10 Best Ways to Lose Weight and Keep it Off

I've been a person who's gained a good amount of weight and who's also lost a good portion of weight and kept it off over time. Here are some of things I've found that helped me lose weight and keep it off.

1. Make a decision! In your mind, and using your will, you tell yourself that you are going to do whatever it takes to first lose this weight and then keep it off. You have to be serious about it though, otherwise, you won't see the results you're looking for. If it comes to it, look at yourself in the mirror everyday and tell yourself, "I am going to lose this weight and keep it off no matter what it takes!" No good action has been done without first deciding to it.

2. You need to be consistent. People with wisdom will tell you that consistency brings results. Did you know that applies on both sides of the spectrum? If you continue to eat bad food or high-calorie food, you will continually gain weight. If you continue to not make time for exercise and nutrition, your body will demonstrate what you've made time for. If you are consistently eating healthy and getting your body into shape then your body will consistently be in good shape. Consistency isn't hard, it's just doing what you do with regularity and without wavering.

3. You need to be aggressive. If you want something bad enough you'll do whatever it takes to obtain it. Some who are married will tell you that their spouse won them over because they persisted in their approach towards them, or they continued to call even after rejection. People who are known as the world's greatest inventors will tell you that the first time may not have always been the most successful time, but it wasn't the last time. Keep at it and don't give up!

4. Change your diet. Now here's where we separate the boys from the men and the girls from the women. I'm not talking about starting something like Jenny Craig, or Atkins, or South Beach, or any of these other places or diets (nothing against them by the way) but I'm talking about starting with what you normally do on a given basis. You need to figure out what you're eating, and if it's even good for you. If you don't have a good portion of fruits and vegetables in your diet, start there. There are great ways to get your daily intake of fruits and vegetables. Smoothies, for example are a great and fun way to get your fruit intake in. Perhaps drinking your vegetables instead of eating them will help you do better with vegetables. Changing your diet doesn't mean eliminating everything in your diet! It just means make some adjustments.

5. You need to exercise. (I'm talking to myself too, so don't take it personally.) My biggest problem was that exercise for me wasn't fun. I didn't feel stronger after doing it, in fact I felt more tired. I've had a history of starting exercise routines and then stopping after a couple of weeks. Start another routine, then stop again. On and off, on and off, on and off. (Reread point #2 that I mentioned about being consistency). Earlier problems I had with weight loss was simply that I didn't commit to exercising. The problem is that even if you're eating well, you still have old fat on you that needs to go away. Exercising helps your metabolism, which burns the fat, but it also helps get the rest of your body in gear as well. Without exercise, you're really doing double work in your goals of losing weight.

6. Read more. Here's where you start keeping the weight off. When I say read more, I'm not talking about novels or non-fiction or anything like that. I mean read more labels, see what's in the food you're eating. When I started doing that, I stopped eating certain things. Also, my wife is big on organic foods, so since I've been married I'm doing better about eating certain things as organic-only. I'm doing my body a favor, but also I'm making a conscious effort to put good things in my body. You can also read more articles about different ways to eat healthy, and also find recipes that you'd like to try. When you put yourself into it, you'll get more out of it and this thing called "being healthy" becomes a lifestyle instead of a goal.

7. Make room for splurges. There is nothing wrong with treating yourself every once in a while. A good deep-dish slice of pizza, or a slice of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake haven't hurt anyone as far as I'm aware of. The thing is, it's a splurge. As long as it doesn't become the norm, you're okay. Also, as long as the splurge doesn't become a daily thing or a weekly thing, you shouldn't have any problems splurging from time to time. Maybe make a reward-based system out of it. For example, once you've lost 20 pounds, you treat yourself to a slice or two of your favorite pizza with a slice of cheesecake with a soda or whatever your favorite beverage is that you don't ordinarily get. Giving yourself a chance to get a reward can help you reach certain goals, but there's nothing like sheer ambition.

8. Leave the former life behind. Okay, you've lost the weight and you're feeling great! DO NOT GO BACK TO WHAT YOU USED TO DO!!! I cannot stress this enough. Oftentimes people lose weight, or get into that dress size, or pant size, and then go back to eating like they used to and/or not exercising as regularly anymore. It's like you may hear in a marriage counseling class - whatever you did to get your spouse, don't stop doing it once you're married. Similar analogy here. If you established routines, stopped eating after a certain time, gave up certain foods... don't go back to them after you've lost the weight. That's a sure recipe for getting back all the weight you'd lost AND adding more to it. So if you don't get to read points #9 and #10 remember this... don't go back to the old once you've arrived at the new and improved.

9. Get an accountability partner. You may be a person who needs a little extra encouragement either to lose the weight the first time, or to keep the weight off. Friends and family are a great place to start as far as sharing your goals, helping you maintain your goals and even cheering you towards the finish line! It may be more fun to accomplish a goal like this with other people. I'm thinking about the show, The Biggest Loser, where you have teams of people who are working on a common goal of losing the most weight. I'm not advising you to go on television in order to lose weight, but perhaps working in groups or teams can synergize your efforts instead of going it alone.

10. Stress less, relax more. Stress can create weight gain. The more you stress about life, the less you're paying attention to the habits you need to develop. A relaxed person is a calm person. A calm person can think clearly. Thinking clearly will help you properly assess what you need to do and how you need to it.

Wear this world like a loose garment so you will be able to consider what's important in life and what's not. If weight loss is important to you, then hopefully some of these steps can benefit in you doing what it takes to accomplish that goal and stay on the other side of the finish line. If you have tried and failed, then try again! Giving up is the only sure way to never accomplish that dream. If you can see yourself at your ideal weight, then you can achieve that weight. Remember weight loss is one pound at a time, so enjoy the journey and stick with it!