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Author:
Annette Croft

Throughout my childhood and teenage years I watched as my mother tried every fad diet under the sun. I recall one time she ate boiled cabbage and nothing else for a whole week. I felt my mothers’ frustration and misery, however I could not understand why it was so difficult for her to lose weight and keep it off – until that is I became a weight management coach.

For the past two years I have been assisting people to achieve their ideal weight and in this time I have experienced what contributes to a successful weight loss story.

Getting serious
It all starts with you and how serious you are about losing weight. The key to successful weight loss is partly dependent on your level of commitment. How would you rate your seriousness on a scale of 1 – 10 (10 being deadly serious)?

No quick fix
If you have made the commitment to get serious about losing weight then you need to make the commitment to do it safely and effectively. One piece of invaluable advice my own family doctor passed onto me is that slow and steady is always the best option. The longer it takes you to lose weight the less likely you are to put it back on.

Staying motivated
Always keep the end in mind! Write down all of the reasons why you are motivated to lose weight now. Record these reasons on a piece of card that can be kept in your wallet or purse. Each morning and before going to bed remind yourself by reading aloud why you are motivated to lose weight.

Facing challenges
Every day you are likely to face challenges, which can disrupt your focus and get in the way of your weight loss goals. Write down all of the challenges that you know have made losing weight hard for you in the past. This will help you to develop a better strategy this time. Three common challenges are lack of results, boredom and lack of support from spouse, family and friends.

Choosing a weight control program
I recommend choosing a diet / weight control program that offers all of the following for best results:
Provides a balanced nutritious program that is safe and effective
Support system and regular progress follow-up
Teaches you better eating habits
Teaches you how to maintain your weight once you have reached your goal weight
For a free weight profile and consultation or more information, please visit: www.getslim-n-trim.com

About the Author
Annette Croft has been assisting people reach their ideal weight for two years with the aid of a nutritious, simple and convenient weight management program. For a free weight profile and consultation please visit www.getslim-n-trim.com. For more articles please send an email to: annettecroft@hotmail.com

| Article Keywords: Healthy Diets

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Healthy Diets... Finding the Proper Diet to Suit Your Needs Have you heard the saying "like fitting a square peg in a round hole"? That is what many people are doing when they go on a diet. They simply choose a diet based upon the fact that their cousin's sister in law lost x number of pounds on it. Little consideration is given as to whether or not they will like the recommended foods or even if they will be able to stick with the diet. For example, if I were to go on a diet that requires a great deal of time for meal preparation – I would surely fail. I might start off out the gate running but would inevitably fail because of lack of preparation time. I should have considered preparation time before attempting to follow this particular diet. I am a huge advocate of being prepared – but being prepared for me is having a meal replacement shake or bar in my car at all times. Here are some things to consider when choosing a diet: Do I like the recommended foods and will I be able to eat them in the amounts the diet recommends? Let's face it – if you don't like the foods you will probably not finish the diet. Likewise, if the portions are unusually small then you will more than likely deviate from the diet. Does the preparation time for the foods agree with your schedule? Some diets require very little food preparation while some require elaborate meals to be prepared. Consider the amount of time you have to spend on food preparation compared to the amount of time the diet will require. Some diets have heat and serve meals that can be purchased while others may require you to purchase items from the grocery store and prepare the meals yourself. Other diets may require you using an instant meal replacement shake or bar once or twice per day. Does the diet promote a healthy lifestyle and long term permanent weight loss? A...