A random collection of observations for all those just starting out!

Hello folks, and if you're just joining this January welcome to our community! I thought I would toss out a couple of observations/tips/whatnot that may not be apparent, or might help you on your way. There are SO MANY wonderful posts that will give you more exhaustive advice than I can, but I hope this is helpful!

1. Serving size on a box of pasta is for DRY pasta. Woo-hoo!

2. Literally anytime you resist that craving, or eat a smaller portion size, or swap carrots for chips is a victory. I don't care if you went way over your calories for the day or whatever, any positive change you can make is progress!

3. Bloat will screw with you hard! If you spend a night drinking or eating salty foods, you're gonna bloat up for a while. For me it's a lot, like 6 lbs! It takes days to go away, but if you stick with your plan it will finally disappear and you will be lower than before. Your monthly red wedding will also wreak havoc with the scale. Just ride it out.

4. Inflammation also messes with the scale. If you are tackling weight loss and an increase in exercise at the same time, the scale might appear stuck. I can't find it now, but there is an excellent post about how exercise, muscle soreness, and inflammation often obscure weight loss in the beginning stages.

5. It is always OK to take a step back if you're struggling. The beginning of the pandemic made me do a lot of stress baking, and like so many others my mental health was in the shitter. So I did maintenance for a few months. It was a nice break, and now I'm back on the horse with more motivation then ever!

6. Additional benefit, your grocery bill is going to be lower! Whole foods tend to be cheaper than processed foods, and most likely you will be eating less altogether. It takes a while to adjust to not "over buying" when you're out shopping.. You're just not going to need as much!

Good luck to you all on your journeys, and know that it probably won't be linear, and that's OK! Be proud of yourself.

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