I found this info in an article and wanted to share it with you ladies. Let me know what you think.

easy-to-follow, specific tips that can help you lose weight – and keep it off for good.


Be Committed to Making the Change—Motivation is the most powerful insurance when it comes to effecting life changes. Remember, losing weight is not just about food – it’s about changing your lifestyle so that you are burning more calories than you take in.

Have a Plan—If you don’t develop a formal plan to lose weight, quit smoking or get organized, you might as well not proceed at all.

Have a “Plan B” to Eliminate Excuses—Take a look inward to come to terms with the excuses you use to excuse yourself from making changes, and come up with a Plan B to avoid them. For example, if you decide you’re going to exercise more and begin a walking program, be sure to have another exercise in mind if it happens to be raining (especially if you live in London or Seattle).

Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals—Make your goals Specific; Motivating; Achievable; Rewarding; and Tactical.

Create a "Life Preserver"— Use visualization as a motivator. Think of every detail (including emotional and physical) of these future moments and reflect on these “Life Preservers” to help you get through the tough times or when you feel like you're losing sight of your goals. For example, if weight loss were your goal—imagine, yourself a thinner, healthier you— running into your ex-spouse at the mall.

Track Your Progress—Monitoring your improvement will keep you focused and on your path.

Be Persistent—Research has shown that the more times you go back to your resolution—the greater your chance of success.
So, despite what you may have learned in biology class, a leopard can change its spots. You can be the person you’ve always wanted to be. The only person holding you back is YOU. Are you ready to commit to a new you? It’s your choice. Give yourself a break…a break with those damaging patterns.

Sherri

Hi Sherri
These tips sound great. And if I really sit back and think about them they are all true. I am the only person that is putting the food in my mouth. Nobody else is. I have to learn to make the right choices. Learn to say NO!!. Thanks for the tips.
A TOPS PAL

great information, good reminder of what we need to do, I'm adding this one.
Thanks
GETTING LEAN
Top 10 Traits of Those Who Successfully Lose Fat!
By Greg Landry, Exercise Physiologist
Author / Trainer
You can develop the traits that guarantee success in achieving and maintaining optimal weight.
Greg Landry -

I've worked with hundreds of people who were interested in losing weight. Over the years I started to notice that the
people who were successful at losing weight and maintaining that loss, had several traits in common. If your goal
is to be successful at losing weight and keeping it off, my suggestion would be to make these traits your own:

1. They make aerobic exercise such as walking, jogging, or swimming part of their DAILY life.

* They realize that DAILY activity is absolutely critical to their success.
* They are committed to exercising just about every day for the rest of their lives. It's not a chore for them.

2. They either naturally enjoy the exercise they do, or they make it enjoyable.

* For example, many of them enjoy walking in the beautiful outdoors.
* Others make it enjoyable by listening to music or taped books, exercising with a friend, or perhaps by varying their route or the type of exercise they do.

3. They don't smoke.

* I have seen few smokers who have been successful in losing weight.

4. They are typically early risers and get their exercise done first thing in the morning.

5. They don't weigh themselves every day.

6. They have an incredible desire to lose weight and be healthy.

* But, they don't just talk about it - lots of folks do that.
* They actually walk the talk.
* They are willing to do what it takes to get where they want to be.

7. They don't fall for the latest fad diet and they are resolved to the fact that their weight loss will take time.

* This gets them through the tough times when they feel like giving up.
* They're not constantly looking for short cuts.

8. They realize that their body functions best and is healthiest when it's getting the naturally healthy stuff - fruits,
veggies, and whole grains.

* They concentrate on eating these with very limited added fat and sugar.

9. They prepare most of their own meals and usually bring their lunch to work.

10. They weight train two to three days per week to maintain muscle tone and elevate their basal metabolic rate.

11. (Bonus) They usually have a great big smile on their face!

* They know that it may be very tough at times, but they also know that they are slowly but surely reaching the goals they've worked for.
* That feels great!

Go for it - YOU can do it!

These tips hit the nail on the head, not only for weight loss, but for everything in our lives. Unless we carry through, our successes won't come. Thanks for reminding everyone of what we need to do.

Summer

Those are great tips! I really enjoy reading things like that--a wake-up call as we are plodding along wondering why we don't have success.
Writing out my plan is going to motivate me. I know generally what I have to do but don't have an actual plan of how or when to do it. It's like the difference between saying "I'm going to exercise 3 times next week" or saying " On Monday and Wednesday I am going to go for a walk during my lunch hour, and on Thursday I am going to treadmill from 4:30 until 5:30." When I do the first one, I usually run out of week because I can always put it off till tomorrow.

See you lighter!

I'll add one! Write down what you eat and how much you eat!