What do you wish you had known before you started?

I am 4 months in and thought I'd share my own personal views of what I wish I had known when/before I started

1. Be patient.In my mind I committed to this for at least a year if things went well (some stories about bad side effects worried me). The first few months are just building up the drug in your system and the reality is it can get a little uncomfortable. As my body adjusted to MJ, I had to reset and reset, my entire relationship with food has had to be reworked several times as did the way I take care of myself. I am more interested in making sure I feel healthy on the amount and type of food and water I drink than any weight I'm losing. I knew these drugs would jump start a major reset, I knew it wouldn’t be easy but I had to pursue it if it was all going to mean I’d lose weight, live healthier and keep the weight off with a lifestyle reset. I can afford to let the process take the time it takes.
2. HYDRATE.SO MUCH WATER. I need to focus a lot on getting the right amount of water I needed and all the electrolytes. I bought a really good water bottle and became a dedicated sipper, I use electrolytes every day plus a coconut water and a protein shake.
3. Fiber and protein are king.I restructured what I eat to avoid both constipation and muscle loss. It’s a rest but it has to be a reset that is sustainable. It was quickly obvious I had virtually no fibre in my diet until I focussed on it. Planning was important to make sure I roughly knew what fibre and protein I was taking in and keeping on top of it
4. Portion control > calorie control.I hadn’t realised the extent of my over-eating until I couldn't anymore. Historically I would starve and then binge. The first couple of weeks were brutal. After that, I started paying attention to hunger cues and learning to feel the difference between satiety, fullness, and over eating. I did this by eating a bit, stopping, considering, then eating a bit more until I got the right amount each time. For me, it's about 5 ounces per meal. This process took until about week 6. (hence my learning #1 – patience!!!!) – once I got over this I started meal prepping and planning. Once I did this, weight started pouring off and I felt MUCH better and way more like I was in control.
5. Don't compare.My friend who started at the same time has lost a BUNCH more weight than I have. I had some feelings about that but as I said above, I am paving the way for the rest of my life here so I am more focused on my process than on the weight. And all bodies are different. Still. It's tough sometimes.

I wanted to share this because you get bombarded with how well people have done and people treat the drugs like MJ as if they were magic. They are but they are a tool….you need to work hard to reset to get the long term benefits. I’ve used SlimrChat to get advice (most of which I am sharing back here!) but also to make sure I get the best prices

What wisdom would you add to this? I know all our journeys are deeply personal and I'm still early in mine. I'd love to hear from anyone else.