Weight Loss

Many people forget that important changes come from within. This means starting off with a clear mind, so that you not only know what the end of the journey looks like, but are able to plan a better more effectively. This means a route with a reduced risk of encountering hardships along the way.

Think of it this way, if you got onto a plane in New York and were flying to Great Britain wouldn’t you want that the pilot to have a flight plan (map) and a clearly planned digital route (another map) before they took the plane thousands of feet into the air?

When desiring to make definitive changes in your life, you’ll discover that traditional ways of setting goals are just not sufficient. Think back to the times you may have sat down with a pen and paper, or sat in front of your computer, and typed up a list of objetives which you felt were important at that particular time in your life.

This process may have taken you a while as you mulled over what you actually wanted to do you may even have put your proyects in order of priority. You might have deliberated for some time over how you could achieve your goals, but then when you had finished making your list and re-read it once, you just it filed away out of sight away from possible future reference? Why hide the future from yourself?

In a lecture, I once had a teacher say that one of the greatest problems people had in completing projects was getting ready to get ready. At some point, you make a plan and then you act on it. It’s not the plan that’s the problem, the problem is in the plan’s execution.

If you are absolutely honest with yourself, how many times did your list get used for reference purposes? How many times did it even see the light of day?

How long after you got knocked about, when something bad happened, and then forgot all about what you really wanted out of life?

Even more importantly, did you deliberately focus on each goal until you could almost see it, touch it and sense it?

Most of us have great intentions to better ourselves. We all wish to self-motivate, improve our self-discipline, and have a stronger sense of purpose.

We would all like to increase that vital sense of drive and passion for life. That would make it so much easier for us to achieve our aims, and the simple reality is that we can.

Taiana is 26 yrs old. She practices Reiki in her work as a professional body worker, with study and experience in Holistic Therapies. Taiana is also personal trainer, and has extensive experience with coaching people to make the breakthroughs in life, that they’ve waited for all their lives. She believes in rekindling the flames of inspiration is life’s first step for motivation. Taiana lives in Australia, where she relocated to 16 yrs ago.

Losing weight is really a big issue for most people today. Instant loss of weight is the latest obsession these days. Men and women want to lose weight with good reasons. Due to desperation, others may try anything just to lose weight such as pills. Some might take effect but there are some of them that are just a waste of money and even effort. So, how can you lose weight naturally? Here are some helpful tips that you might consider.

1. Calorie math. You will lose weight if you burn more calories compared to what you are taking in. Some people may have fast metabolism that they burn calories so fast that in fact, they are actually eating twice as you do but still not gaining weight. But even them has no reason not to consider calorie math. Be aware of your calorie intake per day versus how much fats you are burning through an exercise.

2. Drink water. Drinking water is the natural way of flushing away toxins from our body. As you are losing weight, toxins are being rejected from body cells. Drinking more water everyday could help flush away toxins from your body. It could also increase your metabolic rate.

3. Stay away from desserts. Some people might find this difficult but take it step by step. Cutting out your after dinner dessert might help.

4. Pedometer – Step counters. A pedometer will help you visualize progress of your daily activity and your calorie burning.

5. Pick good snack foods. Taking a snack is a major problem when you are losing weight. Eat healthier snacks and you will be less hungry.

Obtaining your dream body the natural way is much better, it’s not healthy to take any medicine or pills just for the sake of it.

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You want to look your best, but you also know that excessive weight has many more negative effects than just looks. This ranges from physical inabilities, self-esteem, depression, health risks, and basic overall quality of life. Once you begin to realize weight loss, you not only look better and feel better but have an overall life a better quality. Sounds simple right? So why are 64% of Americans overweight? Because most diet’s approach on weight loss dont work, or arent sustainable, and take too long to see resultsso we give up. There are rapid weight loss techniques that are safe, and that will have you getting trim fast, giving you that super slim head turning body in no time. Yes, you can begin to drop weight now!

First, I highly recommend anyone starting out on a weight loss program to seek out your doctors recommendation for the best weight loss regimen for you. There are many diet program out there, some work, some are fads, and some are just unhealthy ” your doctors oversight and recommendation is a critical step to ensuring not only your short term weight loss goals, but life changing results. Here are 6 rapid weight loss tips that will have you shredding inches in no time and get the body you want fast:

1. Equalize yo’self! Don’t concentrate on just one aspect; you should have a proper balance of a motivated attitude, routine exercise (that includes cardio and strength training), good nutrition, and maybe diet supplements (if you chose to go that route). You should develop a nutrition plan that balances out lean proteins, good fats (such as olive oil, salmon, almonds, etc.), and low glycemic carbs (whole grain breads and pasta’s). Couple that with a fitness plan that includes both aerobic and anaerobic exercises, and ensure you gradually increase your intensity daily as your body begins to develop and get stronger.

2. Set realistic goals. Proper attitude and a positive mindset are crucial to losing those extra inches quickly. Establish a goal that’s realistic, yet challenging. It takes some discipline, you wont want to get out of bed every day and hit the gym before work, but you do it anyway, because the payoff is worth it. Stay positive, stay focused. Decide on your course of action, commit to it, then execute.

3. Listen to your body. Were not all the same. What works for me may not work for you, and vice versa. Your metabolism reacts differently than your neighbors. Diet and exercise programs that are a once size fits all type of systems may not be your choice, unless you try several of them until you find the one that works for you. Find a program that not only does cardio, but strength and muscle conditioning as well ” the more muscle you have, the higher metabolism ” the more calories you burn!

4. Get in to fiber! And I don’t mean fiber optics. With any quick weight loss plan, you want a diet that is high in fibers – it has many benefits: Fiber quickly makes you feel full. Fiber takes a lot longer to digest, so you feel full longer. Fiber cleanses your colon, and has a wonderful effect on your digestive track. I haven’t even mentioned the rich content of vitamin and minerals it contains. Lastly, fiber has the added benefit of upping your body’s natural insulin level, which boosts your metabolism so you burn calories at a fast rate all day!

5. Stay far away from trans and saturated fats! Fried foods and deep friend foods are your enemy, and will stunt any quick weight loss goals you might have. They contain large amounts of saturated and trans fats. That brings your metabolic rate to a slow crawl. It also gives you high cholesterol which is bad for year heart and cardiovascular system. In general, it just plain is bad for you and pumps up your body fat. Stay with broiled or grilled lean proteins like turkey, seafood, and say “NO” to fried foods.

6. Water, water, water. Did I say water? Proper hydration is crucial for a healthy rapid weight loss plan. You should be drinking at LEAST eight glasses of water daily, and more based on your exersize and diet plan. High-protein/low-carb diets as well as higher intensity exercise programs require more water. Additionally, water eliminates the body’s waste, which is essential to rapid weight loss.

7. Forget about low fat diets. That’s a shocker huh? Truth is, they don’t work. American’s have been sold that low fat diet myth now for over 20 years and, are we any slimmer? No, quite the contrary. We need fat in our diets, in fact, you can’t effectively or quickly lose body fat without it. However, don’t go running out and ordering those french fries, we already covered that in point #5. You need health fats. Fats like monounsaturated (olive, peanut, or canola oils) and polyunsaturated fats (like fish, flaxseeds, and walnuts). Your body needs them, it’s an appetite suppressant and stunts hunger. Just keep in mind, to lose weight, we reduce our caloric intake, not eliminate fats.

With these 7 important keys — discipline and consistency is always the underlining force that will have you achieving your quick weight loss goal. Proper nutrition with reduced calories, exercise, and the right amount of supplementation on a consistent basis will guarantee fast weight loss. The key is to make a lifestyle change ” dont think of it as a diet, think of it as your new healthier, fitter, more energetic lifestyle.

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Wait, what? Diets make you gain weight? Kind of contradictory isn’t it? Diet plans are meant to make you lose weight! Unfortunately, it is true, if you are starting one of those instant gratification, popular, quick weight loss programs., before you know it, you’ll quit because it is unsustainable, and you’ll end up with more weight than what you began with! The weight loss industry is a money maker, and too many ‘experts’ are out there trying to sell you a ‘rapid weight loss’ plan in order to meet the huge demand the market has.

These quick weight loss diet plans promise you quick weight loss. Of course, most of them will deliver on making you lose a few quick pounds, but that weight loss is only temporary. Before you know it, you’ve gained that weight back as quickly as you lost it, you’ll be less healthy than you were when you started it, and you’ll feel weaker. There are some weight loss systems out there than can actually result in health complications that could be severe.

There are three ways these so called ‘quick weight loss’ schemes make you fatter:

1. These diets slow your metabolism to a crawl. When you are on a restrictive diet, your metabolism rate will be unsteady. It will go from very low to a sudden spike.

You will probably drop a couple of pounds but that really isn’t fat loss. You are losing weight because you are not eating enough. The pounds you lost initially was a combination of water weight and lean muscle loss.

When your body loses its water you become dehydrated, which slows your metabolism to practically a halt.

Your metabolic rate also slows down when you lose lean muscle mass. Muscles play a direct role in keeping your metabolism high; and the more muscles you have, the higher your rate will be, and the more fat you will shred. Loss of muscle mass have the opposite effect, and will make you feel drained, weak, and tired.

2. These diets are not sustainable. You can’t possibly starve yourself on restrictive calorie diets or practically fasting for any reasonable or healthy long term weight loss. Not to mention, those liquid diets are even more impossible. Before you know it, you’ll start to feel uncontrollably hungry and you’ll be tearing up the junk food isle in the grocery store. Which, you’ll gain all those pounds back, and likely, plus some.

3. “Diet” is an evil word. Most of us that have tried ‘dieting’ fail at it. Why? Because it isn’t sustainable, or realistic. Diets are a short term solution to a lifelong problem. Diets have the reputation of a quick weigh loss solution, but in reality, they are one of the causes of the program. There’s been numerous studies that show that people who don’t diet, but rather choose to focus on healthy eating and lifestyle are more likely to lose weight, and see life changing results.

Do your research, and choose a weight loss system that focuses on healthy choices, eating smaller, more frequent meals (so you aren’t starving yourself), incorporates physical fitness, and can be something you can not only fit into your lifestyle, but something you can enjoy!

You know you need to lose weight, and you’ve tried. But for some reason, your weight loss aspirations keep coming up short, landing you back at square one, if not even heavier than you were starting out. We all know that being at a healthy weight is healthy, and leads to a long quality life, but heck, we all want to look good too! The problem is, you haven’t chosen the right weight loss plan that works for you.

There are so many different weight loss plans and programs available today it’ll make your head spin. Many of which promise weight loss that not only is improbable, but unhealthy! So it’s certainly understandable to get frustrated and confused. But it’s simple really; you start by writing down your goals, both your short term and long term goals. Then, you research and find the right program that fits your goals, and works with your own unique lifestyle.

I have developed these guidelines to help you chose your goals and find the right plan that works for you:

1. Don’t reach for the moon when you haven’t climbed the molehill. You’re goals need to be attainable and realistic! If you are a 40ish year old woman and currently weight 185, it probably isn’t very realistic to set your goal to be 120, especially since you haven’t been 120 since high school. A good rule to measure in weight loss is about 2 pounds a week.

In fact, you should stop thinking in terms of pounds anyway, and start thinking in terms of BMI, or body mass index. BMI is a measure of your body fat in relation to your height and weight. The perfect range for us humans lies somewhere between 19 and 24.9 BMI, according the the National Institutes of Health. An overweight BMI would be between 25 and 29.9 — anything 30 or above is considered obese.

It’s not hard to determine your BMI, but unless you’re a math genius, you’ll need to pull out your trusty calculator. Refer to the formula attached. I’ll walk you through and example: If you are 66 inches tall, and weigh 165 pounds, you multiply your height by itself (66 X 66) which will equal 4356. Then divide into your weight (165 / 4356) which is .0379, then multiply that by 703 (.0379 X 703) which gives you a BMI of 26.6. If you are using the metric system, use the appropriate formula to determine your BMI. Easy huh?

2. Set practical objectives. Deciding to lose weight based solely for vanity is psychologically less effective than losing weight to improve your health and quality of life.

Make sure you choose a weight loss plan that incorporates clean and balanced healthy eating, as well as a good fitness plan. If not, I would recommend you keep looking till you find one that does. Fitness is as important as a healthy diet, and it will really boost your weight loss plans.

3. Forget about losing ” focus on doing! Don’t set your goal for the week as losing two pounds, rather, set your goal as how much exercise you are going to do this week. This is much more motivational and gets your mind set right to achieving that weeks goal. Remember your weight in a weeks span is largely out of your control, but your actions are completely in your control.

4. Take things one-day-at-a-time. Don’t look too far ahead! I know it’s cliche, but if you just focus on today, you’ll find you are much more successful — you can always worry about tomorrow, when you wake up tomorrow. This is especially true if you are just beginning and coming off of a couch potato lifestyle.

5. Be self-confident. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is your body. You’ll set yourself up for failure if you have an ‘all or nothing’ outlook on your weight loss plan. Each week, objectively evaluate your own progress, but don’t beat yourself up if you fall short on your goals — but do take note of what you accomplished! The goal shouldn’t be having a perfect record, the goals should be consistency — that’s what makes a weight loss plan successful.

6. If you can’t count it, it ain’t a goal. In other words, don’t set a goal of “I’m going to be more positive this week”. You can’t measure that, or determine how close you came to achieving it. Set your goals to be something you can count, or measure. Like, how many minutes of exercise you’ll do today, or how many racquetball games you’ll get in!

At the end of the day, you are committing to a weight loss plan for you, your health, and nobody else. Define your goals first, and then find the right plan that meets those goals. After you have done that, the most important part is executing that plan. Doing this, will get you well on your way to life changing weight loss that will be a permanent part of your new and more life-engaged way of living!

On my quest to get fit, lose weight, and live a healthier life, I have come across several quick and easy tips that helped me achieve my weight loss goals through eating healthy. These can be incorporated into your diet and fitness plan anywhere, everyday!

1. Do 30 minutes cardio before dinner to increase your late night metabolism. 8 hours after waking, our metabolism naturally slows down, so give it a jump start in the early evening time to produce an increase in fat burn that will last hours after your workout is over.
2. Don’t discard your family favorite recipes! Just learn how to make them healthy. Substitute saturated fats with healthier mono or polyunsaturated fats like olive oil. Use low fat yogurt instead of cream, and use herbs and spices instead of salt.
3. Get creative with your veggies – stuff zucchini or capsicum with flavorful things like minced chicken, other white meats or fish, for a healthy, lean snack or meal.
4. Wrap up your salad fillings in pita bread roll ups or whole great tortillas.
5. Don’t sacrifice flavor! Make an amazingly delicious low fat mayonnaise by combining one teaspoon of Dijon mustard or satay sauce with plain low fat yogurt.
6. Get extra iron in your diet by adding alfalfa or mung beans to your salad.
7. Take the time to learn about nutrition and how to prepare healthy eating recipes. This will lead to good cooking and healthy eating…knowledge is power!
8. Always consult your doctor before you begin any exercise or weight loss program.
9. To cut down on hidden saturated fats use chicken stock while stir frying.
10. It’s all in the skin! Try not to remove the skins of fruits and vegetables. Most of the best nutrients are concentrated just under the skin.
11. Slow it down while eating. Slow eating and chewing each bite during meals prevents you from eating so much, and suppresses your appetite.
12. Eat like a bird. Incorporate five to six small meals a day into your meal plan instead of two or three huge meals.
13. If you like muesli, buy the non-toasted ones. A plate of toasted muesli has more fat content than a plate of bacon and eggs!
14. Kill the late night snacks. This is one of the hardest things initially; but don’t eat 3 hours before going to bed – with the exception of lean casein proteins such a small serving of low fat cottage cheese.
15. Don’t skip out on meals. When you skip a meal, your body goes into starvation mode, slowing down your metabolism as well as stores any nutrition you do eat later as fat reserves anticipating another long period without grub.
16. Soya beans and tofu are some of the best sources of vegetable proteins. Since all legumes provide some protein, be sure to add some lentils, lima beans, pinto beans, etc., to your soups and casseroles.
17. Make sure you eat before you go grocery shopping – this will prevent impulse buys of unhealthy junk foods. Also make sure you only buy foods that are in your weekly menu plan.
18. Don’t go it alone! Get a friend or support group together that you can team with to achieve your weight loss goals and share in your healthy eating plan. This is an excellent means of motivation and can add a lot of enjoyment to your dieting and fitness plans.
19. You can remove saturated fats from baking tray’s by dropping in ice cubes – fat sticks to the ice cubes.
20. Before your breakfast, add a cup of warm water with a squeeze of lemon juice. This will get your metabolism fired up for the day, and also aid in preventing constipation…not to mention it is excellent for your skin!
21. Pasta is an excellent fast food! A pasta meal with whole grain pastas are quick and easy, and can be incorporated into soups and salads in only 10-12 minutes.
22. A bowl of chili is a metabolism booster – even the mild variety!
23. Substitute applesauce for eggs in baking for low cholesterol low fat meals.
24. Make omelets without the egg yolks or use yoke free egg beaters.
25. All natural peanut butter is a very healthy fat that your body needs, use with whole grain breads and pure fruit jams for a delicious small meal or healthy snack.

Apply these healthy eating tips, set realistic goals, find a good diet plan that works for you, and stay disciplined and consistent, and you will have a healthier, slimmer, more active lifestyle!

You can get fit without the gym.

There are many good reasons to lose weight – we all want to feel healthy and look fit. Your weight loss goals could range from shedding 5 pounds to 50 pounds, or more! The smart thing to do is do your research and start a good healthy diet plan. A plan that will walk you through step-by-step on what you need to do to realize your weight loss goals.

The hard reality is that most of these plans will require you to exercise. As a matter of fact, it is widely believed that you cannot lose weight unless you are in the gym every day. Although I strongly suggest a vigorous workout routine to accompany your weight loss program, there are reasons why the ‘gym scene’ doesn’t mesh with everyone.

1. Lack of time: Today’s lifestyle is so hectic. Between working all hours of the day, commuting, spending time with kids and family, and every other life event that we pile on top of that, spending an hour in the gym daily is sometimes impossible.

2. Financial reasons. Let’s face it, gym memberships aren’t cheap. Most gyms also require you to sign a minimum of 6 months to a year contract. This can be a big deterrent for a lot of people. Plus, those that are just starting out aren’t sure if the gym is right for them, so if you quit a month into it, you are still on-the-hook for pricey membership fees until the end of your contract.

3. Hygiene reasons. Many of us are worried about getting infected by the bacteria laden sweat left behind on the public equipment. Exercise, done properly anyway, leads to sweat…so that’s you, and hundreds of other gym users sweating profusely and dripping all that sweat all over the equipment. Sure they expect you to wipe off the equipment with an antibacterial wipe after you’re finished, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this common courtesy ignored.

So if one or all of those reasons to avoid the gym sounds like you, you aren’t alone. There are other ways to effectively lose weight, just as easily as you would in a gym.

No matter what weight loss plan you chose to lose, if it doesn’t call for daily physical activity, you probably should pick another one. There’s many creative ways you increase your physical activity level and burn calories to achieve easy weight loss without the gym:

1. Walk. Walk everywhere. Walk fast. Walk the dog…just walk. It’s a simple way to bump up your activity leave and burn calories! Of course, just walking alone can be boring, but bring along a partner, whether it’s your dog, your spouse, kids, or a friend. Walk with your iPod or MP3 player. Park the car farther away from work, and walk to the office. Try to get a few miles of brisk walking in a day, and you’ll be amazed at the results.

2. Take the stairs. Instead of taking elevators, use those legs for what they were meant for, getting you from ‘a to b’. Climbing stairs is a great way to get your heart pumping, your metabolism boosted, and jumpstart your caloric burn rate.

3. Engage in life! Instead of going home and sitting on the couch watching the latest reality TV program, get up, get out, and get active! Go play a game of pick-up basketball with the kids, or go on a hiking trip with friends. If you are married, get your spouse involved and get active together! The more you do, the more the pounds will melt away. Plus once you are engaged in life you’ll not only feel better, but you’ll have a better quality of life both mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Getting rid of that spare tire around your mid section is easier than you may think!   Contrary to what most commonly believe, you don’t need to invest into fad diet programs or buy expensive supplements to lose that belly fat.   And believe it or not, you don’t need to spend countless hours at the gym.   You can bust that gut by following these easy, simple tips.

1.  Eat healthy.  You do that, and you’ve practically one the battle already.   Most aren’t aware that 80% of weight loss and fitness is your nutrition – not by doing hundreds of crunches every day, which, will strengthen your ab muscles but will have little to do with losing belly fat.   Stripping out the junk foods, sugars, and carbonated sodas will get you well on your way to your fat loss goals.   There are three benefits of following a clean and healthy nutrition plan:
a.  If you preplan your meals for the week, you won’t have any room for the evil temptations of junk foods!
b.  Clean, healthy foods are like a rocket booster to your metabolism rate.   With the increased metabolism, you’ll burn fat at a rate like never before just doing your routine daily activities.
c.  You don’t need to buy expensive colon cleansing supplements any longer!  Once you start eating healthy foods, they will naturally rid your body of all those nasty toxins your intestines have collected over the years of eating junk foods.

So what are clean and healthy foods?   By ‘clean foods’, I mean eat foods that are still in their natural state – stay away from processed junk foods.   Lean meats, whole grain breads, fruits, and vegetables should be your prime foods.  I recommend eating eat raw fruits and vegetables as much as possible.  Boil what you can’t eat raw, but stay far away from anything fried!  When cooking your own meals, use healthy fats for oil such as olive oil, and try to minimize how much you use.

2.  Now that you’ve conquered the diet, kick start your fat shredding plans by incorporating some exercise.  Don’t get me wrong, your diet will have you shedding pounds, but it will be a long slow process if you aren’t exercising regularly.   There are many types of exercises and programs out there, but not all are suitable for accelerated weight loss around the belly.  In order to bust that gut, you need to so more  goal specific exercises such as cardio.

Cardio exercise is more endurance based, that gets that heart pumping, gets your metabolism on rails, and provides a high calorie burn.  Start out slow with brisk walking, then increase your intensity to running, jogging, biking, etc.    To really boost your tummy shredding goals, try some high intensity interval training or HIIT!   Any activity that involves your whole body, gets your heart pumping, and boosts your metabolic rate will do wonders!

Keep in mind healthy, sustainable weight loss isn’t a sprint…it’s a marathon.  Although if you follow these steps, you will see results quickly, the key is sticking with it for the long term, and incorporating it into your lifestyle.   You lose weight only when you burn off more calories that you take in.  Just one pound of fat has about 3,500 calories, so even if you just burn 500 calories a day, you’ll be losing one pound every week!

Congratulations on your decision to lose weight!   It’s the first step of potentially a life changing experience.   Contrary to what many people think, a serious and successful weight loss plan isn’t easy.  Weight loss is hard, even with the numerous ’so called’ easy weight loss programs you see advertised — it is more than just diet and exercise.   In this article I will explain about three things you must do in order to achieve your weight loss goals successfully!

1. You must COMMIT: It takes full dedication and commitment to achieve your weight loss goals. I know it’s easy to jump on some fad diet program, and lose a few pounds quickly – but that isn’t real weight loss, it will come right back.  Real, life changing weight loss comes when you focus on clean eating and exercise.  By clean eating, I mean healthy foods that are in their natural state, not fried, processed, or junk foods.  When you eat clean, I will guarantee that you’ll lose weight now!

I know what you are thinking, easier said than done, right?   You’ve been thriving on junk foods for years, so clean eating is going to be a challenge, at least initially.   This is where the commitment comes in.   You MUST be dedicated to your plan, and stick with it.  It won’t be easy, you’ll be tempted at times, and you’ll occasionally cheat with the fatty foods that used to be your friends.   A ‘cheat’ meal once a week is fine, in fact I encourage it – but limit it to once a week.  Other times, exercise your self-discipline, and you will succeed.  That is how other people lost their fat, and that’s how you will too!

Your activity level is another significant lifestyle change that you will need to make.   You’ve probably grown accustomed to living a sedentary life, which is what got you overweight to begin with (that, and eating junk foods).   Weight loss will occur when you get up off the couch, and incorporate some physical activity in your life — engage in life!

Many of you hate the thought of exercising — or doing exercise routines.  Fortunately, there are other ways, fun ways, to get the physical activity level up for weight loss.   Play some outdoor sports with the ‘kids’ or friends, go swimming, enroll and dance classes, walk the dog — any activity that makes you sweat will start stripping the extra pounds off!  That’s what I mean by engaging in life.

2. Think lean:   Start thinking like the lean healthy person you want to be, not the overweight person you have become.   Imagine yourself with that slim body you’ve been dreaming about.   Adapt that person’s persona, and you’ll stay motivated and committed, and you’ll gain that self-confidence that will propel you to continue down your weight loss path.   Use it as your daily weight loss motivation.  On the other hand, if you always perceive yourself as some fat and ugly person subconsciously, that’s what you’ll become — the mind is an incredibly powerful tool.

3.  Avoid fad diets!  Research and find diet programs that aren’t based on some silly concept that can’t be sustained past a few days or weeks.  Sure they may help you lose a few points initially, but I guarantee you those pounds will come back, if not increase.   Find a weight loss program that focuses on lifestyle changes, and provides the tools and techniques to truly make it a life changing program.

You’ll be tempted to go back to your old habits once you start losing weight – and it’s easy to do.  You’ll think, hey I lost 15 pounds, that fast food won’t kill me, even though I already ate my cheat meal this week.  Big mistake!  That is the mindset that got you overweight in the first place.  Commit, and stay committed.  Think like that slim person you imagine yourself to be.   Lastly, find that diet that focuses in life changing weight loss that is sustainable for the long haul with maintenance included. You’ll feel better, you’ll look better, and you’ll be that person you have dreamt of!