Ever heard yourself say that because someone neglected to share a basic piece of information with you, it has slowed your weight loss? We asked some slimmers what they wish they'd been told BEFORE they started a diet.

How difficult it is to diet at the weekend

My 'other half' and I used to look forward to Saturday nights because we'd always have a nice take-away or go out for a meal at the local Indian with friends. The problem was that if everyone else was having a dish that was high in calories, I never had the guts to say 'not for me'. It was the same if I went to a dinner party - I'd just eat everything I was offered, even the after dinner mints. Not surprisingly this sent my diet haywire. I'd carefully stick to my diet all week, and then ruin it all at the weekend. Since I've cut out social 'pig-outs', I've lost over a stone.

Low-fat doesn't necessarily mean low-calorie

My New Year's Resolution was to get slim and I spent a fortune on stocking up my fridge with a selection of low-fat foods. What a shock it was when I finally got round to reading the calorie counts on the back of the packets. A piece of low-fat cheese accounted for two meals worth of calories and the main ingredient in low-fat yoghurt was sugar. Now I always look at the calorie counts carefully before I buy. Thanks to this, I've only one stone left to lose.

How easy it is to put weight back on when you've lost a lot quickly

I spent a lot of money on a special four week diet plan I'd seen advertised. It promised that I could lose up to half a stone a week and the weight did begin to fall off, but I wasn't eating proper meals. As soon as I started eating properly again, I put all the weight back on. Now I'm sticking to a healthy diet and have lost half a stone so far.

How many calories you can save by changing your milk

My family has always liked silver-topped milk the best, so when I started on my diet I didn't do anything about changing our regular order with the milkman. I was drinking half a pint a day, which added up to 190 calories. Now I've switched to skimmed milk at only 95 calories per half pint and I'm well on the way to my target weight.

How easy it is to kid yourself that you are dieting when you're not!

When I wanted to lose weight I joined a local health club and started swimming and working out in the gym, once or twice a week. I bought all the gear, choosing particularly clingy items so they would still fit when I started to lose weight. But I ruined all my good work by having lunch in the club's restaurant, where they served big bowls of delicious pasta with all sorts of creamy sauces, finished off by cappuccino coffee topped with cream and grated chocolate! Not surprisingly, I didn't lose weight. In fact I put some on. Now I'm dieting sensibly and I time my visits to the health club so that I am not there for lunch!!