How many times have you lost weight in the past? Studies show that most women have been dieting their entire adult life away, and still most of us are not happy with our weight. Why is this?

It’s because we are continually re-losing the same pounds over and over again! We are not very effective with our weight loss measures, which ensure only temporary success. No one sets out thinking “I’ll just lose fifty pounds for a few months, and then I can gain it all back real quick.” No, we all think this time it will be different. This time we’ll manage to starve ourselves forever, or this time we’ll use expensive diet pills and then live off salads after the fat is gone.

Somehow, it is never different, is it? We end up back where we started within a short time period; only now we are more frustrated and desperate then ever. It’s a vicious cycle that can lead to a sense of hopelessness. It’s as if we are completely helpless when it comes to our weight. The fat just has a mind of its own, right?

Wrong! We have a mind of our own! We are the problem! The day my own weight loss really took off was the day I realized I was standing in my own way. My thinking was causing me to fail. I didn’t want to do it the “right way” because I thought that would take too long. I was desperate to lose the weight, and I wanted it NOW!

The problem with that thinking is this: any other way but the “right way” only leads to that vicious cycle of losing and re-losing the same weight. Those quick weight loss measures do not work because they do not change the reason we are fat. Had I just done it the right way from the beginning, I would have been thin years earlier. It turns out the “right way” is not only the fast way, but it’s the only way that leads to effective weight loss.

What exactly is effective weight loss? It’s permanent weight loss! Pounds gone that will never have to be worked off again. Consider a few secrets that will help you change the way you think and break that vicious cycle this time around.

1. You have to eat to lose weight! If you cut calories too low your body will go into starvation mode and you will start storing everything as fat, instead of burning it off as energy. Your body becomes super stingy and wants to hang onto whatever you give it, because your brain is questioning if there will be enough food to keep your body functioning tomorrow and the next day. You can prevent all this by not starving yourself!
2. Eating is not for entertainment, for pleasure, or for emotional comfort. Food should be what gives your body the nutrients it needs to function properly, and nothing else. If you are with me in the emotional eater’s club, then you have to find someone or something else to be your hand-holder, or you will never take the weight off for good.
3. Lean muscle mass refers to the amount of lean muscle in your body. Muscle is what actually burns the fat and turns it into energy, so the more you have the better. You don’t have to lift weights like a bodybuilder, but you want to do some sort of strength training to increase your muscle so you burn more fat all day long.
4. Muscle may do the actual work of burning fat, but cardio exercise is what puts the process in motion. If you have a lot of weight to lose, then the more cardio you can get in, the better. If you aren’t used to exercising, this is a great way to start, even if you just start walking ten minutes a day and slowly increase that time. Just do more today than you did yesterday. You will gain some muscle through cardio and that will get you started.
5. Pills do not work! If they did, there would not be a fat person in America and each pill would be worth a million bucks. If you want to enhance your weight loss, go with vitamin and mineral supplements to ensure your body gets what it needs to efficiently burn your fat stores. If you want the pills for energy, then start eating a ton of fresh fruits and vegetables and get those vitamins. You will feel your natural energy spiking up sooner than you may imagine right now.

These are just some tips that I have learned along my journey of shedding excess fat. I am sick and tired of losing and re-losing the same thirty pounds. What about you?

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