new to site and dieting

Here's kind of a generic guide and a few things to get you going:

I haven't subscribed to the ideas of a diet, but rather changing the diet I am already one. Coming here was a good first step. My goal was originally to lose about 50 lbs back in June and in three months I have been able to get almost half way there. Here are some of my "keys" to success.

1. Drink water. This is not to say that you should drink water rather than eating, but that you should have a water bottle available and close throughout the day. Drinking water helps the body know that it will be properly hydrated and so it will not retain as much water as it was when it thinks it isn't going to get enough. Water is essential for much of the body function and so charging up those functions is an important first step.

2. Keep track of how much of what you are eating. This is probably one of the most meticulous steps, but it is the only way to know exactly what you're taking into your body. I have been using measuring cups and a small postage scale so that I know how much to put into my food tracker. I started by just keeping track of what I was eating so that I had a baseline to work from. After doing this for a week or two, I started making adjustments to get the calories down and replaced my 'fast food' diet with more home-cooked meals. Highly processed foods were replaced with fruits and vegetables. Don't try to change everything at once or you'll go nuts and don't think you have to eliminate all the foods you love. It's more about making the foods you love more healthy and planning ahead.

3. Eat frequently throughout the day. The body's metabolism is at its best when it is regularly sustained. I have found keeping snacks such as peaches, bananas, celery, cucumbers, baby carrots, and trail mix handy to be very helpful. I eat smaller portions more regularly throughout the day. This helps keep me from going crazy when it does come time to eat.

4. Exercise regularly. You don't have to go out and run a marathon for it to be exercise. I started simple with walking and hiking. Getting the heart rate up also boosts the metabolism and burns calories. Start with just 20 minutes a day and work from there. Exercising also builds muscle which does burn more calories throughout the day than fat does. Just keep in mind that building muscle means that weight may not change as much as you might expect so besides just taking measurements on the scale, also measure your arms, thighs, and waist. This way you can see that there are changes happening in more places than just the scale.

These are the basics that have been working for me. The great thing about this is it isn't just a diet that you go on and then eventually go off of. This is about training yourself to eat right and responsibly for the rest of your life. There will be bumps in the road, but as long as you stick with it, you will see the changes in your body as well as in your overall well-being and that is what matters the most.