Welcome to Gaia! ::

There are lots of great resources in the stickies here, but I think it would be kind of cool if the members of this guild made our own weight loss FAQ/guide with tips from personal experience and things like that. A compilation of what all of us have learned so far in our weight loss journies. Reccomendations for exercise, foods to avoid, foods that are beneficial, any kind of information that is helpful to people looking to lose weight. I think we'll ALL learn something in the process of making it, too!

Just post with anything you've learned so far about losing weight the healthy way, and once we get enough responses I'll compile it in a sticky post (or maybe post it in LD, too?).

The only rule is that all of the information must be HEALTHY! No reccomending that people fast for a week or go on a liquid diet to lose weight or anything like that.

(This part is optional to read)
In an attempt to keep the whole thing organized, try and mention next to all of your tips/FAQ questions which of the following categories it fits into (tell me if I should add more categories): healthy eating (reccomended snacks/meals), foods to avoid, exercise, motivation, recovery/prevention of eating disorders, weight loss myths, anecdotes/inspiration stories

When I put everything together, I'll be sure to include the super-basics (you need aerobic and anarobic exercise, you need to eat a certain amount of calories or your body goes into starvation mode, etc.), so don't worry about posting those. The suggestions should be things that you've PERSONALLY discovered, such as how you love this one kind of workout or how you got motivation from a certain person/place/thing.

Get a dog. Walking is wonderful exercise, and the dog is extra motivation. If I was feeling too lazy, I felt sorry for my puppy who really needs them and eventually gave in and walked her.

Pack your lunch. Whether at school or on a lunch break, it's really helpful. I'm not hungry in the morning so I'm not tempted to pack bad things.

TAKE BABY STEPS. IF you cut all bad foods out right away, you will gorge. If you go from no exercise to forcing yourself to jog everyday, you will begin to hate exercising and will stop. Set small goals.

Don't get discouraged. It takes weeks for exercise and food to show on your body. I lost a few pounds from the initial shock of my body eating healthier and walking, but I didn't see any results for months, when I became totally synced in my new healthier lifestyle. THEN the pounds just melted off.

I lost 32 pounds 3nodding

Eat breakfast, even if you aren't hungry when you get up!

Also, chances are, if you aren't hungry when you wake up, you're eating too much at night.

I find that it's MUCH better to distribute your carbs UNevenly - more in the morning (I set noon as a limit) and as few as possible for dinner. Make 'em veggies if you do. This way it's not just sitting in your stomach at night.

Water water water. If you're a bored-eater, drink water before you eat and think good and hard as to whether or not you're hungry or bored.
- Keep something to do nearby. Homework, books, games, something.

If you shop for your own groceries, eat before you go. You'll be less likely to buy bad foods if you're full and quenched. (I spent $20 on water/soda once because I was thirsty before I went, oops.)

If you don't shop for your own groceries, make sure you have healthy food in the house. Try to get housemates/family to support you with your reasons. If you're passionate about it, they'll most likely be ok with it. (Focus on your health not size when talking to family, as an added tip, or else you'll probably get "omg you look fine" and they won't help etc.)