How to Win the Weight Loss Game

1 Set attainable goals.

Goal setting is about setting achievable goals, and in this case , where we are talking about losing weight, we need to make these goals as achievable as possible. A target weight loss of 2 pound a week is much more easily reached than an unrealistic 6 or 8 pounds a week. Goes without saying really, doesn't it? But you will be amazed how many people set themselves undo-able targets, and as a result fail in their attempts at weight loss.

Changes need to be made to your lifestyle, and these changes are never going to happen overnight. If you tried to change them too quickly you are doomed to failure; for example; if you decided today to stop eating junk food altogether, and by junk food we mean food that has empty calories. But the temptation you put yourself under by doing this will probably make you take a bite of your favorite fatty food after a day or two and the end result would probably be that you put on more weight than you had before you started!

A better way to approach this sort of thing is to wean yourself off your lifestyle, bit by bit. Replace one of your favorite empty calorie foods with a negative calorie substitute. For example on day 1 you could replace burgers with raw carrots and then on day 2 or 3 replace white breads with wholegrain bread and so forth. You will find it is a much easier process.

2. Lifestyle habit changes; out with the bad in with the good:

Most people have put on weight because they have bad eating habits. Habits, as we all know are very difficult to break but given time they can be. If you are an afternoon snacker and you usually have something heavy with sugar such as a chocolate bar or a piece of cake and coffee, don't cancel your snack time; instead replace your empty calorie snack with a low-fat yoghurt and fruit.

3. Clear out time:

Temptation is a monster we all know, so it is best to remove as much temptation from your path as possible. It may not be possible to remove tempting foodstuffs from the fridge as you very likely live with other people and they might not be dieting, so a good alternative is to find an action you can do every time you feel hungry or tempted.

I have a cross trainer that I use every time I become tempted. I jump on it for 5 minutes every time I fancy eating something I should not, go like crazy on it and when I come off thirst has generally replaced hunger and I end up swapping my need for something unhealthy to a glass of cool water! A great trade off!

Now, you don't need to go out and buy a cross trainer, you could simply just go out for a walk or stick your favorite cd on and dance around the house until your craving passes, it doesn't matter, the word we need to use here is distraction. You are distracting yourself from the temptation, if it burns calories whilst doing so, even better.