your mom make you a plate of food, which is overflowing with food
8) It will be easy for you to lose weight now because you are so young
9) Know when to put the fork down
10) Remember: calories in vs. calories out

1) Not having energy is NOT AN EXCUSE not to work out! When you work out, it will actually give you MORE ENERGY!

2) You will like how you look when you're physically fit. Envision this, and believe IT WILL HAPPEN!

3) You can't just WANT change to happen. You must DO THE WORK to make it happen!

4) Stay focused. Remember your reasons WHY you want to lose weight. (This is different for everyone, but my main driving factor is knowing that our time here on this planet is limited, and wanting to make the best of it. I use my past experiences to fuel my inner fire.)

5) Cardio alone isn't enough. You must do strength training!

6) Just keep moving. Do something, anything! Shoot for at least 5 days per week of some kind of workout.

7) Eat right. Said simply, but difficult to master. I'm still working on balancing my macro nutrients. For the most part, eat fresh, homemade food from scratch. Avoid the foods that are not good for your body. Why do we eat? Not because "it tastes good." Food is the fuel for your body. You can eat healthy AND find food that tastes good, without all the bad stuff.

8) Do yoga. Not only does this keep your body limber and strong, but it's also relaxing for the mind.

9) Don't sweat the small stuff. Scale numbers are nice to see when they're going down, but just be honest with yourself on the work you're putting in, and don't let a number on the scale disappoint you. If anything, reevaluate the work you put in for the week (workouts, nutrition, rest, water intake) and if it's all good, don't change a thing. But if you know you slipped up, fix it during the next week.

10) Drink lots and lots of water.

Just one, but it is applicable to this and so much else for me:

This is not as hard as you're making it out to be. Stop overthinking and just do it already.

It took forever for me to get out of denial about my weight and then to get over the terror of "Oh god, I screwed up big time and now I'm stuck like this forever!" Once I put my mind to it and started tracking and exercising -- not a lot, and not forcing myself to do things I hated -- it was surprisingly easy to slim back down. So much so that I felt silly for not having pulled my head out of my rear much sooner.

1. Taco Bell nacho cheese cannot be used as toothpaste
2. Bacon bits on cereal should be limited to once a week
3. Buying a Pizza Hut party platter is OK.... FOR A PARTY....eating it alone with a 2-liter of Mt Dew, probably not a good idea
4. Hot and Now or White Castle hamburgers are made from ghost fibers, they do have calories, but you cannot feel them....that is why you can eat 87 and still be hungry.
5. When you get winded raising your arm to call over the waitress for another serving during Endless Enchilada days.... you may need to quit.
6. If after a 37 minute session in the bathroom your child goes in and then runs out screaming with their hair falling out and blood coming from their eyes, you may need to reconsider your macros.
7. Carbs are not the issue. Fat is not the issue. Exercise is not the issue. Having an I.V. of ranch dressing at your desk, that is a good place to start.
8. If you fart at your desk and 4 seconds later a woman from 6 floors beneath you calls and says "Really?....", you are eating the wrong things.
9. If you have personally put more than 7 Chinese Buffets out of business, you might want to cut back.
10. Start small, start somewhere. Do a little more each day...... never stop starting over if you need to.

Great thread!! ^^This has to be my favorite. So funny!!

dont drink the water in mexico.

1. Start today, never put off for tomorrow, what you can do today
2. Losing weight is about much more than body fat, you have to work on you at the same time, take the time to do that
3. Build a support network, no man is an island
4. Water, drink it like it's going out of fashion
5. Enjoy the journey, don't obsess about the finish line
6. Don't look at the big picture, concentrate on the small victories along the way
7. Don't be afraid to lift heavy objects, you will love your body as it gets stronger
8. Be confident, go out there and grab life, no one can do that for you
9. 20 bags of crisps will not make you happy, taking control of your eating and fitness will
10. Don't let anyone derail you, stay committed and dedicated

1- you need to eat more
2- running is fun. Yes. Right, I know it sounds crazy. Um, after the first 10 minutes it feels pretty good. Yes, I'm serious. No, you won't get exercise induced asthma as long as you take your Advair. No, I'm not kidding. You should just try it. Nobody will think you're stupid. Did you make fun of people when you were the fit one? Well, you need to slow down. No, it's not about going fast. Look, you can do it. Well, yes, anybody can do it too. If you don't take big steps, you won't get shin splints. Look, just put on your shoes and come with me. Yes, you do have time - just get your butt out the door!

1. Drop the "all or nothing" approach
2. If you're eating to satisfy an emotional need, you'll never feel full because you weren't hungry in the first place
3. Listen to your body
4. Take your weight loss slowly - you can't rush a masterpiece
5. Being morbidly obese is not okay, whichever way you look at it
6. Fad diets don't work
7. Stretch-marks are hard to shift
8. Losing weight feels amazing - you'll feel physically and mentally awesome when you've lost 63lb
9. Love yourself
10. You can do this

Yep to all 10.

-5 redbulls a day isnt good for you , stop kidding yourself

- It wont happen overnight

- Gimmicky diets and fancy protein shakes powders and acids dont work. Working hard does

- You are accountable. Not your MFP friends , real life friends , family , personal trainer. You.

- Inside you know that the cake/doughnut/crisps/fries/kebab/fizzy drink is bad for you, dont justify or accept it.

- You will have ups and you will have downs. Persevere.

- Dont obsess over it, youre changingy our life to live better, so live life too (:

- Train in a way you love, if you hate the gym dont go. Find something else. Same to eating , if it tastes bad dont ****ing eat it (:

- Always push your limits

- Dont curl in the squat rack.!

Yep to all 10.

Bump.

bump

Drugs are bad

Pick up more girls

Be selfish

Do what is right for YOU

Dont follow the crowd

Invest your money - Think of the future

Say yes

I can't count all the way to 10, but here are a couple:
* focus on progress, not perfection
* don't stop when you are tired, stop when you are done
* STAY in shape so you don't have to get BACK in shape
* don't give up what you want MOST for what you want NOW
* relationships are more important than calories in a meal, splurge with friends once in a while!
* own your space and don't let others tell you what you 'should be doing'
* don't be afraid to acknowledge that you are sometimes your own worst enemy and kill the resistance from within
* throw away the scale. the mirror and your jeans are a better indicator of progress
* first QUANTITY and then QUALITY
* tomorrow is the worst time to start. NOW is the best time to start

ALL of these are terrific...but here's the one I'll be adding to my mental FLAB&FAT exercising from now on:

* don't stop when you are tired, stop when you are done

Wow, I LOVE this and again, will be meditating on this as I'm doing my daily working out (physically and mentally) WOOT!

I want to thank you again for posting this:

"* don't stop when you are tired, stop when you are done"

I was thinking about this as my boyfriend and I were walking around the lake today--thought about walking around it TWICE (that's 4 miles) and was tired after the first trip...thought about what you said here and walked around it twice! Then when I got home, walked another mile or so with my children--even though I was super tired...I wasn't done! WOOT!!!!!