Ok. Here is a list of what I think are good tips to dieting:
Replace snacks with things like sultanas, nuts (plain and not honey roasted or anything) and FRUIT. I live in England and unlike other countries our local fresh fruit consists of mainly apples and pears. Branch out though, and buy pineapples and melons - both these have a very sweet taste and are great for quenching that sugar fix.
Drink loads and LOADs of water a day. I drink so much you wouldn't believe. Drink throughout the day but make a point of downing a large glass before each meal. It bloats you temporarily and makes you feel fuller before you even begin eating, therefore you don't eat as much
Before you start your meal, look at your plate of food and mentally set aside a small portion of food that you will leave at the end. This, more than anything is to just practice self-control. I have found that gradually building little exercises like this into my day has helped enormously in the "saying no" factor. You can then move onto bigger things like saying no to even having a whole dessert or whatever. This works for other things and not just food.
As exercise goes, people look at it as though it is going to kill them if they try! well, quite the opposite as we all know. So, its not like you have to start going for 20 mile runs every day, even christmas day to get fit. Depending on your current fitness level a good hard walk every day will have a marked effect. I did weightwatchers for a while and in the first week i lost 5 and a 1/2 pounds. I walked every day as well as dieted and i swear by exercise because the next week i didn't do as much and only lost 1lb.
As for this "any more than 2lb a week weight loss is unhealthy" stuff - it all depends on how you are losing it. In the week i lost 5.5lb i ate 3 meals a day and had a walk. I didn't starve, i didn't do any tremendously hard exercise, i was just sensible in every sense of the word. Look where it got me. Losing a lot of weight quickly is only bad for you if you do it by starving or purging or some other method like laxatives.
When exercising find ways of distracting yourself from the pain and exhaustion you may or may not be going through. I go to the gym and luckily for me did A level PE (English exam at the end of your school career). For my A level i had to devise a personal exercise programme for myself to improve a certain aspect of my fitness. So, cunningly i thought to myself, well what's going to tone me up the most? Endurance was what i plumped for in the end. Anyway, it gave me a chance to try put all the machines and things in the gym at school, and in the end i found something i didn't mind doing which was cycling. I love cycling out of the gym too so this was perfect. Find something you moderately enjoy and it will motivate you into going - you end up thinking well thats actually ok, so i'll go today.
I also fine saying to myself, ok, i'll go for five minutes and then its all over. By the time you have your kit on and have done 5 minutes on the gym, i find myself thinking ok, five more minutes and i will go etc.etc.
It is the getting there that is the worst thing. Once you're there you tend to get a bit more psyched up.
When i do my gym sesh, another reason i like the bike so much is because it allows me to read when i exercise! Yes, i sit there and lean on the arm rest things with a book in my hand. its really truely great, especially if you have a good juicy read in your hands that's easy to read but just challenging enough to take your mind off the exercise. Audio books probably have the same affect, although i have never tried it.
If you feel the need to binge, pick up a book and read for 10 minutes or so and you will find the feeling goes.
If you have lots of time on your hands and you want to binge, fill that time up with activities like reading or going for a walk somewhere nice - like the beach or even just into town.
If you have the tendancy to binge like me then you could get a pot or a money box and when you feel a binge coming on, put the money you would have spent on your binge into the pot and you will be AMAZED at how much you save. Then you can go out and buy yourself a new top or something to celebrate!
If i binge i do it at night, before i go to bed and after i get back from work - i work at a pub in the evenings and go to school in the day. So, i will get back from the pub and have a bowl of something or a biscuit and this then usually turns into the whole packet or 3 bowls of cereal. I then deeply regret what i have done and am grumpy for the whole of the next day.
SOLUTION! got to bed earlier than normal. If you feel a binge coming on just go to bed - this is only if your binges happen at night by the way! Brush your teeth and go to bed and read or something - ANYTHING to stop you opening that fridge or cupboard.
I appear to have written a huge amount and can still think of loads! It's really just a case of experimenting and finding out ways to divert your attention from all the bad things.
hels
