This article is about the mistakes people make when they’re trying to lose weight. Many of them I have made myself.

You know what they say, “Learn from your mistakes.”. Better yet, learn from others’ mistakes. Here they are.

1.) Not starting is the first mistake people make. How many excuses do we make? Ugh!

2.) Stopping too soon after starting the weight loss journey. People give up too early. They will try one thing and give up. Be willing to try different things.

3.) We are not machines and a one-size-fit all approach is usually not going to work. You are unique. You will need your own unique way to accomplish your goal. Maybe you can eat the packaged weight loss meals and go on your merry way while others need to eat more (or less, even!) or drink more water or… – you get the point.

4.) This mistake builds on #3. It’s fine to start out on a name-brand program but, as soon as you can, switch to your own program. Maybe you like the entrees but you have a better idea for breakfasts or snacks. You have not failed with their program. You can measure the effectiveness of your choices.

5.) Not having a schedule. irregular eating, skipping meals, and watching food one day and not the others, make it harder for you to meet your goal. Start with one day of regular meals composed of healthy foods and then do that the next day. Baby steps.

6.) Apologizing to oops! days. Don’t. If you ate the cake, you ate the cake. It’s okay. Start over. It’s not the end of the world. You do not owe anyone an apology for your choices. Of course, we are hoping you continue to make good choices for yourself!

7.) Do you worry about what others want to eat? Don’t. Focus on what you need to eat today. If you have children who love fast food , indulge them once a week. Pay attention to what your body needs to feel healthy and achieve an ideal weight. Your intuition is highly appreciated for this.

8.) Don’t clutter up your kitchen with every cookbook, gizmo, blender and tool you see for sale. If you can’t estimate what a serving is, use guidelines like “a deck of cards” or use a food scale or measuring cup. These are already in your kitchen.

9.) When you slap foods together without much thought or interest, you will lose interest in the process. Learn to enjoy the process of putting nutritional meals together for yourself. Give your favorites a name, like you see on the restaurant menu selections or in cookbooks. It’s not oil and vinegar, it’s “Susie Que Yummy Tummy Shrinker salad dressing” for example.

10.) If your goal to lose weight is vague and your time to do it is soon, your brain doesn’t really get hooked on the idea of change. Write down your goal(s), Then write down what you will do by when. For example, “By next Sunday, I will have exercised 7 times.”.

11.) Don’t pay others to do it for you. It may be tempting to sign up for the saran-wrap lose weight program that promises to shed a quick 10 pounds for you. Do you really want to do this? I hear you. You’re thinking yes, but I’m here to remind you that, in the end, you have to do it yourself for you!

12.) Having too many goals can be overwhelming. Pare down your goals to groups — get healthy, earn more money. Break each goal into doable chunks and write down what you’ll do by when as noted in #10 of this list.

13.) Even introverts need a support group. Don’t think you have to do everything alone. However, don’t spend any time around people who don’t support you and your goals. Find friends or neighbors in your community or social groups that are like-minded.

14.) Don’t go on weird food diets. Choose foods that are normal but better. Chicken does not have to be fried to be enjoyed.

15.) Don’t believe everything you read about weight loss. Choose what is useful to you.

16.) Don’t try to impress others with foods that make them look at you funny. Shop and prepare wonderful meals that humans eat.

17.) How many times are you on the scales? Once a day is enough and some people weigh once a week. You do want to keep track but you do not want to be constantly weighing yourself and you definitely don’t want to compare your weight to others. Nope, don’t do it.

18.) Don’t be a meanie if a friend loses weight before you do. Personal attacks are not attractive on anyone. If anything, ask questions about what worked for them? We can all tweak little things for big success.

19.) Do you know why you want to lose weight? Really? I should have asked if you know why you want to make a lifestyle change. It’s like saving money. If I don’t have an idea of what I would like to do with that money, I’m not likely to save as much. But, if I know I can go on vacation with that money, hey… give me that quarter. Remind yourself of all the benefits you will have from this journey.

20.) Are you scales stuck or is your creativity on hold? There are many ways to get this process started and put behaviors in place that help you meet your goals. Don’t be a copycat if it’s not working for you.

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21.) Nobody likes a know-it-all. If you are successful, celebrate! But, don’t become the kind of person on a mission to tell the rest of us how we should do what you did. Help us. Teach us. Challenge us. Support us. That will make people want to know what you know.