Things I WISH I had known in the begining of my diet & how

Things I WISH I had known in the begining of my diet & how I lost my weight!

So I've been hearing alot about paying it forward recently on MFP, so this is me paying forward, sharing what I've learned and if I can help one person through this post I will be happy! I was asked for the 973634774345 time today how I did it (lost my weight) with such a busy schedule, 5 kids a husband and a house to tensd to full-time! Answering the questions accordingly. So I figured why not post on the message boards and share what methods of diet/excersice I used to drop my 40lbs. These are all things I have learned since April last year through MFP and other sources, that I wish I had known right away going into this diet thing completely blind:laugh: This is my first diet... kids, getting married, becoming comfortable and getting older finally caught up with me about a year ago!

You know I gotta tell ya and you'll hear this a million times over but it's true, don't give up no matter how tired or sore or sick of dieting and excersicing you are....don't give up because when you finally reach the point I am getting to, it all becomes so worth all of the work, the aches and the pain! Putting on an outfit and not having to change 5x before you find something you feel descent in, that was a HUGE milestone for me personally. Being able to put something on and feel like it looked good the first time felt so good! Until recently I hadn't been able to do that since before I had my last child (about 3 yrs ago) I'd also say something else that got me through this weight-loss journey was my good ole friend Aqua, it makes SO MUCH of a difference on the scale after getting all your water in everyday, short-term and long-term and if your not a big water fan (I sure wasn't) then you can add oranges, lemons, limes, or cucumbers to it to give it some flavor!

I never consume liquid calories anymore I'd much rather eat my calories (I calculated on average I was consuming at the very least 400calories a day just through liquid...what a waste) and if I do consume them it's through an alcoholic beverage and I only allow myself now one day a week to have a couple drinks, it's on my cheat day always on the weekend!

I've tried quite a few different diets since April, in desperation to lose the weight I had accumulated and unfortunatly there is no "quick fix". I've researched and read study after study, book after book, paper after paper and the truth is the weight you will lose will be based on how many calories your eating and burning and the defecit you create through that! Not- limiting carbs then eating all the calories you want, just good ole calorie counting (although I like to keep an eye on it all and will make cuts on anything that I possibly can) Strictly carb counting, like Atkins, Does not work for me...not for long anyway. DOn't get me wrong, it maybe has for some people, just not me. But I do still try to keep my carb intake, sodium, sugars, fats as minimal as I can it's just that my whole "diet world" doesn't revolve around it, your body needs carbs for energy, just like anything... their good in moderation!

I can probably chalk the majority of my weightloss up to calorie counting as a matter of fact and becoming more conscious of what I'm putting into my body. I try to never go over 1200 and most will say under that is un-healthy too, but I've learned what works for my body and I eat ton's of lean meats fruits and veggies and they fill me up some days before I reach 1200 so some days I end up only eating 1100 cal's. it DOES NOT put my body into starvation mode!! Do I eat 1100 everyday, would I eat 1100 calories everyday, NO, it flectuates somedays it's 1400 some days 1100.

Working out, yep need that too, and fortunatly for me I could get away with not having to work out like a wild woman, when I first started I pretty much would do a floor excersice like Jillian Michaels 30day shred or some other video (usually 30min long) and then I'd run on my treadmill for 30min, ride my bicycle towing my 2yr old in the bike trailer or go for a couple of walks everyday, just becoming more active on a day to day basis makes a nice difference, however do I count typing on my cpu for 1hr burning 29calories...no, I log everything that's out of the ordinary, do I count sex, Noooo because for most of us that's in our daily routines anyway. This diet really wasn't terribly grueling!! My first 8-10 pounds came off fairly easily because it is usually just water weight, but don't get discouraged the 2nd week because it pretty much stalls/slows for everyone the 2nd or 3rd week and remember it takes at least a week for anything to register on the scale (fat-loss). Weight flectuates everyday based on sodium, carbs, water weight (bathroom breaks) etc. If your working out extra hard on Tuesday don't expect to have dropped a pound on the scale by Wednesday, you must create a 3500calorie defecit to drop one pound...(wish I would have known all of this scale stuff early on...lol!)

I wish whoever reads this the best of luck! If I could do it, I truly beleive anyone can do it I have 5 kids so I am surrounded by chicken nuggets macaroni and cheese, chips and all of that good stuff... and a husband who loves his steak potatoes and manly food. If your reading this, or even here on MFP you've already taken the biggest step...reaching out for help and becoming commited that's truly the hardest part! Don't get discouraged you will have bad days, not feel like working out occasionally, feel like giving up and fall off, I have a couple of times since I started this in April... pretty much everyone on here has, but... the important part is that you get back up and always ALWAYS have faith in yourself even when noone else does.

Remember it's ok to have 1 cheat day a week maybe even encouraged (usually mine is the day I have a few drinks) but don't over do it, am I ssaying "go ahead go to Mc Donalds get that meal with the 800 calorie burger and make it large....oh don't forget that coke" (which by the way is about 300-400 cal for a large depending on what the ounces are) NOOOOOOO, not saying that at all, still be conscious of what your consuming, but indulge a little. For one day a week enjoy a handful of those cheddar chips, some extra cheese on that turkey burger a candy bar or heck an extra couple of glasses of wine, (<just not all of that at the same time) but please be conscious, cheat day doesn't justify you eating 3000 cal's in one day, even though, it can be done, I've done it...it's just alot of extra work!

I never ever eat after 7, for me for some reason that always made a strangly big difference on the scale! Sorry that was so long, lol, just trying to pay it forward, I wish I would have had someone to guide me through this journey right off the bat! I did received lot's of help/tips through MFP but if someone could have laid it out for me like this in black and white it would've saved me some time, lol.

I'm stilll learning new things too so anything that anyone might like to add to this is greatly appreciated, I'm sure some of you will not agree with all that I say, in fact some may believe the complete opposite, but this is what has worked...successfully for me I'm only pounds from my goal weight and it's taken me 8 months, buckets of sweat, feeling so sore that somedays I'd wake up thinking a bus plowed through my wall and ran me over in my sleep, ok maybe not that bad but I was sore sometimes and it was worth it. Oh and on my profile I'm always posting up " My favorite food finds" as far as money calories and flavor go, you can even go back and look in my past posts theres some good stuff on there...I'm still a mommy on a budget so good priced food that doesn't taste like diet food is always a plus!!
Take care!