When you break down weight loss into a simple formular it looks like this;

If Calories consumed are less than calories expended / weight loss will occur.

This may well be a fact, however successfully achieving weight loss is far more complicated than that.

We need to consider many different aspects surrounding the process of loosing weight, some of those are;

• not eating enough in an effort to reduce calorie intake.
• Psycological aspects of breaking down poor eating habits.
• The simple human need of "having something naughty".
• Peer group pressure.
• An abundance of opportunity to eat poorly - fast food stores on every corner.

This article is intended to provide a simple outline on planning for the successful implemantation of your weight loss program.

I have broken the process down in to the following 5 fundamental phases;

1. ACCEPTANCE PHASE
2. LEARNING PHASE
3. IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
4. DEALING WITH THE PLATEAUX(S) PHASE
5. MAINTENANCE PHASE

It does not matter what you are attempting to achieve in life, if you do not first accept that you have a problem, then the end results will be less than satisfactory.

The key to really accepting you have a problem is;

Take an honest look at the types of regular eating habits you have developed, and recognise them for what they are, unhealthy and poor eating habits;

• Do you eat highly processed foods? (fast foods)
• Do you drink "fizzy" drinks?
• Are you a coffee addict?

• Do you eat when you need to or when you feel like it?
• Do you eat often enough?
• Do you eat "sugary" snacks?

If you are overweight and answered yes to any or all of the above, now is the time to be honest with yourself and recognise those habits for what they are - bad for your health.

Once you have accepted these food types for what they are, you can start to become determined and commited to moving them out of your diet.

Now that you are comited and determined to loose weight, it is time to do some research and learn about how your body functions.

You Could Start by learning a bit about the following;

• Calories and the forms they come in - Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats.
• Vitamins and minerals - what are the essentials and what foods do they come in naturally?
• Metabolism - how does it affect my weight?
• What body type are you? - endomorf, mezomorf or ectomorf.
• Exercise and how it relates to weight loss.

Lets not get caught up in a phase of "paralysis by analysis". If you spend too much time reasearching, you may never get to the doing phase.

I suggest you take no more than 1 week. Set aside 1 hour per day when you can have some quiet time, and do a few Google searches on each of the topics one per day or night.

It is time to start! well not quite, but you are not far away.

You need to devise your plan, and that may well involve checking out free weight loss programs, signing up at a gym, with a personal trainer or any number of combinations of the above.

It is important to understand that this is the start of a lifestyle change and as such must include a good share of healthy food types that you actually like.

That does not mean to say that the first diet you choose has to be the one you will stick with for ever. You may choose a 1, 2 or multi stage process to get to your long term diet plan. Just be sure to have clear time frames for when you will move to the next phase.

This may include the use of a combination of something like a detox (yuk), then a vegetarian diet, and finally a diet simply based on a balance of healthy foods.

Alternatively you may just identify a balanced diet, and plan on easing your way into it. Week one substitute your unhealthy morning tea for a healthy one, week two, start eating a small breakfast instead of none at all, etc.

There are thousands of free weight loss programs out there to choose from, or you may wish to go with a subscription based weight loss program. My best advice is to make sure that you consider the following;

• Is there a good balance in the program / diet? - Balance is best.

• Is this something you could adjust to for the rest of your life?
• Is the motivation behind the program "advice based" or "product based"? Product based programs tend not to be good long term plans.

• Does the program advise specific food types or general food catagories? You are less likely to stick at something that tells you to eat a specific type of food.
• What excercise are you going to add into you routine and how are you going to fit it in.

OK so now it is time to get started. Set yourself a start date. Clean out all the nasties from your pantry and fridge, and off you go to the supermarket to re stock with your healthy alternatives.

In the process of losing weight over a period of time you will inevitably need to deal with a desire to give up.

This could be a period when you have stopped losing weight, or just simply are feeling like its all too hard.

You WILL experience this, so you might as well accept it now and put a plan together as to how you will deal with it.

Set yourself up for success in the first place. Make sure you set out clear mini goals along the way to your BIG goal. Set realistic goals, do not get drawn into "the biggest looser" weight losses. You should aim for no more than loosing 1% of your body weight each week. Reality shows and sensationalised weight loss programs present an unrealistic concept of what can be achieved.

Here are some ideas;

• Have you actually adjusted your calorie intake now that you have begun to loose weight?
• Have a set of statistics for your weight, waste, thighs and level of fitness etc before you start. You may want to consult your doctor or personal trainer to help with this.

• Update your statistics weekly - no more and no less. Don't focus on any one result. For example you may put on weight in a particular week, but loose 3cm from your waste line, and have improved by 10% on your exercises.
• Focus on how far you have come, not how far you have to go. If you are feeling like your goal is too far away, re focus on your next mini goal. Don't allow your long term goal to be your major focus.
• Reward your self on attaining each mini goal. Maybe a new item of clothing, a massage, or even buy you and your partner some tickets to a show or movie. Sharing your achievment with a loved one can be very powerfull.

Your there! wow doesn't that feel great. Well if you are reading this for the first time, you are probably not there. Hey nothing stopping you from imagining it though, so allow your self to go there.

This is a time to reflect on your achievement and reward your self big time. So go ahead and do that, but don't loose sight of where you have come from.

It is often thought that during a weight loss program you should pin up a photo of your self before you put on weight. I actually believe now is the time to put up that "fat" photo.

By now you should have developed some really good eating habits.

The good news is that just as it was hard to give up those bad eating habits, it will also be hard to give up your good eating habits.

But just in case, it might be time to go over some of those things that your learnt right at the start.

• Why did I develope bad eating habits?
• How does my body work?
• what are calories and metabolism?
• and am I still and endomorf, mezomorf or ectomorf?
• Should I re adjust my diet?

Its time to get started, so why don't you start taking a look at how it was that you became overweight and confront all of those justifications for why you should be allowed to continue with your bad eating habits.

I wish you well for a happy and healthy future.