if you could give a beginning dietter one and only one piece of advice, which would it be?

I would say, stop eating any and all sugar.

Follow whichever plan you choose EXACTLY. Every bite DOES matter.

Sleep ten hours a night.

Set a "realistic goal" not a "dream goal" for your weight loss within a certain time frame. Everyone loses in different increments, therefore one person's numbers may be half the numbers of another within the same period of time. That's the individual uniqueness of the human body and its capabilities. Accept these differences and move on. Be patient and the rewards will come.

DON'T STARVE YOURSELF! If you do, you will just go off-track much more easily undo all your hard work. Eat when you are hungry! Keep snacks on hand that are healthy, no matter what your program - high fat, low fat, high carb, low carb, high protein, low protein.

EAT!

You do have to watch your calorie intake. You cannot lose weight if you are eating more calories than you are burning off. Do not have your calories too low though.

Stick to the plan, but if you 'sin', don't get upset about it, just keep on going, and try not to do it again.

Read a book, follow it to the letter, then re-read it for good measure.

Don't measure your progress by the scale alone.

Relax. If you give your plan time to work, it more than likely will. Even if you hit a stall, don't panic. It's not a straight line, and it may not come off as fast as you want...like NOW! That doesn't mean you're a failure, nor does it mean the plan doesn't work.

If you run into a roadblock, ask for help.

Don't touch anything with polyols in it!

Don't compare youself to others, everyone is different and looses at a different rate and looks different in the same size jeans your in even though you weigh more or less than they do.

Do. Not. Rush.

You didn't get fat in a month, and it's not all going to come off in a week.

Do some research before you start...ask questions...and find yourself a "diet" that you can utilize for the rest of your life. Too many people will find something that works for the weight loss period, but that doesnt truly work for them in the life-long maintenance phase. So...whatever plan you choose...make sure you can be happy with it and then...plan to use it for life.